Being a teacher today is often called a “special” profession, but by special, I mean that very few people would actually choose it. The pay doesn’t come close to matching the emotional and mental toll, but the financial strain is only part of the story. The entire social dynamic has shifted. It used to be that parents and teachers stood together as a united front to guide and support the student.

I remember growing up knowing that if a teacher called, I was in for it.  Even if I was correct or felt that I was, being disrespectful towards an adult was not okay no matter what.  Today, it often feels like an adversarial contest—parents and students aligned against the teacher, turning routine classroom management into a constant defense of your professional integrity.

Technology has dismantled whatever healthy boundaries once existed. With WhatsApp groups and instant messaging, the expectation is that a teacher is never off the clock—accessible at all hours of the evening for complaints, questions, and demands. I remember the first time I got a message from a student at 12:30 at night asking about the homework that was due the next day. I........

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