"I Went to School for No Reason" — Teacher Quits on His First Day Because Kids Are Mean

Few other professions offer a tougher workload than being a teacher. After all, teachers are essentially charged with taking care of dozens of other people's kids all while trying to provide them with a solid education. Plus, they have to come up with lesson plans and adjust for different individual students, because there's no way that any two children will behave the same way in class. Teachers also have to do all of this while dealing with notoriously low wages.

That kind of responsibility weighs heavily on anyone in the teaching profession. And honestly? I'm willing to forgive anyone who feels overwhelmed by being a teacher. That includes Kevin Black (@kevinenvy) on TikTok. In fact, he previously posted that he quit his job as a teacher on the first day and I could totally understand why. Here's his story.

One of my favorite comedy groups from Australia, Aunty Donna, has a song called "Best Day of My Life" about a group of kids who boast about the simple pleasures they have in school. One of the lyrics goes, "Had a new teacher for health today / Only took eight minutes to make him cry."

When I first heard it, I thought it was hilarious. But after seeing Kevin's story, I understand how tragic the other side of it can be. In his video that was posted in early August 2023, Kevin revealed that it was his first day of being a teacher and he was already primed to quit.

"I don't want this," Kevin lamented in his 26-second video. "I went to school for no reason. I thought I [could] handle it." It has to be awful to feel this defeated.

He continues, "These kids are just mean. They're rude, they're smelly, they were sneezing everywhere. So today's my last day." It sounds like Kevin definitely had a challenging group of kids.

For the most part, people in the comments were incredibly sympathetic to Kevin's plight.

One TikToker commented, "People have no idea how hard teaching is. Not to mention exhausting."

Another user even revealed that they stuck out the teaching job for a couple of years before completely pivoting. They wrote, "I lasted [for] 2.5 years of misery. I'm an ultrasound tech now. More respect, more money, and still helping."

Other people even offered advice on how to get acquainted with the workload in order to prepare for the toll that the job may take.

"This is why I beg people who want to go to school to be a teacher — sub first," one user suggested. "Long-term, preferably. These schools are tough."

When I was young, I often fantasized about being a teacher. Not for any altruistic reasons, mind you, but only because I wanted a job where I could still have guaranteed vacations for the holidays and the summer. I never pursued it seriously, and seeing what other people go through, I'm confident that I'm not emotionally or mentally prepared for that kind of job.

Teachers deserve more respect and recognition than people give them credit for because if Kevin is any indication, this is the kind of job that can cause people to break at any moment.