4 ms·

I used to be a teacher in Baltimore City, and I used to say, it's the most stressful job that doesn't come with life-and-death decisions built in. I say "built

I used to be a teacher in Baltimore City, and I used to say, it's the most stressful job that doesn't come with life-and-death decisions built in. I say "built in", because I did have to deal with the consequences of death outside the school building several times. In any case, I really don't miss it. Some of my days were so insane that I realized at some point that I seemed to be subconsciously wiping my memory of it at the end of the day. Even as a founder trying to launch a startup, my craziest days paled in comparison. Not saying my experience is anything like separating a conjoined twins or dealing with pediatric cancer, but just that I can relate to your thankfulness of having a job that's not that intense, by any measure.

jacquesm 9y ago
A family member was a teacher and quit for reasons quite like yours.
BinaryIdiot 9y ago
One of my best friends growing up went to a high school in Baltimore City. It was absolutely _incredible_ how many students and parents he knew that had died. I commend you for working there as long as you did. It's really unfortunate how terrible those schools can be. My friend said it was very rare to see a teacher last longer than a year or so, too. They would get scared or hurt and quit.
arca_vorago 9y ago
I went to the east coast for the cyber boom and ended up doing IT contracting for the City of Baltimore school system. I saw a large amount of the schools and it was one of the most eye-opening and saddening experiences I've ever had... and I'm an Iraq war vet. So don't discount your experience there. Baltimore is not normal. Coming from Texas where at least I can concealed carry I had a couple of really fucking hairy incidents that really bugged me that I had no way to defend myself. I wouldn't live there if you payed me, and certainly never with a family. Side note, did you hear about the cop who was going to testify against the PD and ended up dead? The PD there is corrupt as fuck.
- revelation 9y ago
  There is currently an ongoing court case against a particularly corrupt Baltimore Police unit: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-gttf-day-two-20180125-story,amp.html http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-gtt... Among other things, they would carry BB guns to plant if they happened to shoot someone.
- prklmn 9y ago
  This was quite eye-opening for me: Video Appears to Show Baltimore Police Officer Planting Drugs https://nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/baltimore-police-video-drugs.html?referer=https://duckduckgo.com/ https://nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/baltimore-police-video-dru...
  - srtjstjsj 9y ago
    http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-body-camera-tampering-20180124-story.html http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-bod... > The fabricating-evidence charge is a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. Misconduct in office is a common-law offense, which means that the court is free to impose any penalty that does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. > Prosecutors said the video prompted them to drop more than 110 cases involving the three officers in the video from Pinheiro’s camera. That's 110 people who either were innocent and terrorized by the police, or were guilty and escaped justice due to police incompetency. Either way, not a good look. Prosecutor in this case the same State's Attorney Mosby who tried (and failed miserably) the Freddie Gray manslaughter/murder case.
    - DoofusOfDeath 9y ago
      >That's 110 people who either were innocent and terrorized by the police, or were guilty and escaped justice due to police incompetency. Either way, not a good look. To play devil's advocate: If you're going to reason that way, you should also consider the number of actual criminals who were punished only because of planted evidence. I'm not advocating corruption - I still think it probably warrants the death penalty due to its cancerous and widespread impact on innocent people.
pcwalton 9y ago
I heard the stories from my brother, who taught at inner-city schools in Charlotte for a while. He stayed longer than almost anyone else his age at the job, but eventually he couldn't bear it anymore. He's a much stronger man than I. I wouldn't have lasted a week.
cjbenedikt 9y ago
What's ur startup? I'm from Bmore too.
- acjohnson55 9y ago
  It was called Breakrs, fantasy sports for music. But long defunct. I haven't lived in Bmore since 2011. Now I work in NYC.

jacquesm 9y ago

A family member was a teacher and quit for reasons quite like yours.

BinaryIdiot 9y ago

One of my best friends growing up went to a high school in Baltimore City. It was absolutely _incredible_ how many students and parents he knew that had died. I commend you for working there as long as you did. It's really unfortunate how terrible those schools can be. My friend said it was very rare to see a teacher last longer than a year or so, too. They would get scared or hurt and quit.

arca_vorago 9y ago

I went to the east coast for the cyber boom and ended up doing IT contracting for the City of Baltimore school system. I saw a large amount of the schools and it was one of the most eye-opening and saddening experiences I've ever had... and I'm an Iraq war vet. So don't discount your experience there. Baltimore is not normal. Coming from Texas where at least I can concealed carry I had a couple of really fucking hairy incidents that really bugged me that I had no way to defend myself. I wouldn't live there if you payed me, and certainly never with a family. Side note, did you hear about the cop who was going to testify against the PD and ended up dead? The PD there is corrupt as fuck.

revelation 9y ago
There is currently an ongoing court case against a particularly corrupt Baltimore Police unit: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-gttf-day-two-20180125-story,amp.html http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-gtt... Among other things, they would carry BB guns to plant if they happened to shoot someone.
prklmn 9y ago
This was quite eye-opening for me: Video Appears to Show Baltimore Police Officer Planting Drugs https://nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/baltimore-police-video-drugs.html?referer=https://duckduckgo.com/ https://nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/baltimore-police-video-dru...
- srtjstjsj 9y ago
  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-body-camera-tampering-20180124-story.html http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-bod... > The fabricating-evidence charge is a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. Misconduct in office is a common-law offense, which means that the court is free to impose any penalty that does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. > Prosecutors said the video prompted them to drop more than 110 cases involving the three officers in the video from Pinheiro’s camera. That's 110 people who either were innocent and terrorized by the police, or were guilty and escaped justice due to police incompetency. Either way, not a good look. Prosecutor in this case the same State's Attorney Mosby who tried (and failed miserably) the Freddie Gray manslaughter/murder case.
  - DoofusOfDeath 9y ago
    >That's 110 people who either were innocent and terrorized by the police, or were guilty and escaped justice due to police incompetency. Either way, not a good look. To play devil's advocate: If you're going to reason that way, you should also consider the number of actual criminals who were punished only because of planted evidence. I'm not advocating corruption - I still think it probably warrants the death penalty due to its cancerous and widespread impact on innocent people.

pcwalton 9y ago

I heard the stories from my brother, who taught at inner-city schools in Charlotte for a while. He stayed longer than almost anyone else his age at the job, but eventually he couldn't bear it anymore. He's a much stronger man than I. I wouldn't have lasted a week.

cjbenedikt 9y ago

What's ur startup? I'm from Bmore too.

acjohnson55 9y ago
It was called Breakrs, fantasy sports for music. But long defunct. I haven't lived in Bmore since 2011. Now I work in NYC.