Florida Teacher Retires From ‘Toxic’ Profession In Viral Facebook Post

After two decades in the field of education, Jonathan Carroll, of South Lake High School in Groveland, Florida, made the decision to leave his now “toxic profession.”

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, the 46-year-old father-of-two revealed he was inspired to walk away from the profession he once loved after composing a list of all the things he “did not sign up for” after becoming a teacher.

“When I started teaching, I was excited to make an impact on children. I loved every minute of my job,” the social studies teacher said as he explained there was a time where he loved his job.

It was just a few months ago that Carroll sat down and composed his list of complaints which included: high-stake test scores, burned out students, insultingly low annual salary, and entirely too digitally-focused classrooms.

Earlier this week, Carroll took to Facebook in a post that has since gone viral to announce his decision to walk away from his career as a teacher.

“I am leaving the field of education. I have had so many wonderful memories. But it has become a toxic profession,” he announced toward the beginning of the lengthy Facebook post.

Among his many grievances, Carroll admitted that he was “tired” of “buying my own supplies. Being told I should be thankful I have a job and to get over myself. I am tired of the constant testing. We have testing coordinators at each school. Being told that if a student fails it is my fault not their fault.”

It was just this week that the Florida House of Representatives passed new legislature making it legal for teachers to carry a gun so they can protect their students during an active shooting. This is just one of many aspects of today’s teaching environment that Carroll is no longer in love with as he says he went into teaching, not law enforcement.

What is Teaching like .. this Teacher wrote why he decided to retire from a “toxic profession”.
He teaches in Florida less salary however many of the same issues that are now in the schools in Ontario and Canada as well .. @KellieWoodlock https://t.co/66a1jWwoUa

— Kellie Woodlock (@KellieWoodlock) May 4, 2019

During his conversation with Yahoo Lifestyle, the soon-to-be retired teacher explained that classrooms are heavily underfunded as teachers receive just a few hundred dollars – that they quickly “burn through” – to stock their classrooms.

“One time the air conditioner in my teaching trailer broke so I spent $300 of my own money on a replacement A.C. until it was fixed. I store it in my garage for emergencies,” he added as he recalled an instance where he was forced to choose between spending his own money to fix the situation or allow not only himself but his students to suffer in an uncomfortably hot room.

Carroll added that the pressure surrounding standardized testing not only causes the students to burn out, but it puts a difficult amount of stress on teachers by forcing them to worry about low test scores causing them to lose their jobs.

The social studies teacher admitted to Yahoo Lifestyle that following his decision to retire at the end of the year, he was able to find a place where he could enjoy teaching again as he didn’t feel the pressure anymore.

Thanks to his wife’s career as a nurse practitioner, Jonathan has made the decision to take a step back from being a working parent to spend some time at home with his family.