“Teachers are not protected by the administration and are always blamed. Somehow, it’s always our fault. Students and parents do not care anymore.”

I'm a Southern California-based writer on the Lifestyle team who likes to try and rank viral foods and read and recommend awesome books.

"No one cared; the school I was working for essentially fell apart in the single year I was there. It was complete chaos most days, and working in special education was essentially torture. We have this attitude that teachers deserve to be treated poorly because we 'teach for the outcome, not the income,' but that's just an excuse. Parents and the government are to blame."

"When I went to the hospital in crisis, I finally saw how impossible the responsibility is. As a special area teacher, I covered two schools and had 30 separate classes, with a total of 700 kids aged 4-11 every week. Even the medical staff was stunned and said it wasn't a surprise that I'd finally collapsed. Now, I'm out. I'm selling my house and moving in with my daughter since I'm still too young for Medicare and will have to pay out of pocket for medical. I'm unsure when I'll be able to hold any job again. My nerves are shot, and I have daily panic attacks. I'm a casualty of caring too much and unsure what comes next."

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.