Why I Quit Teaching 

Imagine having the privilege of being taught by this man...I'm jealous of all the kids that took this for granted

The dumbing down of America.

HICKOCK, you are still teaching. You simply moved out of the classroom to the range! God bless you & keep up the good work!

I used to lament that our standards have gotten so low - but now I believe we have no standards.

"Justify their positions"...bingo!

Oh, you're *still* teaching, Hickok45!! Please keep it up! 🤓 👍

Amen, brother. I made it from '71 till 2004. I left for the same reasons, exactly. Good luck, you're still teaching.

Two years ago Maitland Jones, a New York University professor, was fired after 82 of his 350 students signed a petition against him. The complaining students said the subject was too difficult. Dr. Jones is an honored professor of organic chemistry. The inmates are running the asylum.

Taking Ag and Shop in the 60's was a great life-teaching experience! Its a shame those days are gone.

Taught high school Geology for 44 years, retired in 2014, the last 7-10 years is was no longer “fun”. So many changes inside and outside of the classroom . Society has changed so dramatically , since when I started in 1970. Really like you posts, I have learned a lot.

Could you imagine having this man for your substitute teacher!?

I was a welding instructor at a community College for 32 years my friend..I feel so blessed to have had that job I absolutely loved goin to work everyday. And to watch the young people prosper with training I helped with is a joy that's difficult to describe.

As a former teacher and Coach I agree with you 100%. Many of the “new” educational theories are bogus. Just as you stated administrators trying to justify their jobs / salaries.

You're still a great teacher Hickok! You're an example of moderation, patience, and calmness, all of which are essential for working with firearms and becoming a fine marksman. I'm sure the kids miss you as much as you miss them.

“No student left behind” was the beginning of the end imho.

As a retired Head Custodian, I can say the last ten years were brutal. And that was for the Custodians and Maintenance. For the Teachers it was even worse. All of these unpaid meetings, District tests sometimes every week. And to add to the complete and absolute idiocy, they closed ALL of their shop classes. The complete and utter incompetency is EPIC.

I just retired from doing bodywork. I also worked in the 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's. The emphasis today is ALL about production. I was always concerned most with quality of the repair. No one I was working with took pride in their work. I got tired of seeing the hackers getting rewarded over the conscientious workers. It took all the fun out of the job.

As an elementary student through the ‘70s and a graduate of the mid 80’s, I’m still stunned that the school district I grew up in did away with all the best parts of our school day (band, shop, woodworking, building trades, various clubs, etc) saying they didn’t have the budget for any of it anymore, and yet they immediately built a whole new and unneeded high school with a massive swimming complex after we graduated. All I could think was “What happened to common sense???”. My kids grew up without the option of band class, music class, art class, shop class, and several sports we had. The change in values that did away with social interaction in favor of screen time carried the highest cost of all - the total loss of a culture of cooperation.

I'm a Polish guy, teaching English to other Poles in an online language school and having the best time of my life if it comes to my profession. Feeling really lucky and grateful to have gotten a literal dream job

I taught high school for 39 years. 1 year retired. The last few years were no fun. No matter what, kids will sneak their cell phones. Then they hear nothing the teachers says. California wants to ban cell phones in the classroom. All states need to do it.

Teaching is a hard, thankless, incessant slog. It’s also the most important work in the world.

Next year will be my 30th teaching physics and math. It was getting bad before the lockdown.Then it went completely off the rails. Nobody in their right mind would go into teaching now. Unfortunately, no one in their right mind is going into teaching right now.

I did one year of "teaching" High School after six years in the military and a combat tour in Vietnam. The administrators were clearly staff oriented and the "experienced" teachers were operating in a defense mode. The system was focused on the kids who were easiest to teach and there were far too many kids surviving by being invisible to their classmates as well as the majority of the staff. This education structure deficiency has contributed to our social deterioration. But we do have multi-million dollar sports facilities and glory days.

I just retired from teaching and coaching for 38 years in the public school system. Spent 20 years teaching in California, finished up in a rural community in southern Illinois. Big difference between those two settings. Much more freedom in the farming community I finished up in. You’re right though, the bureaucrats and so called “education experts “ have changed things for the worse, one of the reasons there’s a teacher shortage.

Same reason my wife quit. Administration is clueless and power hungry and make 2-3 times what the teachers do. Its upside down. She's much happier now

So, the bureaucracy destroyed education. Gee...who would have thought? 🤔 Now imagine what the bureaucracy has done to the federal government.

My third grade teacher assigned us to watch Star Trek and discuss the episode the next day, he owned a pet shop and would bring animals in AND he was the drummer in a jazz band and would bring his kit in and play for us.

I too left teaching. 25 years in ended 3 weeks ago. When I started in 2000 it was before cell phones. A class of 25 kids may have 2 knuckleheads who hadn’t passed a test since their 5th grade. When I left a class of 25 high school kids 23 were knuckleheads wh hadn’t looked up from their cell phone since 5th grade and no one was legitimately interested in learning. I taught forensic science, astronomy, and environmental. I’ve taught physics, chemistry, and biology earlier in my career so that was basically all of the science classes that exist and when almost no high school kid cared anymore a profound sadness overtook me and I rolled out never to return. Bittersweet retirement for me.

Completely understand. 18 yrs in a Catholic school, 10 years in public, last 10 years in a public Ib school. Your observations reflect the experiences of many. taught from 1973 to 2012, and enjoyed the classroom and students. Far too many administrators were never teachers. Ron

Every time you do a youtube event you are still teaching. That's why I follow you. Thanks for still sharing your years of experience with us.

Amen, Brother! I also taught in the 1970s--MACHINE TRADES, since I was not only a college grad, but worked my way through school being an aerospace tool and die maker. Pitiful how 11th and 12 grade young men did not know what a tape measure or yardstick was. I had to teach them how to use a micrometer--measuring to 0.0001 of an inch! IMPOSSIBLE! The layers of federal overseers was horrific. You were not allowed to flunk anyone, since the "federal river of money" would dry up with zero kids attending. Discipline? I had to disarm young boys with laded 9mms, .38 revolvers and dozens of knives, shanks, machetes..and this as the 1970s!

When the bell rings in Mr. Hickok's first hour homeroom class-----All assignments get turned in on time, and desks gets cleaned out before lineup at the door.

You sir are an American treasure !!! Thank you for everything you have done in your community. And on u tube . ❤

You’re right. There was too much administrative oversight. Also government interference in the curriculum.

I love your shooting videos, but I am particularly grateful for these sharing your perspectives on life and your past experiences. Thank you for taking the time to reflect and for your contributions to future generations (in addition to all the fun on this channel!).

One of the most influential people in my life was my senior year of high school English teacher. That was more like an introduction to Philosophy than an English class. This was 1975-76, and he was super square, with a crew cut, but despite our cultural differences, he really opened my mind to a world that had been hidden from me until then.

Good morning! I had some good teachers growing up (I’m in my 50’s now). I wish today’s teachers were more like you…having common sense and the freedom to actually teech (spelling error on purpose!!!). Have a great day.

I had (have) a learning disability that made me decide to drop out of High School and join the Military. Got a GED and a couple of easy College Credits and off I went. 20 years later I had a BS in Business, a completed career in the Military and had a Family. Not everyone fits the mold they try and pour us into, sometimes a Talented Educator can spot that.

Thank you Sir for your teaching service. Now you have a bigger classroom and we are blessed to have you with us.

I’m 41 and I’ve been teaching since I was 22. Back in 2005 maybe a couple of high school kids had a cell phone. Today every teenager has a smartphones and electronics have me competing again the entire internet for the attention. I’m not sure how it’ll ever go back.

I wish I was taught by this man. Love you Hickok you are the best!

I graduated high school in 76. I had some great teachers! We were taught *how* to think, not *what* to think.

In the 90's I decided to never send my future children to public (government) schools. Before my wife and I got pregnant I made it clear we were going to homeschool our children. That was the best decision we ever made!

Words of wisdom, we’ve definitely gone down in many areas of our lives in the USA, hard to find a good/great teacher and impossible to deal with behavior issues.

Homeschooled our youngest, (10 yrs old), until 3rd grade. He wanted and needed the socialization. Miss him being home though and knowing what he's learning and don't like some of what he has learned.

I'm still teaching after all these years, and you are right. State tests, new educational theories ('project-based learning' seems to be the current rage) that don't match the tests but we have to do them because This One Will Work (just all the others, now forgotten), Social-Emotional Learning, DEI even in math (calculating 'fairness' intrudes regularly), records of English Language Learners and Individualized Education Plans that have to be filled out and kept up-to-date, unsupportive parents you only hear from when their child was given detention even though you left a voicemail because they didn't answer the phone, lawyers, expected unpaid time at school, sleep deprivation, there are a changing number of continual changes in education these days. Pacing guides have to be turned in at the start of the year and vetted, lesson plans for the week approved by administration, benchmark tests, progress assessments, observations and evaluations, and always, always concern for that end--of-year-exam. Sometimes I grit my teeth when filling out forms, keeping yet more records, or grading papers late at night (or late papers late at night). And yet, and yet. The kids have an energy that is contagious, many of them really do want to learn, watching them light up when they realize that they just did what they were convinced they could not, A's on tests, intensity in debates, depth in research, learning to find more truth then they had been told existed, rejoicing at university acceptance, graduation, a future. I understand the reasons that teachers leave education. A few of my friends have done so, and I have wondered if I shouldn't. But the kids' greetings in the morning, the questions after school, the trust when a sobbing student reveals all the hurt that's going on at home, thankful that an adult thinks enough of her to actually listen, the gratitude for extra help, the drawings that go on the wall, the unexpected gift of a rubber duck for my collection in the classroom, the smiles, the jokes (and some are good), the hearts, the minds, keep me going. I suppose I will retire soon, I have to some time. But until then I remind the kids that they are our future as well as their own, that they will cast their votes and shape this country, they will have their own families and pass on to them what they learned in class and on the field. They are our hope.

Over twenty years teaching in Florida and the same problem. Felt like I was getting better as well, but had to leave for my own sanity. It's all these administrators that spent 3 years teaching, got their online doctorate, demand to be called doctor, and are now running creative teachers out because they don't measure up to what Eastern Western Kentucky online said was a good teacher. It really is too bad.

Thank you Hickok for continuing your education through RU-vid and other platforms. 👏 😊 much appreciated

I got “downsized” last September and it seems like 60-70% of the folks in the network and development classes for finding a new position were all teachers. A LOT of Teachers have had it. In the explanation that one of them told me “I wanted to teach High School from 20 years ago.”

Been there, done that for 37 years, it has changed for the worse!

I agree 100%. I was a teacher (public school) in the late 1960s and could see it coming. I became a principal in early 1970s and couldn't really help the downfall of education - I left education in 1980 and went to work in the private sector. Like you, I loved teaching, and thought about going back to teaching in weaker moments. I would say to you, thanks for your service and don't look back.

I taught school for 15 years. I now am a plumber. Teaching/coaching was a great job. You got to make kids proud of their accomplishments and parents proud of their kids. These points he makes, really pushed me out.

Amazing.... My retired teacher wife has said the same things I've just heard in your video. The kicker for her... she didn't receive any support from the school administration staff on a needed discipline for a student. Two months later... she retired at the end of the academic year.

I feel the teachers today don’t have the kids best interest at heart. It’s about the off days, retirement. There are exceptions for sure, but kids aren’t learning the basics anymore. Too many high school seniors don’t even know who the US fought in WW2

Still teaching, 15 years in. Admin leaves me alone, but I’m in an inner city school. Not always easy to break the kids away from their phones, but always worth it.

Taught for 11 years and gave it all up to do something else, in which I get more respect while doing. The students I miss, but the admin and other teachers were that hardest thing to deal with. The disrespect from other staff members and the lack of concern for the students is a major problem in the current education system. We need more families with a stay at home parent to home school our children. Raise them up the right way.

I'm 48 years old and I seem to be feeling old even at my age watching how things are now. In my mid 30's I became a hunter safety instructor here in New York and did that for 5 years. I ended up getting hurt on the job but was looking forward to coming back into it again, but then the whole change in NYS happened around 2012 or so began and the micromanagement by the biologists of the hunter safety program began and instructors began to quit one after the other, because there was now no protection of instructors from any sort of accusations, where as before, there would be some investigation, etc. I knew one veteran instructor who quit because a new, more "progressive" instructor felt he wasn't doing the job correctly. I almost resigned then because I was there during the incident and no one from NYS even asked me what I happened. But, I stayed on, and now, most of what is being taught is environmental nonsense and less common sense. Also, NYS has made it so that most of the actual course is done online and there's no actual way for the instructors to say who is taking the test, there's only a follow up with the student later. Last school year I began teaching an after school history club because the history classes teach next to nothing. My students are 5th grade on up to seniors, although it's the middle school kids who want to be into it. Since we're here in the Adirondacks, I try to teach local history, with artifacts, things like that of events here, like French & Indian War, Rev War, etc. When I proposed this, I was fought tooth and nail by the superintendent, despite the fact that I was endorsed by two local historical societies and the former school superintendent. I was also fought by the history / social studies teachers. Every month got more popular than the previous and coming up I'm going to have a tent at my local July 4th celebration and this coming school year I hope to bring some reenactors in. The one thing about being an after school club, I have a lot more leeway than if I was to follow the curriculum. I've also gotten the school to do more field trips because the teachers didn't want to do them, even admitting it at a school board meeting, and I found that many local museums are free to schools & will reimburse transportation. Two years ago, the middle & high school kids had no field trips at all, last year those same kids had two, even three field trips in the same year because most were free to the school, and they even ended up going to Ellis Island. The biggest thing is that parents need to get involved in what's being done in their schools. I go to just about every school board meeting when I can, and rarely are there any parents there besides myself and never have I seen more than 10 and that was once. More often it's 2-3 parents besides myself, a few teachers and some staff and the board/administration members.

"Maybe that's a good thing if you're a bad teacher. You hit the nail on the head, my friend." 'Nuff said.

You are such a good man, on so many levels. God Bless, and fair winds.

You have been my fire arms teacher for the last 12 years!! Thank You!!

GW Bush “no child left behind” killed it!

Dropping out of school was the best decision I ever made. Worked hard, invested my money and retired in Hawaii at age 36.

Thank you for your service to our children. I wish I could’ve been one of your students!

Great video. I’m a teacher of 10 years. What you said is 100% true. You always have to keep the students as the focus and make the big wigs justify why a change needs to occur. I have found the better you are, the more the leave you alone to do the good work.

In CA new legislation this month: students cannot be suspended for willful defiance. Huge impact on classroom management.

Reading, Writing, Math, Geography, (Real, accurate) US History... And damn the propoganda. Seriously, that is NOT "education." That is, by definition, INDOCTRINATION.

Absolutely right. This was my experience too. It got harder and harder to teach as people a long way from the classroom demanded more and more control. The voices of the kids and the people who know them best, the teachers and parents, were lost. I would not have made it through the last ten years of my teaching career, except that I became active in my union, first at the local level, then at the state level (remaining in the classroom the whole time). This allowed me to feel like I could still make a difference, standing up for the kids and for teachers who experienced what you are talking about. I still miss the kids, although, many are still in touch with me 14 years after retirement.

I know in the public school system I grew up in during the 1970’s and 80’s things were far too lax. We had several male teachers who were near-do-well former athletes. That meant EVERYTHING in a run down former industrial city in the northeast. Just even being related to a former notable jock was enough to give teachers a pass. My first day in junior high school a science teacher emerged from the lab supply room in a haze or pot smoke and I walked in on my English teacher snorting a line of coke off his desk. My dad’s reaction (or lack of) stunned me. My dad was strict and lived a very upright lifestyle. WW2 vet. But damn, his reaction was “Well his Dad was the coach of the 1928 nation championship football team” and “Oh, he played fullback in the 1968 state championship team.” So the parents who gave the system a pass because of past glory played a big part.

As a teacher's aid at the University of North Texas in 2019, I had to go through workplace harassment training. I had to sign a form that I understood my responsibilities, one of which was--it's inappropriate to ask a student or teacher where they are from because it can be interpreted as a microaggression of xenophobia. Every professor job I apply for since getting my masters literally states on the application that I have a better chance of getting hired if I identify as disabled because they have to meet a quota. If they are prioritizing disabled people I can't imagine how much they're prioritizing people who aren't white and male. The entire system needs to be shut down and reconstructed from the ground up and that means completely disabling part of our economy for a while and tens of thousands of jobs being lost, but the alternative is a race to the bottom.

They wouldn't let him bring his guns ...

The best Educators never stop teaching. All of your Viewers are testimony to that. Thank you👍

Same here. I began teaching after retiring from the military, wanting to share what I had learned over a lifetime. I actually enjoyed the teaching part and watching the students make the connections, BUT the bureaucracy, micro-management, lack of autonomy, administrator hypocrisy and lack of support, etc., made me exhausted by the end of each school year. I quit my school to go to concentrate full time on my masters, but after conferring with my colleagues, it appears that things have only gotten worse and I will probably never step into another classroom again.

I taught public high school from 2005-2022. I left teaching for many reasons. I can relate to your thoughts on it. I don’t have much faith in the public education system now.

I believe it probably correlates with the advance of unions controlling education in the public sector. 🔥Flame away! 🔥 Enjoying the "clips". Thanks John.

What a thoughtful, balanced and generous summary of your teaching career. Burned into my mind!

Sir, thank you for sharing this! I’m sure you were an inspiration to many a young person as a professional educator. I’m in my early seventies and my son is in his early forties. We both love to watch your videos ! You’re still a great teacher just a different subject maybe! My wife and I decided to home school my son starting in his first years all the way through high school. We were pioneers in the early eighties here in piedmont North Carolina. We started this at the behest of close friends, encouraging us as they were homeschooling their own son. Both of these friends were professionally trained and previously employed as educators in the public school system and felt very strongly that more and more public education (K through twelve ) was sadly missing the mark. Our child has some learning issues ( as boys often do ) which even the Christian school he was attending could not functionally address, suggesting a tutor. We could not afford that on top of private school tuition. Homeschooling became by the grace of God the best answer. Thanks to God and my wife’s diligent efforts, my son is a very well adjusted Christian man with post secondary education and an excellent career. Hey he likes things that go pow! too.

I feel a parent doesn’t actually love their kid if they send them to a public school knowing how bad it is.

No Child Left Behind and D.E.I...

As a young 24yo male you still teach me, my daughter, my son and my wife, thank you. Your RU-vid channel is all about learning and reviewing firearms. Much appreciated, love you.

SPOT ON HICKOCK! You hit the nail squarely on the head. I too, was a teacher (public school) with one other exception to your story. I loved my students but saw the erosion of ‘the system’ a bit sooner. I began teaching in 1962. I left the classroom in 1980 and never looked back. I went on to my second career. To this day, I miss the interaction with students. The system is broken and the students are paying the price.

It just got woke.

This video transcends EVERYTHING, we are dealing with in education today. It really is hard not to think that this was done by design, rather than laziness. Hick, you sir are a hero. A knight of days past, and an example of what we all need more of.

As an electrician who five years ago started as a vocational teacher (16-19yo students) in Sweden, I can relate to much of what you say. Although we don't have much micromanagement we suffer from "new public management". It slims down the organization by moving paperwork from the administration to the teachers.

Absolutely true! Your explanation mirrors my experience as a career teacher. The curricula are watered down, there are too many “educators” who have to justify their jobs, and there is far too much micromanagement of the good and competent teachers. Thank you for shooting straight! 👍

as other have said, you are still in the class room and you are teaching us all. i wish i had teachers like you back more years than i care to admit too.

Coming from a family of teachers, They have all reflected the same feelings about teaching as you. Their loss is our gain. Love the videos

I graduated HS in 2013. Fantastic energy you and your son. Thank you. ❤️

Thank you for your years of service teaching those kiddos!

Thank you. A teacher who inspires is pure gold for developing young minds and a genuine asset to the community. Otoh, You have inspired us to pave our driveways with brass.

I can relate and thank you so much for your candor. I have been a college educator for the last thirty five years and it's not what it uses to be. All the external interferences that you had mentioned, I have been experiencing the last fifteen years. It's not what it uses to be at all levels. I can't wait to hang it up and call it quits. Maybe in another five years or less.

You, Sir, are an inspiration! All the Best.

The administrative bloat in education is ridiculous. It's even worse at the university level. There's SO many unproductive people creating hurdles and guidelines to justify their position.

Thank you for still teaching us

I taught in a HS from '90 to '20. Also taught as an adjunct professor for a few years. For several years in a row, I had more students score 3 or above taking various AP Exams than EVERY other teacher combined in every other subject. (Mine were US Govt, and Macroeconomics). Not only were these results ignored upon an evaluation score, which actually decreased, but I was told to find ways to "improve." I was over 50 and got the point. I began the process to retire. As soon as I submitted my paperwork to do so, I was all but ignored; they knew I was leaving for good. The truth is, many Administrators prefer young women right out of college compared to older men. They are far easier to intimidate and easier on the eyes. I do miss seeing how happy the kids were after doing so well.

I left teaching for similar reasons. It’s definitely not what it used to be. I miss the kids a lot but don’t miss the profession at all. It’s great that you were able to continue teaching in a different way on RU-vid.

The business world has changed as well. As a field representative I could sell my products and use my people skills and confidence in my products to sell them. Calling on customers consistently and being honest were my traits. I was highly successful. Then, micro managing came into play and what a disaster! The MBA’s took over with a vengeance. I retired early and never looked back. I just feel bad for the young people who are dealing with this mess!

I was in trade school right around when covid hit, and a lot of my teachers were quitting due to forced classes telling them they were racist and all that sort of thing. Anti bias training, etc. It really rubbed them the wrong way

It's a brave new world. Thanks for your. Service. I'm sure you had a positive impact.

Hickok, I left my principal position in 2013. Like you, I became so very dissatisfied. I was not able to continue, for a number of reasons. I appreciate your honesty. ATB

Awesome content 👏. Great addition to the main channel. Thank you!