I was an English teacher at a New York City public school from 2005 to 2009 — until I got burnt out and decided to quit.

The education reform movement had revved up, with its testing craze, useless paperwork, and disregard for teachers’ input. The school where I’d worked had started spiraling downhill, and so did my joy for teaching. I had loved being a teacher when I’d had the freedom to be creative and to engage with my students in a meaningful way. But this was no longer the case. To top it all off, the growing cultural contempt for teachers that blamed us for all of society’s ills only further pushed me out and soured me on the profession.

I didn’t think I’d ever teach again — but then, I started hearing the buzz about charter schools.

Source: The Truth About Charter Schools