You’ll never guess what this teacher did. It was apparently so bad that it deserved a formal punishment from her school district.
Teachers have it hard. A few decades ago (for data’s sake, we’re talking about the 70s), education was the no. 1 major for college students. One in every five students studied it in undergrad, CBS News reported.
Now, that 21% is down to a measly 4% of students. College-goers have seen how things turn out when choosing a career is guided primarily by passion vs. financial stability. They are now choosing to dive into business, engineering, and the arts (which was once considered the riskier field of study).
Teacher pay has barely budged as inflation continues to weaken their spending power. They’re underpaid and burnt out while having to deal with a literacy epidemic and school shootings.
On top of that, some of those who are left face scrutiny from higher-ups who dole out punishments in the form of fines and scrutinize how teachers react to real concerns.
Teacher gets punished by school district
In a viral TikTok, former teacher @galacticbeez does a “punishment unboxing,” as a commenter so aptly described it. Her video has a whopping 4.7 million views.
“Hang out with me while I find out what my punishment from the Department of Education is,” @galacticbeez starts.
For clarification, the ruling was sent out by Florida’s Education Practices Commission (EPC), a quasi-judicial board comprised of teachers, law enforcement, and residents under the Florida Department of Education. It determines the penalties for educators who violate the law, code of ethics, or the principles of professional conduct.
As @galacticbeez opens up the manila envelope, she is, off the bat, met with a bright red cover page.
“On red paper when we are told to not grade in red because studies show that it is degrading,” a commenter wrote. (This is accurate.)
@galacticbeez looks physically shocked as she reads the paperwork.
“That’s crazy,” she says repeatedly.
She reveals she received a fine of $750 and was put on a year-long probation. “That would be more than half of a paycheck,” @galacticbeez says in another video.
“There are literal educators who have put their hands on students and received the exact same punishments that I’m receiving,” @galacticbeez says. (The Daily Dot reached out to @galacticbeez to share these articles as we were not able to find matching information.)
“I didn’t do that. I would never do that. What I did, your mind will be blown if I choose to share that with you,” she says.
What did she do to get in trouble?
In a follow-up video, @galacticbeez says that while the tone of her viral video was jokey, she felt traumatized by the situation.
She shares that she was fired for making a TikTok venting about how she feared for student and staff safety after yet another school shooting incident. She says she was accused of revealing confidential information about active shooter protocols.
But @galacticbeez says everything she discussed was listed on the district site.
That video is nowhere to be found on @galacticbeez’s TikTok account, where she has 15,000 followers.
She says she reached out to the teachers’ union but that it couldn’t help since she wasn’t in the union at the time of the incident. She also says she can’t afford a lawyer. But she says she honestly thought the issue wouldn’t get far once the review board saw it.
“They’re gonna look at it and go, ‘Oh, she didn’t do anything wrong,” @galacticbeez says she expected.
@galacticbeez suspects that they were trying to make an example out of her for other staff.
What will she do next?
@galacticbeez says she decided to leave the education field for a completely new industry. But she hasn’t revealed what it is.
“It sucked the life out of me,” @galacticbeez says of teaching.
“You could pay me a billion dollars, and I would say, ‘No.’ I will not go back to the education system,” she says.
It’s unclear whether she needs to pay the fine now that she won’t be going back to teaching.
Commenters react
“I got written up in my first school for insubordination because I maintained eye contact with the principal,” a top comment read.
“There’s nothing more that school districts hate than someone who shines a light on their problems!!!! Good for you girl!” a person said.
“I work for our union in our district and people wouldn’t BELIVE what teachers get in troubled for… I’m lucky our union is incredibly strong but also we pay dues every pay check and lots of teachers can’t afford that!” another pointed out.
@galacticbeez cant make it up 🤠#teacherquittok ♬ original sound – lil ham
The Daily Dot reached out to @galacticbeez for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to the Florida Department of Education via email.
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