I teach 6th grade Social Studies in CT, and have also taught in PA.
Teaching is much harder than it looks from the outside, but that's all because of systemic issues across all districts. Everything is about data and testing...I mean EVERYTHING. I'm a very creative person, and would have these kids flying if I were allowed some autonomy to actually teach. There are countless benchmark tests, and even more worthless meetings about the testing data. We have to crunch the numbers ourselves, and analyze the data. Children have become nothing more than data points on a spreadsheet. We as teachers have become data analysts, in addition to all the other responsibilities of a teacher. It's such an added stressor on top of lesson planning, grading, parent communication, and classroom management. I'm not saying don't get into teaching. What I am saying is just know what you're getting into. The two months off in the summer are great, and almost make all the bullshyt worth it. However, the 10 months of extreme stress for low pay is excruciating.
