Where I’ve Been and What’s Been Going On!
I’ve had the Teacher Misery IG for 12 years. I built it organically, never spending money on advertising or anything else. It started as a way to vent about the absurdity of teaching and turned into a much-needed community for teachers to commiserate over the hilarious misery and serious violence and abuse we often face. It grew to 577K (with 200K on Threads, 16K on FB) and was a great place to sell my comedic teaching memoirs.
After teaching high school English for 17 years in two public schools and one private school, I had to leave in 2023 because administrators were particularly abusive and pushed me to my breaking point. I’m not exactly sure why, but I think it had to do with my big mouth and unfiltered opinions. They were looking for any reason to get rid of me; that was obvious. I was observed three times on one particular day, and I smiled inside because all of my classes went very well. No behavior problems; everyone was focused, I had a solid lesson, etc. (It was truly a unicorn of a day.) When they called me in to discuss their issues, they said that asking students to volunteer to present their speeches, rather than having a list of students ready beforehand, showed a lack of preparedness. Then they said one student complained about the behavior of the other students being distracting, and that it was my fault due to a lack of classroom management skills.
All of the students had just taken a survey about their teachers, and I knew my students would write positive things about me, so I asked if we could look at those surveys as part of this evaluation. Answer: NO. I was told I would have to take classroom management classes in the evenings, meet with my supervisor weekly to discuss what I was learning, and be observed several times a week. During these observations, they would make a transcript of everything I said and did so we could discuss it. This was so outrageous, so over the top, I knew it was over. The hardest part about it was that my 4th grader attended the school, and if I couldn’t work there, I couldn’t afford to send her there. In my car, I cried so hard that my blood pressure spiked and I had a spontaneous nosebleed.
When I picked up my daughter, I tried to control my hysterics as I told her that we couldn’t go to school there anymore. Her answer? “That’s okay, Mom. I don’t even like it here. The kids are bullies, no one lets the teacher talk, and I don’t feel like I’m learning anything.” This kid was and is my hero. The only reason I brought her to that school in the first place was that it was one of the only schools that stayed open during the pandemic, and she desperately needed to be in a classroom (as most other kids).
I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. While I loved being a writer, I never imagined not being a teacher. I was diagnosed with PTSD from the experiences at that last school and entered into a deep depression. I was honest about this on Instagram, and that’s when a horrendous opportunist/scammer named Lisa Dunnigan from Teach Your Heart Out swooped in. She offered to finance a show based on my books. I had gotten this offer before and thought it was too good to be true, but at this point I was so vulnerable that I needed to believe it. I thought this was my saving grace.
Lisa did a very good job of making the show seem legitimate. She flew me and cast members from all over the country to NYC for a show promo. Meeting some of my heroes in person, DeAndre Rashard and Kyle Kidd, AKA Nanny Maw, was a dream come true. We had so much fun, and I felt so optimistic for the future. Things kept happening that didn’t add up. As my friend and fellow cast member put it, “There were so many flags it was like the United Nations.” To hear about how this all fell apart, you can listen to a podcast we did on it here.
So then I truly didn’t know what I was doing with my life, besides raising my two daughters. I wrote a Gothic romance novel but didn’t know how to market it. My followers on Teacher Misery were like WUT IS THIS? Where is the comedy? I started a podcast, and after 51 episodes, I literally make less than $2 a month from its ads. I opened a Shopify store with money I didn’t really have, and it was successful for a little while until it wasn’t. (It’s still open, BTW.) I wrote another book about teaching called Human Candles, but because of how my career ended, it wasn’t funny… it was dark.
I got an agent for the novel and Human Candles, but she ghosted me after a bit (which is common in the industry). I once had a major literary agent who tried to sell Teacher Misery, and when it wasn’t picked up immediately, she ghosted me like I was yesterday’s trash. In my time since writing Teacher Misery, I’ve been approached about collaborations by major TV producers and production companies who got my hopes up and then (say it with me now, children!) ghosted me.
I still made enough to get by from my Instagram account, book sales, and small collaborations with other creators. I rewrote my novel and have been trying to get an agent for it. I updated Teacher Misery and am trying to get an agent for that. I was tired but trudging along. Then, in March 2026, Meta disabled my Instagram and Threads accounts. They said I had multiple copyright violations and that I would need to appeal to get my accounts back. I appealed, and they said the case was pending.
I couldn’t reach anyone at Meta, no matter what I tried. Someone suggested that I pay for a business account to get access to live help. I have paid $129 a month for the last few months to speak with people who honestly have no information and just tell me to have hope. It’s still being reviewed. I contacted the Attorney General, and they contacted Meta. Meta sent them back a notice with specific information about my copyright infringements, including case numbers and contact information. But they said they considered the matter closed. This was the first I had heard about any of this. I did research on the people who accused me of copyright infringement (reposting a video I didn’t know they owned), and they are well-known copyright “trolls,” who add a watermark to a viral video, file huge amounts of copyright claims against innocent creators who repost the video, and wait for the accounts to be suspended. This leaves the creator with one option: go to the company and ask them to take back the claim. This is when they ask for money to do so. I have been quoted $500, $769, and $ 1,000 to retract the claim. If I pay this and they take back the claim, Meta might still not give me my account back because I have been cited as a “repeat offender” for infringement. So I am at the mercy of these companies and Meta. It is worth noting that I had this Instagram account for 12 years, reposted thousands of videos, giving credit whenever possible, and I never had an issue until there were four claims against me in the span of three months. That is because Meta has new policies that give the trolls all the power. Here is a petition you can sign about one of the copyright trolls. I have been in touch with tons of large IG accounts that have been going through the same problem.
Right now, I am still waiting on a quote from another troll before I decide what to do. I spent so much time and effort creating Teacher Misery, and it was all wiped away so easily. I don’t know what to make of all of this. So if you have any ideas, let me know!
Oh, by the way, my new planner is out!
Thank you for reading all of this. I’m not sure where I’m headed, but any support from a community member really helps, even if it’s just a “Hey, I really liked TM, and I’m sad to hear about this!”