You deserve to feel fulfilled in your life in and out of your career. Youll learn everything from how to translate your skills and experience to job searching, networking, resume writing, interview skills, and everything in between. It certainly cant be measured by As and Es, or even by weekly walk-throughs. If you are considering leaving teaching, there are plenty of other options. Such an interesting read! A lot of times, leaving teaching takes a complete mindset shift. I suppose Im sitting here, feeling like Ive had a wonderful opportunity thats Ive just aimlessly whittled away. It doesnt help the teaching guilt when coworkers and loved ones (usually unintentionally) add pressure by focusing on teaching being a calling instead of a career that they have the choice to walk away from. I do not EVER want them to feel like they are anything less than the most important people in the world. On the other hand, people may hear about the place I currently work and wonder why I would choose that environment. You were one of my favorite teachers. Not to mention the embarrassing issue of content area expertise: how can an administrator with a history degreeassess whether or not a physics teacher is delivering accurate information? The district was considering . I can definitely appreciate your nod, smile, and then do what I know works approach. Now that Ive taken a ten year break, I think I should just go back and let my initial license lapse. Are Schools Ready to Commit It? Scott was, quite easily, the most brilliant history student Ive ever had. Many aspiring teachers enter the career feeling like theyre finally doing what theyre meant to do with their life. They have the Im just a teacher mentality. I rolled out the proverbial red carpet for them. In the twelve years I was a high school English teacher, I watched people leave the profession in droves. Please keep in touch! Loved the content, loved the IDEA of what teaching is supposed to be. I let fate and a cross-country movemake it for me, and there are a lot of incredible things about teaching that I really miss. Years of teaching left me with low career self-esteem and feeling devalued as a professional. However, all that you blogged today is what I encountered. I hate my coworkers who coo over Secret Santas and community sheet cakes like the chubby receptionist in office space. I strongly believed that I was a professional and wanted to be treated like one even if I did have less experience than most of my peers. Thank you. The students also have less respect towards teachers as they are supported by parents and administration. And because of that truth, there is often immense pressureto compromise your integrity: to pass a child whohas not demonstrated mastery, to allow an extension on a paperyou assigned two months ago, to give less homework or different projectsor more lenient grades, because sometimes you are expected toavoidrockingthe boat. Its no wonderyoure getting frustrated. (I was actually in a business mtg the other day with a former student of mine. I have 7 years until I retire. So thank you to both of you! Enjoy all those precious moments with your family! The general public needs to hear more from people like you. My husband lost his battle with cancer. I have always felt that I dont have a creative bone in my body. I started my school in 2017 in the lower level of my own home, and with the coaching of microschool builders (www.microschoolbuilders.com), I moved to a stand-alone school three years later. Period. Suck it up butter cup! But what I find is that the majority of these teachers that come to this conclusion are really good teachers. This excellent piece of writing illuminates why being a school teacher was by far the hardest job that I ever hadexcept, perhaps, for being a parent of three! Id like to add that it is very hard to email during the day! For many kids, fourth grade can be a hard year. I love the curriculum I designed from scratch. Though I do not have to follow the Common Core or state standards, those expectations are entering our school environment. My goal is that they always have a good day at school and they do look forward to my class. Between the scheduling and standardized-test-organizing and discipline issues andparent phone calls and endlesson- and off-campus meetings, sometimes even a ten-minute walk-through is an achievement. Once the list of rules is complete, develop with your students a protocol for how these rules will be enforced. My kids used to make so much progress. And of course Scott iswell, you know what a brilliant young man he is. Teacher guilt and some serious low career self-esteem held me back from leaving when I knew I wanted something different. If You Teach Elementary School, You Need Our Massive Writing Template Bundle Does that fact help me when a kid Ive never met bursts into my classroom, throws a condom in my hair, and runs away? Its okay to validate those feelings instead of feeling wrong for them. I went on my first interview yesterday and I will find out tomorrow if theyre extending an offer. It's important that you understand WHY you are staying in a position that you think you hate. The kids. I do a little tutoring for home-schooled students & I find it very rewarding. I also left because of the increase in threats and violence towards teachers (including myself). Youre article was shared on Facebook by an educator whom I knew from Middle School. I poured my life into teaching and all I got to show for it was stress-related heart disease and high-functioning depressive disorder. It is the only thing I can do, it is too late for me to start over and I will NEVER make it to retirement as a teacher. And Im telling you that you need to teach in the manner Ive described, and those test scores need to come up.. "Make the teacher aware that your child is struggling socially," says Rachel Kapp, an educational therapist. Maybe well both find our way back to the classroom one day! I figure that even if I get burned out on teaching, if I do it well it can open up other doors, as it did with you and your writing career. Its the students plight, too! Despite being a scrappy, hard working, strong willed woman, Im not sure I can make it. Why do so many educators say, "I hate teaching," but then never take action to make a change? What Do We Make of All This? Going back to college to get a Masters and teaching certificate was scary, but I had been substitute teaching for several months and knew I wanted it. The individuality has been sucked out of the profession (worldwide), and it will now, sadly, only attract the blandest people. I entered it to teach, share knowledge, have meaningful conversations not to teach contantly lecture them about basic etiquette, basic life skills and content that they should have learned in primary school (keep in mind I teach highschool.) Parents are the boss of you. Ha!). Bless you, Melissa, in your newfound writing career! For me, it wasnt about unruly students. If you need even more inspiration of what is possible, you can listen to a variety of interviews Ive done with former teachers who have found success (and happiness) in new careers. We began making huge, HUGE progress with the kids who needed it the most and, naturally, with a challenging population the test scores werent all that hot. You hit the nail on the head, and with amazing wit and insight. pay and benefits that any private sector employee would die for!! Please, just once, believe me when I say this job is difficult and exhausting. From kids who are tired of failing, and this is their last chance to graduate before the state kicks them out of a public school. It is crazy the direction education has taken, and so sad. I jump through the required hoops, but I went into teaching to teach kids, not to please legislators. The only time you typically deal with students face-to-face is because of a discipline issue. Our actual customers?, What does my tone have to do with you telling me, without telling, me to teach to the test. I happened to google 7 years left of teaching and found your post. The kids were confused., Yeah, and there was no way we could have told them the truth to unconfuse them about the situation, could we?, Ill miss teaching, Ill miss this place, and working with you. In order for peopleto really know how well youredoing your job, they have to watch you do it. Dont want to teach. Its important to identify the reasons why you hate the position and why youre still there. Now some might learn about my first experience and think - welcome to being a teacher, especially in your first year! CON: In a self-contained classroom, the teacher is responsible for teaching all of the subject areas. Thats the important stuff. The meanies have taken over the world. An elementary school teacher I know who is a part of one of the wealthiest, most reputable districts in her state attended a recent meeting where staff members were instructed to "drastically limit or entirely eliminate" story time. Its after midnight the night before my first BTS Academy Day for this year. Its so interesting to hear that people in your position are experiencing some of the same demands. However the joy I felt every day going to work and showing the kids the beauty of history and what you could learn from the stories kept me going, Those kids were so receptive. I really enjoyed reading your post and I totally agree with everything, including the last line about not leaving because of the kids. Friendship becomes more important, and cliques tend to get more common around fourth grade. I am in the process of becoming a teacher, and this did not dissuade me. Also, part of my current job entails GED preparation, and I can still recite my list of helping verbs when needed You also encouraged me to take an AP language art class the following year, which I declined to do because I lacked the confidence. Watching the shyest student in your class, the one whonever ever spokeback in September,volunteer to read a part inThe Crucible and hes hilarious, and he does itwith an accent, and he makes two new friends because he finally let himself be vulnerable. Such a sad commentary on the lack of support our society accords teachers and the education of this nations children. I was signed off work with anxiety and stress. My children DO try. I, like many teachers, have to look ourselves in the mirror each day and know that we did what we thought was best. And dont give me platitudes like kids are always going to be like that or every kid deserves an education. Of course every child deserves an education! In fact, he comes home, and your class is ALL he talks about. How wonderful to hear from you, Joyce! The goals of getting on the tenure track and working toward your pension start early on. The first being having never made a Plan B. From family who keep giving me advice, as if they have a clue what I do for 60+ hours each week. Yes, if I started back when I actually started because you were the king of your classroom. Congratulations on your marriage! Elsewhere, in an entirely different part of the country, a ninth-grade teacher-friend of mine was askedto abandon anyeducationalmath gamesand make more of an effort to spoon-feed, please.English teachers look onhelplessly as more and more works of fiction areplucked from the curriculum and replaced by fact-driven nonfiction. Other people with good intentions telling you what an amazing teacher you are and that you cant leave the kids doesnt help. I hate teachers, and I am one. All of them have interviewed prospective employees for over a decade, and all of them nowhave a similarcomplaint: its becoming close toimpossibleto find candidates they actually want to hire. Updated. Its such a shame when energetic, enthusiastic teachers are not able to continue. You will not always get along with everyone you encounter in life, and that's okay! Guilt-tripping and the once you start this profession you arent allowed to leave mentality doesnt happen in other industries. Required fields are marked *. Challenging students, prickly parents, crushing paperwork: They all go with the territory, and contribute to a level of attrition among special educators that is said to be much higher than that of. Because teaching is such a niche profession, Ive found that many teachers dont realize the value their experience can bring to positions outside of the classroom. I know how hard it feels to transition out of teaching. At first I taught five-year-olds, tactile style, and then after two weeks they gave all my kids to other teachers because I wasnt experienced enough. Great to hear from you, and thanks again for your kind words! EP 01 Introducing The Teacher Career Coach Podcast. Now I have been reduced to robotically reading my script for both reading and math. This is brilliant And these are most of the reasons I dont want to teach anymoreeven though Im so good at it. However, there was one section that really caught my eye. 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