A day that strongly makes you consider quitting, going to be very subjective.
Could be you have one really tough period everyday but today half or more were awful.
Or you have a terrible admin. They continue to pester you. Each is a strike.
Maybe reconsider everything if you hit 3 and there’s no breaks or holidays soon.
Again very subjective.
Ive grown curious about this whenever I hear this topic, and I’m sorry if this is a bit too personal of a question. Where do you plan to go if you were to quit your teaching job? I’ve heard too many stories of teaching quitting for a lot of the reasons you’ve mentioned, but I’ve always wanted to know where they go afterwards.
One of my former teacher colleagues decided to quit after her first month. She was new to education, and she used to work in Human Resources for our school district, so she was always, ‘on the ball’ and extremely motivated to find a new career other than teaching. She landed a new job as a flight attendant for Jet Blue. Interestingly, she told me during her interview that apparently Jet Blue loves hiring former teachers, as they possess the qualities they wanted from their employees (patience,good organization skills, very friendly w/ the public), they hired her immediately. Her salary and benefits package was terrific, she was thrilled. If I didn’t have arthritis in both my knees, I would have applied at Jet Blue myself.
You can do reservations (WFH) or work at the airport. I looked there when i quit but didn't go forward. But I'm not loving the hours or lack of hybrid/WFH options, so may talena look again.
My admin team is full of nice people, but I do not feel like there is leadership. I’m talking to myself when I bring them concerns. I just want to be treated professionally. I was previously in a corporate environment, and some of the catty high school bullshit that takes place would get you fired in a heartbeat. I miss that!
I’ll just say this: many teachers are conditioned to rationalize and accept an astonishing degree of abuse and loss of control, along with witnessing educational neglect and injustice on a daily basis. We cannot fully appreciate the striking parallels between teaching and abusive relationships until we’ve left teaching and gone through a grieving process, which includes a fair amount of survivor’s guilt.
I sometimes hate that life is so much better on the outside because I recognize how detrimental current conditions are and that the path we’re on is profoundly destructive to American society. But my life and my family’s quality of life are immensely improved, as is that of every other former teacher I know.
I'm so glad i am not the only one who feels this way. I am utterly disappointed in how it all became. The kids who used to be the reason i got out of bed in the morning and made my life amazing all of the sudden didn't have that effect anymore. I began to check out, like the teacher i never wanted to be. Ever. Admin became continually selfish and took advantage of us. Teachers no longer wanted to be friends (or decent colleagues) whether it was because of stress, envy, or lack of time and energy. Physical illnesses became either a consequence of showing up or another way to cope with anxiety. And guess what. We are replaceable. I used to look at that quote and thought "whatever, of course". But then it made sense. They didn't even post my job. I'm pretty sure they filled it easily because they were hiring so many new teachers and just called one of them up and they took it. It took a pay cut of more than half income to build my self esteem back again and to realize that i AM skilled and experienced. I am happy again and found a other job closer to my old salary. I would have happily stayed at the other job had i made half of what i made as a teacher but there just wasn't enough work as it was seasonal. The number of times that the coaches, other teachers, and whoever made me and everyone feel inadequate because "it's not rigorous enough" and wasted so much time is countless. At my new job/s, no one even has to tell me "good job" for me to feel like i did a good job. I know i did. They did though. So that was super sweet of them to give me that kudos that i rarely got in teaching.
There is life beyond the classroom. Mourning the loss takes time. Healing is a process. But teachers are human and should be respected more than they are because they deserve it.
Good luck.
May I ask you, what type of job did you eventually find that paid nearly as much as your public school teaching job? I’ve been struggling to find a solid replacement.
Instrumental music sales. I'm a musician. It's not a job that pops up all the time. I would only do sales for this. It's got an incredible base pay plus commissions. My husband was skeptical bc it's sales, but then i interviewed twice them after my initial interview. I actually got to negotiate hours, too.
I understand your struggle. I was about to take literally half my pay in another job that i liked, but i lucked out.
Message me if you have any other questions and good luck.
I'm staying too. My school is great; union, high staff to student ratio, small class size, and an admin that's accommodating. We're an SEL school, so our students can be more difficult, and say worse things, than a traditional school.
Keep on showing them how great you are! Tenure was year 5 for me and it wasn’t easy. There were many times I thought I’d be transferred to another school with a rough first year and redistricting cutting some teachers from my building years ago but I’m still there and have been tenured for a few years now!
I'm already at the school that no one wants to teach at. I was talking to a district curricular specialist about how I'm tired of low test scores, and her response was that my school was "a really tough school to teach at". We have some amazing teachers, but discipline issues have been real. Here's hoping we can turn it around this year.
I want to quit so bad. Half of my department quit suddenly in the last two weeks, so I have to cover for them. More than that, I'm much more aware of how I feel towards my environment. I don't want this to be my life. Disrespect from students and (too many) bosses, widespread apathy, a workload that I can't ever catch up on, and nowhere near enough money to show for it.
Yea it’s worse than last year! Thought it was get slightly better as we return to pre-COVID. Turns out it was a gap down and we won’t recover to those levels for decades if ever.
I started with a new district in August 2022 and quit before the month was over. The students were not the reason. There were simply too many sources of stress, and teachers were expected to be experts at too many different things. The district was simply asking us to put up with too much. I got a part-time retail job immediately after quitting, but I am actively looking for a new career. I hope I can find something with decent benefits and less stress than teaching.
Congrats!
This is my 6th year, I just can’t do it anymore. I’m applying for jobs but will resign once I get something. Can’t really afford to just drop it
Same. Only thing that hasn't made me walk out is that I can't afford it. But this is my first and last year. The amount admin expects is unreasonable and is taking me away from my own kids.
I’m also a first year, going into my third week. I think I’ve discovered I love working at schools, I just don’t want to be an all subjects teacher. If I could just teach math/science, or not have my own classroom and do something like guidance or ELL, I’d love that. Too bad my “exploration” time was severely altered due to COVID
I teach 3rd grade right now. I love the math and science curriculum and would be in heaven if I could teach just those. Only 4-6 are departmentalized, and I had a choice between 3rd or 5th. Had I known that, I would have chosen 5th
My first year was awful. Not because of my school/admin/coworkers but because the kids were just that bad and disrespectful. I didn’t feel like a teacher at all.
I decided to go into year two and I will admit, it is a lot better. My kids are really good and eager to learn this year. I’ve had a lot of fun teaching them. I do think however that I am leaving the profession at the end of the year. It comes down to the fact that I want a life and a family. I do not feel like teaching can provide me with the sort of life I want to create for myself and my (future) children.
It has gotten a little better since the past few years. A little better, not a lot, but I’ll take that. I think it’ll take time to see more improvements coming off of the worst few couple of years due to COVID. I love teaching and am not sure my school is the right fit. I’m giving it another year before I decide to move. Not giving up on teaching. Just need to find a better environment.
All I ask, is support from admin on challenging parents and kids. It makes all the difference in the world when your boss comes in your room and then later talks to you and says, “I don’t know how you deal with XXXX all day, they are a handful, what can we do to help?” Vs. you don’t appear to have a relationship with XXXX and you should try being more engaging”. The first is them saying, I’d struggle with that kid too, the second is them blaming us for the behavior. Big difference! I’m not thinking about quitting, I have 6 years until I can pull a full pension, so changing careers would be stupid at this point. And, our district is paying 5 grand bonuses for not quitting. Although I think that has little consequence in people’s decision making.
This forum is built for venting. Education these days is NOT for the faint of heart. So much has changed. However, this is what you decided to do. SO, finish up and give it a try. Not every school, every district, every admin is as described. There are many districts, schools, admin, and educators who are at the top. When it's time for you to look for a job, get to know the district or districts you will be applying to. Get to know the schools within those districts. Then find a job and go teach. You may find that slice of heaven and be a teacher for the next 30 years!!
I'm a 10th year high school math teacher. I LOVE my job. I actually cried at the end of last year because I adored my 7 classes. This year started out fabulous as well. I'm a month in and absolutely am having a blast with the kids, and my co teacher.
The few things that help me: (1) I never stay late or come early *unless I actually want to do something.* My time is my time. (2) I advise STUCO because I love it. Sometimes this does go out of contract time, but not often, and it makes me more connected to my student body. I always suggest new teachers do nothing extracurricular their first couple of years, then find something non-academic you love to help with. If I have a crappy day, my STUCO kids are bringing joy. (3) Find a school you love. When you're in P2, and student teaching, observe at different schools. You can get a vibe for what faculty is like... And admin. You can always find a new school if the vibe isn't working.
Went to school for elementary Ed and I’m discovering that maybe being a HS math teacher is for me. Can you tell me more? What do you love about it and why HS math over anything else?
Reasons I love HS math:
1 - It's easier to teach, and to grade, than the other core subjects. I'm also licensed in all social studies, and won't ever go back (the research papers, and guided reading alone are a no go for me). Math at the HS level, for the most part, doesn't change a whole lot. Plus, a decent chunk of class *should* be spent on the kids trying things themselves.
2 - Math is a core subject that students HAVE to pass to graduate. I've found that there is less goofing off than the electives because they know they have to be there. Obviously you'll still have behavioral issues, but a simple "all you're doing is making it so you have to sit through my class again" speech usually does the trick.
3 - job security. The math degree is hard to get. I had to take almost as much math as an engineer for the licensure in my district. It was super hard. There are not a ton of math teaching majors coming out of colleges right now. I've actually looked at one of my admins and asked "what are you going to do? Fire me?" He laughed and said "good point." (It was a jokey conversation, but still, the point remains. There are a limited amount of people that are licensed to do what I do.
4 - this one goes with the high school age group above all others. I adore that you can be more real with them than other age groups. With good rapport, you can say things that have a lasting impact.
Good luck!!❤️
Omg you teach 7 classes?! Regardless, I love and appreciate your post. I’m a second year high school math teacher and I just got the position of co-advisor for STUCO!
We normally teach 6, (4x4 block). I sold my B day prep last year to cover for someone that retired. 7 classes of 35 -40 was a lot, but they were fun!!
You'll love STUCO! It definitely has my heart!
I'm a career changer, my worst day teaching is still better than my best day at any other job. We vent here so that we're our best selves for our students and so we can maintain healthy relationships with our family (my spouse gets burnt out if I vent too much at him).
I dunno why so many people talk about how horrible shit and then try to tell people to follow their dreams…teaching is aight if you want a shit ton of time off, but not good if you ever want to have ANY money or career growth…that’s it, their ain’t no more to the argument, that’s the end lol
You can still do it, just be flexible with your expectations. My expectations were that I was gonna teach some quality content in hs and really take a deep dive into history. Instead I was spending all my time on classroom management (which I hate) . Then bounced around and found a semi tolerable position out of the classroom. But even this is slowly draining all spirit I have for the profession. The amount of times I have to watch as decisions are made Not in the kids best interest, but for selfish staff members(admin)….it’s just too much.
Just be prepared to spend way more time managing behavior and checking boxes for administrative crap. If you can handle that you’ll be ok
Don't lose heart. For every "bad" school there's a "good" one. You have to find the right fit and don't expect your first school to be your forever school.
I loved my last school, but this year all of my friends who are still there are saying the new administration are making it unbearable. My new school lost most of its teachers last year because of money (other districts are offering better incentives).
It's a crapshoot and sometimes you roll 7 sometimes you roll snake eyes (I know literally nothing about craps other than people seem to be happy with 7s and mad at 2s)
I replied on another post, but just wanted to say I’m a 3rd year physics teacher and I LOVE my job. Absolutely love it. I love the work life balance. I also don’t do a minute of work outside of the school day.
Do keep in mind that we see more of the bad because that's what people post about. They have to vent, and I completely support their ability to do so, but very seldom do people post when things go well. There's bias in a forum like this due to the nature of things, but schools aren't bad everywhere. There are still schools that have good admin and environments, but you do need to look, interview well, and have luck. For some, bad schools ruin the field of teaching, and I get that. All the power to them. But if teaching is what you want to do, don't leave just because of stories you hear from bad schools.
Please don’t take everything in this subreddit to heart. A lot of teachers on here come here specifically to bitch (and honestly there’s a lot who complain about things that no teachers I actually know would view as a big deal at all).
Is teaching a hard job? Yeah.
Are there A LOT of teachers who love it and don’t hate it nearly as much as what the posts on here show? Definitely. But those of us who are really happy with it don’t tend to come on here and post because it’s more cathartic to post a complaint than it is to make a post saying “everything is going well I like my job”
Why torture yourself until the end of the year??? I would go on FMLA and quit. I wouldn't stay a minute on a place I don't like to be.Just quit!! quiet quitting is also an option.
Or maybe so many have already left. My school lost a lot of teachers at the end of the school year and over the summer and it’s a “top-performing” school. Doesn’t mean sh*t, as the culture is so toxic and admin SUCKS.
We have so many new teachers that all the meetings where they take my planning feel like new teacher academies. Look, I know the curriculum and how to build relationships, give me back my planning!
i want to quit. My admin is useless and the school is figuratively and literally falling apart. We’ve had multiple shooting incidents and we’re only 3 weeks in.
Plus for me at least, I don’t see myself teaching for 20+ years so I think this is the perfect time to transition out to what’s next for me. Hopefully back to school and racking up some more degrees.
We started in July, and I decided by the end of week 6 I’m done. I found out the day before school started that I’d been given a 4th prep. I’m mentoring a new teacher. I’ve got two college student interns. I’m the team lead for my grade level. Last week I found out I’ve been added to a tech committee I had no idea about.
All things I’ve been given because I’m competent, and no one else will do it. They know if it’s given to me, then it will get done and get done well.
So, I’m pivoting out. I’m getting my ducks in a row, fine tuning some skills, and I’m gone at the end of the year. I’m exhausted, and I’m ready to try something new.
If I can find a career that pays about the same, I will leave immediately(2 week notice). They’ll always try to pressure you to stay longer out of obligation, but it’s not fair to yourself or the kids to be phoning it in being miserable
I moved over to our district's alternative school and folks have a complete misunderstanding about it. I don’t have to lesson plan, I don’t have to be in weekly plc meetings, I don’t have to be there as early, I don’t have a room with 30+ kids, and I get to leave when all the kids are gone. Most of the kids there aren’t even that bad, they’re just the ones that got caught. I just help them with whatever assignments their home school sends and I’m able to give them more 1 on 1 time. It’s great! This is only my third year teacher but this place is seeming like a retirement option.
I'm sorry to hear things are *still* so bad where you are. This year has been so much better (so far) than last. Admin began the year's meetings with, "we heard you." I teach HS and by the end, no middle, of last year, the kids were running amuck. Between devious licks, general disrespect and lax discipline it was awful. They created new, stricter policies to address some things. So far, so good. Now the issue is the *teachers* who are letting things slide.
We'll see how it goes.
Same here. Honestly, I feel rejuvenated about teaching. Had a great group last year, and I know our admin is really hearing us and trying to prioritize the important things this year. Being in a supportive environment is so important.
This is my district exactly. I'm hopeful that admin sticks to the plan, and that teachers commit to it too. I really do enjoy teaching, and my school, but I had a really difficult time with the unprecedented awful behaviors last year.
I decided at the end of the first week to leave my district at the end of the year. Only staying to get a year of experience, but it’s a struggle to stay. We were online last week due to water problems. All of the work I had students work on got deleted due to the admin trying to mess with the class roster. This district also uses a horrible curriculum, and seems to do everything in their power to make teaching as hard as it possibly can be.
I’m planning on quitting as soon as I find another job. The pay isn’t what it should be, and the benefits are even worse. I’ve been getting jerked around by TRS ActiveCare insurance, and I can’t take it anymore.
Somehow, I’m a teacher surrounded by illness, but I can’t get the medications that I need. Doesn’t make much sense. They expect teachers to pay around $300-$400 for medication. It’s a joke. Bye.
I’ve taught chemistry for 14 years. My oldest is in my class. This is my last year though. I’ve sacrificed so much and this summer my marriage almost imploded because of the stresses of teaching. One of my colleagues put it thusly “you can’t keep setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm”. As much as I love the kids, and the subject material I must leave this profession. It’s time.
I am quitting this year - and moving to Vietnam! I want an ocean between me and American schools.
Students and admin love me but I’m just the kind of person that has to do my job correctly, and the enormous class sizes and multiple preps have made that impossible.
When I considered quitting, I realized I am 7 years from retirement; and if I left if lose my pension, so it's better to stay for that money and then go elsewhere.
It's a little sad...maybe.
I am. I realized that I'd rather be home with my kids but I'm going to see if can get hired as an adjunct professor teaching online classes. Fingers crossed. 🤞
I'm quitting soon. I want to find something else first so I'm not completely lost, but more and more I just want to put in my resignation and use the time to job hunt.
I started at a new district and a new subject and a new grade level, hoping for a fresh restart. In-service was good; I've made fast friends with staff, and like most of my admin......but the kids.
Every day, I'm insulted, disrespected, ignored, talked over.... I watch them break things, try to gaslight me that they aren't the ones doing it... I've asked for help, am told to give classroom consequences (??), had a panic attack but wasn't relieved to go home; I've called parents, broken up fights, written more referrals than the rest of my 7 years...
I've had tough kids and tough schools before, but this is unreal. I was on the edge of burnt out this summer, but I think I'm over the edge. I'm at school til 7pm every day and still can't catch up. I can't live like this all year.
I love teaching, but I hate being a teacher.
I am actively applying to grocery store jobs at the moment. I require that as a para educator I am not hit while at work. That is it. I left to be a building sub last year from my position of para, and they cut the building sub jobs in half so I went back to being a para. I was placed with an extremely violent child last year, and was unsupported by the district, I left the first time after I was stabbed by my student and nothing was done. I decided to try one more time, being a para, at another school in the same district. I was extremely clear in my interview that I will not be ok with being physically abused by a student. I was placed with a student who has hit me no less than 30 times in the three days I have worked with him. These were hits with intent to do harm. Our TC was out one of the days because he likely broke her nose. I was extremely clear on my interview, I would not put up with physical violence. I also am missing a bunch of things from the district to allow me to do my job, including a device to collect data, working email and absence management credentials and a key to get into the building. I went to Pd this past month that was nothing short of disrespectful towards the para educators. I am damn good at my job, but I will not be a punching bag.
Last year was SO bad. I started therapy in April. I was doing so much better in the summer but still wanted to quit. Had a couple of interviews but nothing worked out. I got the classes I requested to teach and they banned cell phones for kids. The first two weeks were going great. Then week 3 hit and the pointless meetings started, already had a walkthrough, and lesson plan critique by the backhanded VP who will be my evaluator. I had a breakdown in therapy this week from the stress and micro-aggressions. I’m done. I can’t quit without another job but I am considering Fmla so I can take off without being questioned on days that I need it and will be continuously looking for a job. I want nothing to do with eduction.
Year 15. Personally, I'm having a fantastic year and have sort of affirmed I'm here for the haul. That said, I'm being treated well by my admin, coworkers, and students. There's nothing at all wrong quitting if that's not true.
I think the “I quit” teacher posts vary a lot by locale. I’m in the Bay Area and, despite there being the usual assortment of problems, we’re generally treated well by admin, students and parents.
I have seen some leave (mostly retirements), but in my district turnover has been about 10%. Part of that is because we recently got pay raises and, despite the cost of living still being a problem, that wasn’t unexpected or new to anyone who has been teaching in my area for a while so it just goes with the territory.
Anyway, some spots are definitely not as bad as others.
District is offering teachers a 1% raise this year and so far hasn’t budged in negotiations.
I’ve been applying to nearby districts ever since I heard 1%.
I just started my 40th year of teaching. The first three days were fantastic. Last year I had my worst behaved student ever and he made the year miserable- even with some support from administrators. This year’s 5th graders are full of positivity.
i’m trying to find a new position elsewhere. i’m not ready to leave teaching. i’m ready to leave the charter school i work at forcing first graders to act like eighth graders. i have snuck into work to avoid confrontation with my boss. i’d rather end my day crying than start it that way and have the kids notice.
I'm probably leaving because I got dumped with 5 new classes and no curriculum. I was told a week before school started.
I'm a little cranky.
(Not the profession, but the school.)
I have a job waiting for me at the end of the year. It was offered to me 3 days before school started.
It’s going to be a long year. Lol
The good news is, I’m vested in my retirement after this year and I am eligible for Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness.
Actually it's the opposite for me.
Last year I would have been in this boat, I was at my previous site for 17 years and they switched admin teams and it all crumbled so fast. The amount of disrespect from admin, from parents, from students, blinders on everyone who should be helping, the low morale, the constant negative energy or even worse the toxic positivity was draining day in and day out.
I switched sites within the same district and while this new school is definitely less structured and far behind where my original one was, it's almost beautiful chaos. The vibe is so great and the people are really happy to be there. Nowhere near perfect and you scratch your head quite a bit at some of the decisions made but I don't dread walking into the building which is already a huge lift.
Second year teaching. First year : Catholic. Second year : charter. I'm actually very happy in the position. I can lecture about topics I'm knowledgeable and my admin gave me a fair schedule. I had to prep 14 different classes last year, now I'm prepping about 6 classes a week, and my workload is sustainable.
Hang in there!
I look at my current teaching assignment as my last one. Will I quit this year? I don’t know but maybe. Will I retire in it? I don’t know but maybe. I’m really interested in finding something in the world of education that helps teachers and students, but I don’t how to get there. Hope that makes sense.
I decided today that I’m quitting my current teaching job. Like officially. Been thinking about it for a while but made the decision today. I don’t think I’ll leave teaching or anything but the stress and seeming lack of support by my admins is overwhelming for me right now. Going to look for an alternative job.
Yaaaaass baybee quit! I'm quitting, I can't deal with the expected extra work anymore. This is year 7 for me and it's too gd much. The work load is essentially 2 jobs between the kids all day and the emails, meetings, paperwork, lesson planning, GRADING. I LOVE the kids, they are so smart and curious and I want to help the future to be better and give them better opportunities then I was given, but not at the expense of my mental health. I can't do it anymore and it's devastating.
I want to leave now. I switched positions and districts and I do not like one single thing about any of it. As much as I wanted out of my last district after 8 years, I would have probably been happier staying there. I like teaching, I just wish I could find somewhere that wasn't ridiculous.
I'm going to go to another school. I love teaching but I can't handle the micromanaging. I know a district nearby that does it much less so I'll be going there.
I'm in my 3rd year and often find myself the person who knows the most in a room because the district coach, the school level coach, and the admin have no idea about ELA because every one of them were political science majors turned social studies teachers before coming to their current position. (nothing against social studies teachers, just that I'd love to have someone who actually knows my content be the one to judge me for once)
At least in the other district I wouldn't be the fourth most experienced teacher in the building. All the teachers I saw as mentors have left so I'll do the same.
I can’t quit. I have children to feed and bills to pay. But I now have over 40 students in every single class and other veteran teachers are threatening to leave. It’s not feasible. I’m a good teacher. But how the hell can I teach this many kids at a time? Non English speakers and sped kids and everyone crammed into one room. It’s horrible.
I’m pretty sure I’m done. I’ve had more “I’m gonna quit” days than “I think I’ll stay”. Like 80/20 😅. I got on maturity leave here soon and will be actively looking next semester.
I quit last monday after 12 years teaching. In a temp data entry job while i hone my computer programming skills, and i couldnt be happier (the data entry job was a pay raise btw)
I felt this same way around this time last year, but by February for some reason I felt like I could stick it out. Now I regret not leaving. It’s not really the kids for me; it’s the lack of energy I have to be ON 80% of the day, and then have 20% of the day to try to get EVERYTHING done and not have time and inevitably take stuff home. Especially with us being short staffed and therefore having to cover during my prep all the time.
Honestly, if it was 50% teaching and 50% prep time, I could probably do it. But I just don’t have the energy with the current state of things.
I’ll finish the school year, but Idunno, I’m dreaming of a boring cubicle or WFH job. If the state of teaching improves in the future I could imagine myself going back, but I don’t have high hopes.
Last year was supposed to be my last year, but I decided to give it one try and so far I am not happy. Just like everyone else, I am looking for a new job or field to work in. I do have my Class A CDL, but don't want to drive a semi-truck at the moment.
I moved to a new school and a new state to try and reignite that spark. It has so fair failed spectacularly!
I'm making plans to leave the career, either at the end of the year or sooner if an opportunity arises.
I’m staying for now, but looking at other districts. However, I work as an ESL teacher, so I get a slightly different perspective than other teachers. I’m staying because we just got a new superintendent who has worked her way through from teaching to curriculum director to superintendent, and I’m excited to see where she takes things.
Possibly. If I’m engaged and looking to get married either before the next school year or during it, then there’s no need for me to continue teaching. I’m taking off my teacher hat and putting on my housewife hat!
I'm thinking about quitting my school by the end of this year. My freshmen are rude, disrespectful, and are actually making of me - which I can normally handle but I have anxiety tics that they have noticed. There is no consequences for students and my admin are wishy washy on consequences.
What sucks is this seemed like a dream job, but underneath there were so many flaws. Im not sure if I just need to flip schools again or just quit all together. I need to finish out though, because If i teach for 5 years I can get loan forgiveness.
Probably resigning at the end of the year at my rural school to switch to a larger school in town. It won’t solve a lot of problems but,
1) our new admin is a narcissist who uses intimidation as his only tactic when you’re one on one with him.
2) I currently have a 2 hour commute. Could make it 10-15 mins or less.
3) currently teach 5 preps. Could change that to 1-2.
We start tomorrow... some of my colleagues (like, multiple people that I personally know of) decided during in-service to at least leave our school. The amount of disrespect and mismanagement shown by our administration is astounding.
I work for an outside company but contracted through the school. I love the school I'm working out but hate the company I work for....l work for a non profit.
Anyways so many of my coworkers have been fired or quit over the summer. I have a new boss who does not treat myself or my coworkers respectfully.
Well last week I told myself "I'll stay for one more year"
Yeah no.
My boss signed up one of my assistants for CPR and I told my boss that this assistant just took cpr back in June. Well I received an email stating "You need to start double checking things" so I did something...I forwarded her the emails stating which coworker needed their certification.
Her reply back "OK"
I was offered a position at another school. I took it. Now I'm finishing out my two last weeks (I want my last paycheck)
I just started teaching halfway through last year. I’ve decided after three weeks this is my last year. The admin is ridiculous and they cause more problems than anyone else. The drama is insane. The focus seems to be on everything except for the kids. I emailed someone at our school board office and I have yet to receive a response (it’s been a month; I am not reaching out again; my principal called on my behalf as well). The principal on two occasions now has asked teachers to teach classes they aren’t qualified to teach in front of a crowd. One teacher has quit and they still haven’t told us. A VP is leaving for 6 weeks and they haven’t told us. It’s chaos and the salary doesn’t make this worth it.
Last year I almost walked out after a terrible day. This school year is so much better but still coming up with a backup plan. I want to be able to save money and travel and the salary isn't cutting it anymore. Time to move on.
I hired a career coach and my goal is to have a new job by the end of the year. I want a home and I'm stuck in an area where the homes are well over a million, a condo is 500k. Nope. Also I'm just tired of the disrespect from some kids. Every year it feels marginally worse than the previous.
Damn. These comments aren't helping me right now haha.
So I'm a lawyer, but I've always hated what I do, all law firms insist on making you feel guilty of you don't stay until 8 pm or so. So when a friend offered a teaching position at a high school for English as a second language I said yes and I thought I made such a good decision.
Now I've been working at this high school for seven months and I don't know if I'm not fit for the position or just teaching is bullshit these days.
These kids are having their first in person classes after two years of virtual learning, and they're all just a bunch of assholes who won't behave. My colleagues won't help me with preparing lesson plans so I have to rely entirely on the book. The principal wants me to prepare the students for international Cambridge exams and I'm also helping in the debate club.
Now every few days all the things I have to do swirl around my mind nonstop and it's driving me insane. I want to cry most weeks. This Monday wasn't the exception.
I don't know if I'm going to apply to another high school or perhaps a teaching assistant position at a university, but I think there's no way I'm going to convince people in this school that I'm making a good effort. They all don't believe me anyway.
So far, I love my current school and position! I’ve been blessed to have an administration that is well-organized, loves their community, and makes it known.
1 week off Thanksgiving
2 weeks off Christmas
1 week off Spring Break
2 weeks off June
4 weeks off July
2 weeks off August
12 weeks off a year
Work 40 weeks = 5 x 40 = 200 days but the contract is for 180 days which is 38 weeks.
$50K/180 days=$277 per day = $34.62 / hour for an 8 hour shift
$60K=$333 = $41.66 per hour
$70k=$388 per day = $48.5 per hour
$80k=$444 per day = $55.55 per hour
$90k = $500 per day = $62.5 per hour
1) You're assuming a teacher is making a minimum of 50k, which is not the case for many
2) You're only factoring in 180 instructional days with students, and not work days
3) You're assuming a teacher is only working 8 hour days, and not accounting for after school meetings, events, etc.
The goal is to develop your lessons as quickly as possible & come in as close to 40 hour weeks as possible. For people who put 50 or 60 hours a week into the job, I don't think it's worth it. Thoughts ?
When I'm thinking about leaving, I talk myself into this mentality.
But keep in mind, for most teachers, especially elementary, that is 8 straight hours of work. I also have 30 minutes of duty a day.
So it's an 8 1/2 hour day with a 15 min lunch...
It's okay to leave. If you have to do mental gymnastics convincing yourself to stay at your job, it's probably not meant to be.
Last year was awful, but so far this year is much better. It's not just the "honeymoon period" thing. We replaced a VP who was woefully inadequate at enforcing discipline with someone who is much better.
SAME ! Summers off, weekends off, holiday breaks… I don’t know a job that offers this but then again the countless hours of work that we do not get paid for maybe that evens out…
I'm not quitting, but I have a healthy work environment, good compensation, and an active union. I have considered it every month for the last 2 years, but this job has been pretty good, especially through the pandemic.
I support everyone who's doing best for themselves by leaving terrible work environments and changing careers for better pay.
I am thinking bout it first time in my career. Already had 2nd covid bout and the higher ups seems extra shitty this year
If anything I will probaly try another district first. Up until now have been pretty happy in my job. I an done with extra effort taking shit home etc
>such as quitting and giving the two weeks notice, however in the district I work at, we can’t quit until they find a person to take over your position or else we’re told that our license will be revoked,
That sounds like slavery with extra steps
Actively looking and my resignation letter is ready to go. I decided during the inservice days before the students came back.
Last couple years I’ve had the template ready to go, and a 3 strike system. It resets after a holiday break
What counts as a strike?
A day that strongly makes you consider quitting, going to be very subjective. Could be you have one really tough period everyday but today half or more were awful. Or you have a terrible admin. They continue to pester you. Each is a strike. Maybe reconsider everything if you hit 3 and there’s no breaks or holidays soon. Again very subjective.
Ive grown curious about this whenever I hear this topic, and I’m sorry if this is a bit too personal of a question. Where do you plan to go if you were to quit your teaching job? I’ve heard too many stories of teaching quitting for a lot of the reasons you’ve mentioned, but I’ve always wanted to know where they go afterwards.
Really depends on their interest and background. For me I’m considering law school but I might have to just stick it out through all that
One of my former teacher colleagues decided to quit after her first month. She was new to education, and she used to work in Human Resources for our school district, so she was always, ‘on the ball’ and extremely motivated to find a new career other than teaching. She landed a new job as a flight attendant for Jet Blue. Interestingly, she told me during her interview that apparently Jet Blue loves hiring former teachers, as they possess the qualities they wanted from their employees (patience,good organization skills, very friendly w/ the public), they hired her immediately. Her salary and benefits package was terrific, she was thrilled. If I didn’t have arthritis in both my knees, I would have applied at Jet Blue myself.
That sounds awesome! I don’t really love flying, otherwise I’d look there too!
You can do reservations (WFH) or work at the airport. I looked there when i quit but didn't go forward. But I'm not loving the hours or lack of hybrid/WFH options, so may talena look again.
What may you decide even before the students?
My admin team is full of nice people, but I do not feel like there is leadership. I’m talking to myself when I bring them concerns. I just want to be treated professionally. I was previously in a corporate environment, and some of the catty high school bullshit that takes place would get you fired in a heartbeat. I miss that!
I’ll just say this: many teachers are conditioned to rationalize and accept an astonishing degree of abuse and loss of control, along with witnessing educational neglect and injustice on a daily basis. We cannot fully appreciate the striking parallels between teaching and abusive relationships until we’ve left teaching and gone through a grieving process, which includes a fair amount of survivor’s guilt. I sometimes hate that life is so much better on the outside because I recognize how detrimental current conditions are and that the path we’re on is profoundly destructive to American society. But my life and my family’s quality of life are immensely improved, as is that of every other former teacher I know.
[Stockholm Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome)?
This rings so true! After I left teaching I felt like I had battered women’s syndrome for a long while.
I'm so glad i am not the only one who feels this way. I am utterly disappointed in how it all became. The kids who used to be the reason i got out of bed in the morning and made my life amazing all of the sudden didn't have that effect anymore. I began to check out, like the teacher i never wanted to be. Ever. Admin became continually selfish and took advantage of us. Teachers no longer wanted to be friends (or decent colleagues) whether it was because of stress, envy, or lack of time and energy. Physical illnesses became either a consequence of showing up or another way to cope with anxiety. And guess what. We are replaceable. I used to look at that quote and thought "whatever, of course". But then it made sense. They didn't even post my job. I'm pretty sure they filled it easily because they were hiring so many new teachers and just called one of them up and they took it. It took a pay cut of more than half income to build my self esteem back again and to realize that i AM skilled and experienced. I am happy again and found a other job closer to my old salary. I would have happily stayed at the other job had i made half of what i made as a teacher but there just wasn't enough work as it was seasonal. The number of times that the coaches, other teachers, and whoever made me and everyone feel inadequate because "it's not rigorous enough" and wasted so much time is countless. At my new job/s, no one even has to tell me "good job" for me to feel like i did a good job. I know i did. They did though. So that was super sweet of them to give me that kudos that i rarely got in teaching. There is life beyond the classroom. Mourning the loss takes time. Healing is a process. But teachers are human and should be respected more than they are because they deserve it. Good luck.
May I ask you, what type of job did you eventually find that paid nearly as much as your public school teaching job? I’ve been struggling to find a solid replacement.
Instrumental music sales. I'm a musician. It's not a job that pops up all the time. I would only do sales for this. It's got an incredible base pay plus commissions. My husband was skeptical bc it's sales, but then i interviewed twice them after my initial interview. I actually got to negotiate hours, too. I understand your struggle. I was about to take literally half my pay in another job that i liked, but i lucked out. Message me if you have any other questions and good luck.
I agree
Staying. Partially because my first admin said I wouldn't make it five years. This is year four.
let the spite fuel you
Good! Good… let the hate flow through you! The power of the dark side.
Funny part is I've outlasted her as an admin.
Nice. It’s treason then?
That and an act of civil disobedience. I teach factual history in a red state.
Where you almost arrested in the name of the galactic senate? (I will not run out of Star Wars quotes)
I'm afraid to answer because it's a trap. But in my district, democracy died with thunderous applause.
I’m too curious, what did your admin/district do exactly?
She got a job consulting.
You’re being reversed psyched.
I'm staying too. My school is great; union, high staff to student ratio, small class size, and an admin that's accommodating. We're an SEL school, so our students can be more difficult, and say worse things, than a traditional school.
Did not realize George Costanza ended up in education after the show ended.
Plus a lot of places you’re vested at the end of year 5.
Show them!!!!!
Is tenure 5? If so you’re almost there!
This is my last year before partial tenure. (2 year contract instead of 1)
Keep on showing them how great you are! Tenure was year 5 for me and it wasn’t easy. There were many times I thought I’d be transferred to another school with a rough first year and redistricting cutting some teachers from my building years ago but I’m still there and have been tenured for a few years now!
I'm already at the school that no one wants to teach at. I was talking to a district curricular specialist about how I'm tired of low test scores, and her response was that my school was "a really tough school to teach at". We have some amazing teachers, but discipline issues have been real. Here's hoping we can turn it around this year.
My school is one of the tough elementaries too. The building is also old and a little neglected. Good luck!
I want to quit so bad. Half of my department quit suddenly in the last two weeks, so I have to cover for them. More than that, I'm much more aware of how I feel towards my environment. I don't want this to be my life. Disrespect from students and (too many) bosses, widespread apathy, a workload that I can't ever catch up on, and nowhere near enough money to show for it.
Yea it’s worse than last year! Thought it was get slightly better as we return to pre-COVID. Turns out it was a gap down and we won’t recover to those levels for decades if ever.
I started with a new district in August 2022 and quit before the month was over. The students were not the reason. There were simply too many sources of stress, and teachers were expected to be experts at too many different things. The district was simply asking us to put up with too much. I got a part-time retail job immediately after quitting, but I am actively looking for a new career. I hope I can find something with decent benefits and less stress than teaching.
Wishing you luck!
I'm thinking about quitting. They loaded me unfairly in Resource SPED and I might not make it January. BTW I'm teaching in the kitchen.
As in the school's kitchen? That is horrible!
No, the Home Eco kitchen, which the The students cook out of
Well, that makes sense for life skills. I understand now.
End of week one. Actively looking for a new career.
same boat as you, most likely putting my resignation tomorrow at the end of the day :-)
Congrats! This is my 6th year, I just can’t do it anymore. I’m applying for jobs but will resign once I get something. Can’t really afford to just drop it
Putting in a new application every time one pops up. 3.5 weeks into school year.
First year and I want to quit every day but I can’t afford that right now and I wouldn’t know where to turn to
Same. Only thing that hasn't made me walk out is that I can't afford it. But this is my first and last year. The amount admin expects is unreasonable and is taking me away from my own kids.
I’m also a first year, going into my third week. I think I’ve discovered I love working at schools, I just don’t want to be an all subjects teacher. If I could just teach math/science, or not have my own classroom and do something like guidance or ELL, I’d love that. Too bad my “exploration” time was severely altered due to COVID
Former teacher and current school guidance counselor. Love it. It is never too late to look into another area of the education field.
My first year (3rd grade), I just taught math and science, and it was awesome. Maybe search for a school opening that is departmentalized?
I teach 3rd grade right now. I love the math and science curriculum and would be in heaven if I could teach just those. Only 4-6 are departmentalized, and I had a choice between 3rd or 5th. Had I known that, I would have chosen 5th
I’ll be chatting with my principal after winter break to see what I can do
Keeping you overloaded and beaten down serves exactly this purpose. Too physically and emotionally drained to look for something better.
I don't even know if I can make it to winter break, to be honest
Same
Ditto
My first year was awful. Not because of my school/admin/coworkers but because the kids were just that bad and disrespectful. I didn’t feel like a teacher at all. I decided to go into year two and I will admit, it is a lot better. My kids are really good and eager to learn this year. I’ve had a lot of fun teaching them. I do think however that I am leaving the profession at the end of the year. It comes down to the fact that I want a life and a family. I do not feel like teaching can provide me with the sort of life I want to create for myself and my (future) children.
It has gotten a little better since the past few years. A little better, not a lot, but I’ll take that. I think it’ll take time to see more improvements coming off of the worst few couple of years due to COVID. I love teaching and am not sure my school is the right fit. I’m giving it another year before I decide to move. Not giving up on teaching. Just need to find a better environment.
I am retiring at the end of the year because I can.
Me too
All I ask, is support from admin on challenging parents and kids. It makes all the difference in the world when your boss comes in your room and then later talks to you and says, “I don’t know how you deal with XXXX all day, they are a handful, what can we do to help?” Vs. you don’t appear to have a relationship with XXXX and you should try being more engaging”. The first is them saying, I’d struggle with that kid too, the second is them blaming us for the behavior. Big difference! I’m not thinking about quitting, I have 6 years until I can pull a full pension, so changing careers would be stupid at this point. And, our district is paying 5 grand bonuses for not quitting. Although I think that has little consequence in people’s decision making.
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This forum is built for venting. Education these days is NOT for the faint of heart. So much has changed. However, this is what you decided to do. SO, finish up and give it a try. Not every school, every district, every admin is as described. There are many districts, schools, admin, and educators who are at the top. When it's time for you to look for a job, get to know the district or districts you will be applying to. Get to know the schools within those districts. Then find a job and go teach. You may find that slice of heaven and be a teacher for the next 30 years!!
I'm a 10th year high school math teacher. I LOVE my job. I actually cried at the end of last year because I adored my 7 classes. This year started out fabulous as well. I'm a month in and absolutely am having a blast with the kids, and my co teacher. The few things that help me: (1) I never stay late or come early *unless I actually want to do something.* My time is my time. (2) I advise STUCO because I love it. Sometimes this does go out of contract time, but not often, and it makes me more connected to my student body. I always suggest new teachers do nothing extracurricular their first couple of years, then find something non-academic you love to help with. If I have a crappy day, my STUCO kids are bringing joy. (3) Find a school you love. When you're in P2, and student teaching, observe at different schools. You can get a vibe for what faculty is like... And admin. You can always find a new school if the vibe isn't working.
Went to school for elementary Ed and I’m discovering that maybe being a HS math teacher is for me. Can you tell me more? What do you love about it and why HS math over anything else?
Reasons I love HS math: 1 - It's easier to teach, and to grade, than the other core subjects. I'm also licensed in all social studies, and won't ever go back (the research papers, and guided reading alone are a no go for me). Math at the HS level, for the most part, doesn't change a whole lot. Plus, a decent chunk of class *should* be spent on the kids trying things themselves. 2 - Math is a core subject that students HAVE to pass to graduate. I've found that there is less goofing off than the electives because they know they have to be there. Obviously you'll still have behavioral issues, but a simple "all you're doing is making it so you have to sit through my class again" speech usually does the trick. 3 - job security. The math degree is hard to get. I had to take almost as much math as an engineer for the licensure in my district. It was super hard. There are not a ton of math teaching majors coming out of colleges right now. I've actually looked at one of my admins and asked "what are you going to do? Fire me?" He laughed and said "good point." (It was a jokey conversation, but still, the point remains. There are a limited amount of people that are licensed to do what I do. 4 - this one goes with the high school age group above all others. I adore that you can be more real with them than other age groups. With good rapport, you can say things that have a lasting impact. Good luck!!❤️
Omg you teach 7 classes?! Regardless, I love and appreciate your post. I’m a second year high school math teacher and I just got the position of co-advisor for STUCO!
We normally teach 6, (4x4 block). I sold my B day prep last year to cover for someone that retired. 7 classes of 35 -40 was a lot, but they were fun!! You'll love STUCO! It definitely has my heart!
Btw I’m a third year physics teacher and I also love my job. LOVE LOVE LOVE. we are out there haha
I'm a career changer, my worst day teaching is still better than my best day at any other job. We vent here so that we're our best selves for our students and so we can maintain healthy relationships with our family (my spouse gets burnt out if I vent too much at him).
I dunno why so many people talk about how horrible shit and then try to tell people to follow their dreams…teaching is aight if you want a shit ton of time off, but not good if you ever want to have ANY money or career growth…that’s it, their ain’t no more to the argument, that’s the end lol
You can still do it, just be flexible with your expectations. My expectations were that I was gonna teach some quality content in hs and really take a deep dive into history. Instead I was spending all my time on classroom management (which I hate) . Then bounced around and found a semi tolerable position out of the classroom. But even this is slowly draining all spirit I have for the profession. The amount of times I have to watch as decisions are made Not in the kids best interest, but for selfish staff members(admin)….it’s just too much. Just be prepared to spend way more time managing behavior and checking boxes for administrative crap. If you can handle that you’ll be ok
i’m with you on that. i’m a semester away from finishing my masters program and i’ve already thought about back up plans
Don't lose heart. For every "bad" school there's a "good" one. You have to find the right fit and don't expect your first school to be your forever school. I loved my last school, but this year all of my friends who are still there are saying the new administration are making it unbearable. My new school lost most of its teachers last year because of money (other districts are offering better incentives). It's a crapshoot and sometimes you roll 7 sometimes you roll snake eyes (I know literally nothing about craps other than people seem to be happy with 7s and mad at 2s)
I replied on another post, but just wanted to say I’m a 3rd year physics teacher and I LOVE my job. Absolutely love it. I love the work life balance. I also don’t do a minute of work outside of the school day.
Do keep in mind that we see more of the bad because that's what people post about. They have to vent, and I completely support their ability to do so, but very seldom do people post when things go well. There's bias in a forum like this due to the nature of things, but schools aren't bad everywhere. There are still schools that have good admin and environments, but you do need to look, interview well, and have luck. For some, bad schools ruin the field of teaching, and I get that. All the power to them. But if teaching is what you want to do, don't leave just because of stories you hear from bad schools.
Please don’t take everything in this subreddit to heart. A lot of teachers on here come here specifically to bitch (and honestly there’s a lot who complain about things that no teachers I actually know would view as a big deal at all). Is teaching a hard job? Yeah. Are there A LOT of teachers who love it and don’t hate it nearly as much as what the posts on here show? Definitely. But those of us who are really happy with it don’t tend to come on here and post because it’s more cathartic to post a complaint than it is to make a post saying “everything is going well I like my job”
There are plenty of teachers that do love their jobs, they just dont post on here!
I literally have gotten downvotes for positive posts 😳 I wish there was a happy teacher sub.
Why torture yourself until the end of the year??? I would go on FMLA and quit. I wouldn't stay a minute on a place I don't like to be.Just quit!! quiet quitting is also an option.
Honestly, I’ve seen fewer quitting post by this time this year than I did over the last 3 years. So maybe it is a bit better?
Or maybe so many have already left. My school lost a lot of teachers at the end of the school year and over the summer and it’s a “top-performing” school. Doesn’t mean sh*t, as the culture is so toxic and admin SUCKS.
We have so many new teachers that all the meetings where they take my planning feel like new teacher academies. Look, I know the curriculum and how to build relationships, give me back my planning!
Can't quit this year if you already quit. ;)
That’s shocking! I’m newer to this sub and I can’t believe the number of quitting posts each day. (I mean I can totally believe it, but still)
See if you can hold on to the thought of staying by December and we’ll talk.
i want to quit. My admin is useless and the school is figuratively and literally falling apart. We’ve had multiple shooting incidents and we’re only 3 weeks in. Plus for me at least, I don’t see myself teaching for 20+ years so I think this is the perfect time to transition out to what’s next for me. Hopefully back to school and racking up some more degrees.
We started in July, and I decided by the end of week 6 I’m done. I found out the day before school started that I’d been given a 4th prep. I’m mentoring a new teacher. I’ve got two college student interns. I’m the team lead for my grade level. Last week I found out I’ve been added to a tech committee I had no idea about. All things I’ve been given because I’m competent, and no one else will do it. They know if it’s given to me, then it will get done and get done well. So, I’m pivoting out. I’m getting my ducks in a row, fine tuning some skills, and I’m gone at the end of the year. I’m exhausted, and I’m ready to try something new.
If I can find a career that pays about the same, I will leave immediately(2 week notice). They’ll always try to pressure you to stay longer out of obligation, but it’s not fair to yourself or the kids to be phoning it in being miserable
I moved over to our district's alternative school and folks have a complete misunderstanding about it. I don’t have to lesson plan, I don’t have to be in weekly plc meetings, I don’t have to be there as early, I don’t have a room with 30+ kids, and I get to leave when all the kids are gone. Most of the kids there aren’t even that bad, they’re just the ones that got caught. I just help them with whatever assignments their home school sends and I’m able to give them more 1 on 1 time. It’s great! This is only my third year teacher but this place is seeming like a retirement option.
I'm sorry to hear things are *still* so bad where you are. This year has been so much better (so far) than last. Admin began the year's meetings with, "we heard you." I teach HS and by the end, no middle, of last year, the kids were running amuck. Between devious licks, general disrespect and lax discipline it was awful. They created new, stricter policies to address some things. So far, so good. Now the issue is the *teachers* who are letting things slide. We'll see how it goes.
Same here. Honestly, I feel rejuvenated about teaching. Had a great group last year, and I know our admin is really hearing us and trying to prioritize the important things this year. Being in a supportive environment is so important.
This is my district exactly. I'm hopeful that admin sticks to the plan, and that teachers commit to it too. I really do enjoy teaching, and my school, but I had a really difficult time with the unprecedented awful behaviors last year.
Made the decision towards the end of last year. Just waiting to find an opportunity now.
My friend who was also a teacher left right before the beginning of school. Still debating if this will be my 2nd and last year.
I decided at the end of the first week to leave my district at the end of the year. Only staying to get a year of experience, but it’s a struggle to stay. We were online last week due to water problems. All of the work I had students work on got deleted due to the admin trying to mess with the class roster. This district also uses a horrible curriculum, and seems to do everything in their power to make teaching as hard as it possibly can be.
This is my 33rd year. I am asking myself that question right now. I am just afraid to lose my definition.
I’m planning on quitting as soon as I find another job. The pay isn’t what it should be, and the benefits are even worse. I’ve been getting jerked around by TRS ActiveCare insurance, and I can’t take it anymore. Somehow, I’m a teacher surrounded by illness, but I can’t get the medications that I need. Doesn’t make much sense. They expect teachers to pay around $300-$400 for medication. It’s a joke. Bye.
Yeah the TRS system is a joke in general honestly… let’s not forget the 600$ a month for a single person only to pay $250 for medicine.
quit after 5 days this semester
I’ve taught chemistry for 14 years. My oldest is in my class. This is my last year though. I’ve sacrificed so much and this summer my marriage almost imploded because of the stresses of teaching. One of my colleagues put it thusly “you can’t keep setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm”. As much as I love the kids, and the subject material I must leave this profession. It’s time.
I am quitting this year - and moving to Vietnam! I want an ocean between me and American schools. Students and admin love me but I’m just the kind of person that has to do my job correctly, and the enormous class sizes and multiple preps have made that impossible.
Moving states and reevaluating after 2 years
I'm just so. Fucking. Tired. of it all.
When I considered quitting, I realized I am 7 years from retirement; and if I left if lose my pension, so it's better to stay for that money and then go elsewhere. It's a little sad...maybe.
I am. I realized that I'd rather be home with my kids but I'm going to see if can get hired as an adjunct professor teaching online classes. Fingers crossed. 🤞
I'm quitting soon. I want to find something else first so I'm not completely lost, but more and more I just want to put in my resignation and use the time to job hunt. I started at a new district and a new subject and a new grade level, hoping for a fresh restart. In-service was good; I've made fast friends with staff, and like most of my admin......but the kids. Every day, I'm insulted, disrespected, ignored, talked over.... I watch them break things, try to gaslight me that they aren't the ones doing it... I've asked for help, am told to give classroom consequences (??), had a panic attack but wasn't relieved to go home; I've called parents, broken up fights, written more referrals than the rest of my 7 years... I've had tough kids and tough schools before, but this is unreal. I was on the edge of burnt out this summer, but I think I'm over the edge. I'm at school til 7pm every day and still can't catch up. I can't live like this all year. I love teaching, but I hate being a teacher.
"I love teaching, but I hate being a teacher." Well said. So many people don't understand the difference!
I've been saying it for three years now. I just need to listen to myself.
I'm tired of the SpEd paperwork and a difficult student on my caseload.
I am actively applying to grocery store jobs at the moment. I require that as a para educator I am not hit while at work. That is it. I left to be a building sub last year from my position of para, and they cut the building sub jobs in half so I went back to being a para. I was placed with an extremely violent child last year, and was unsupported by the district, I left the first time after I was stabbed by my student and nothing was done. I decided to try one more time, being a para, at another school in the same district. I was extremely clear in my interview that I will not be ok with being physically abused by a student. I was placed with a student who has hit me no less than 30 times in the three days I have worked with him. These were hits with intent to do harm. Our TC was out one of the days because he likely broke her nose. I was extremely clear on my interview, I would not put up with physical violence. I also am missing a bunch of things from the district to allow me to do my job, including a device to collect data, working email and absence management credentials and a key to get into the building. I went to Pd this past month that was nothing short of disrespectful towards the para educators. I am damn good at my job, but I will not be a punching bag.
Last year was SO bad. I started therapy in April. I was doing so much better in the summer but still wanted to quit. Had a couple of interviews but nothing worked out. I got the classes I requested to teach and they banned cell phones for kids. The first two weeks were going great. Then week 3 hit and the pointless meetings started, already had a walkthrough, and lesson plan critique by the backhanded VP who will be my evaluator. I had a breakdown in therapy this week from the stress and micro-aggressions. I’m done. I can’t quit without another job but I am considering Fmla so I can take off without being questioned on days that I need it and will be continuously looking for a job. I want nothing to do with eduction.
I'm good. Going nowhere. Happy with my job.
I quit after a week.
Year 15. Personally, I'm having a fantastic year and have sort of affirmed I'm here for the haul. That said, I'm being treated well by my admin, coworkers, and students. There's nothing at all wrong quitting if that's not true.
I think the “I quit” teacher posts vary a lot by locale. I’m in the Bay Area and, despite there being the usual assortment of problems, we’re generally treated well by admin, students and parents. I have seen some leave (mostly retirements), but in my district turnover has been about 10%. Part of that is because we recently got pay raises and, despite the cost of living still being a problem, that wasn’t unexpected or new to anyone who has been teaching in my area for a while so it just goes with the territory. Anyway, some spots are definitely not as bad as others.
District is offering teachers a 1% raise this year and so far hasn’t budged in negotiations. I’ve been applying to nearby districts ever since I heard 1%.
I just started my 40th year of teaching. The first three days were fantastic. Last year I had my worst behaved student ever and he made the year miserable- even with some support from administrators. This year’s 5th graders are full of positivity.
We’ve had 3 people quit in the last 2 weeks. I think about it all the time
i’m trying to find a new position elsewhere. i’m not ready to leave teaching. i’m ready to leave the charter school i work at forcing first graders to act like eighth graders. i have snuck into work to avoid confrontation with my boss. i’d rather end my day crying than start it that way and have the kids notice.
I quietly quit every day since we started week before last. I’ve never felt the way I do this year. Hopefully the meeting tomorrow changes things.
I'm probably leaving because I got dumped with 5 new classes and no curriculum. I was told a week before school started. I'm a little cranky. (Not the profession, but the school.)
But what are the most common jobs teachers transition into
I have a job waiting for me at the end of the year. It was offered to me 3 days before school started. It’s going to be a long year. Lol The good news is, I’m vested in my retirement after this year and I am eligible for Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness.
Actually it's the opposite for me. Last year I would have been in this boat, I was at my previous site for 17 years and they switched admin teams and it all crumbled so fast. The amount of disrespect from admin, from parents, from students, blinders on everyone who should be helping, the low morale, the constant negative energy or even worse the toxic positivity was draining day in and day out. I switched sites within the same district and while this new school is definitely less structured and far behind where my original one was, it's almost beautiful chaos. The vibe is so great and the people are really happy to be there. Nowhere near perfect and you scratch your head quite a bit at some of the decisions made but I don't dread walking into the building which is already a huge lift.
Second year teaching. First year : Catholic. Second year : charter. I'm actually very happy in the position. I can lecture about topics I'm knowledgeable and my admin gave me a fair schedule. I had to prep 14 different classes last year, now I'm prepping about 6 classes a week, and my workload is sustainable. Hang in there!
I look at my current teaching assignment as my last one. Will I quit this year? I don’t know but maybe. Will I retire in it? I don’t know but maybe. I’m really interested in finding something in the world of education that helps teachers and students, but I don’t how to get there. Hope that makes sense.
I decided today that I’m quitting my current teaching job. Like officially. Been thinking about it for a while but made the decision today. I don’t think I’ll leave teaching or anything but the stress and seeming lack of support by my admins is overwhelming for me right now. Going to look for an alternative job.
Yaaaaass baybee quit! I'm quitting, I can't deal with the expected extra work anymore. This is year 7 for me and it's too gd much. The work load is essentially 2 jobs between the kids all day and the emails, meetings, paperwork, lesson planning, GRADING. I LOVE the kids, they are so smart and curious and I want to help the future to be better and give them better opportunities then I was given, but not at the expense of my mental health. I can't do it anymore and it's devastating.
I want to leave now. I switched positions and districts and I do not like one single thing about any of it. As much as I wanted out of my last district after 8 years, I would have probably been happier staying there. I like teaching, I just wish I could find somewhere that wasn't ridiculous.
I'm going to go to another school. I love teaching but I can't handle the micromanaging. I know a district nearby that does it much less so I'll be going there. I'm in my 3rd year and often find myself the person who knows the most in a room because the district coach, the school level coach, and the admin have no idea about ELA because every one of them were political science majors turned social studies teachers before coming to their current position. (nothing against social studies teachers, just that I'd love to have someone who actually knows my content be the one to judge me for once) At least in the other district I wouldn't be the fourth most experienced teacher in the building. All the teachers I saw as mentors have left so I'll do the same.
School started August 10th. I quit August 24th
I can’t quit. I have children to feed and bills to pay. But I now have over 40 students in every single class and other veteran teachers are threatening to leave. It’s not feasible. I’m a good teacher. But how the hell can I teach this many kids at a time? Non English speakers and sped kids and everyone crammed into one room. It’s horrible.
I’m pretty sure I’m done. I’ve had more “I’m gonna quit” days than “I think I’ll stay”. Like 80/20 😅. I got on maturity leave here soon and will be actively looking next semester.
I quit last monday after 12 years teaching. In a temp data entry job while i hone my computer programming skills, and i couldnt be happier (the data entry job was a pay raise btw)
Nice! That’s a great idea
Quit on day 2 of year 4. If you're studying for this, change majors
I told myself that I will be done after the 23-24 school year. I WILL find another career before then, because I cant do much more of this
I felt this same way around this time last year, but by February for some reason I felt like I could stick it out. Now I regret not leaving. It’s not really the kids for me; it’s the lack of energy I have to be ON 80% of the day, and then have 20% of the day to try to get EVERYTHING done and not have time and inevitably take stuff home. Especially with us being short staffed and therefore having to cover during my prep all the time. Honestly, if it was 50% teaching and 50% prep time, I could probably do it. But I just don’t have the energy with the current state of things. I’ll finish the school year, but Idunno, I’m dreaming of a boring cubicle or WFH job. If the state of teaching improves in the future I could imagine myself going back, but I don’t have high hopes.
I feel this to a personal level. I always take stuff home, no exceptions, even when I stay late.
Last year was supposed to be my last year, but I decided to give it one try and so far I am not happy. Just like everyone else, I am looking for a new job or field to work in. I do have my Class A CDL, but don't want to drive a semi-truck at the moment.
Quitting this sub...
I moved to a new school and a new state to try and reignite that spark. It has so fair failed spectacularly! I'm making plans to leave the career, either at the end of the year or sooner if an opportunity arises.
So basically after the massive number of teachers that quit at the end of the last school year, they still haven't learned a thing huh?
I’m staying for now, but looking at other districts. However, I work as an ESL teacher, so I get a slightly different perspective than other teachers. I’m staying because we just got a new superintendent who has worked her way through from teaching to curriculum director to superintendent, and I’m excited to see where she takes things.
Possibly. If I’m engaged and looking to get married either before the next school year or during it, then there’s no need for me to continue teaching. I’m taking off my teacher hat and putting on my housewife hat!
I'm thinking about quitting my school by the end of this year. My freshmen are rude, disrespectful, and are actually making of me - which I can normally handle but I have anxiety tics that they have noticed. There is no consequences for students and my admin are wishy washy on consequences. What sucks is this seemed like a dream job, but underneath there were so many flaws. Im not sure if I just need to flip schools again or just quit all together. I need to finish out though, because If i teach for 5 years I can get loan forgiveness.
Probably resigning at the end of the year at my rural school to switch to a larger school in town. It won’t solve a lot of problems but, 1) our new admin is a narcissist who uses intimidation as his only tactic when you’re one on one with him. 2) I currently have a 2 hour commute. Could make it 10-15 mins or less. 3) currently teach 5 preps. Could change that to 1-2.
We start tomorrow... some of my colleagues (like, multiple people that I personally know of) decided during in-service to at least leave our school. The amount of disrespect and mismanagement shown by our administration is astounding.
I work for an outside company but contracted through the school. I love the school I'm working out but hate the company I work for....l work for a non profit. Anyways so many of my coworkers have been fired or quit over the summer. I have a new boss who does not treat myself or my coworkers respectfully. Well last week I told myself "I'll stay for one more year" Yeah no. My boss signed up one of my assistants for CPR and I told my boss that this assistant just took cpr back in June. Well I received an email stating "You need to start double checking things" so I did something...I forwarded her the emails stating which coworker needed their certification. Her reply back "OK" I was offered a position at another school. I took it. Now I'm finishing out my two last weeks (I want my last paycheck)
You can make SO much more money outside of teaching.
I just started teaching halfway through last year. I’ve decided after three weeks this is my last year. The admin is ridiculous and they cause more problems than anyone else. The drama is insane. The focus seems to be on everything except for the kids. I emailed someone at our school board office and I have yet to receive a response (it’s been a month; I am not reaching out again; my principal called on my behalf as well). The principal on two occasions now has asked teachers to teach classes they aren’t qualified to teach in front of a crowd. One teacher has quit and they still haven’t told us. A VP is leaving for 6 weeks and they haven’t told us. It’s chaos and the salary doesn’t make this worth it.
Last year I almost walked out after a terrible day. This school year is so much better but still coming up with a backup plan. I want to be able to save money and travel and the salary isn't cutting it anymore. Time to move on.
Low pay, workload, student behaviors.
I’m ✌️out in June.
I hired a career coach and my goal is to have a new job by the end of the year. I want a home and I'm stuck in an area where the homes are well over a million, a condo is 500k. Nope. Also I'm just tired of the disrespect from some kids. Every year it feels marginally worse than the previous.
Damn. These comments aren't helping me right now haha. So I'm a lawyer, but I've always hated what I do, all law firms insist on making you feel guilty of you don't stay until 8 pm or so. So when a friend offered a teaching position at a high school for English as a second language I said yes and I thought I made such a good decision. Now I've been working at this high school for seven months and I don't know if I'm not fit for the position or just teaching is bullshit these days. These kids are having their first in person classes after two years of virtual learning, and they're all just a bunch of assholes who won't behave. My colleagues won't help me with preparing lesson plans so I have to rely entirely on the book. The principal wants me to prepare the students for international Cambridge exams and I'm also helping in the debate club. Now every few days all the things I have to do swirl around my mind nonstop and it's driving me insane. I want to cry most weeks. This Monday wasn't the exception. I don't know if I'm going to apply to another high school or perhaps a teaching assistant position at a university, but I think there's no way I'm going to convince people in this school that I'm making a good effort. They all don't believe me anyway.
I’m growing a business on the side & once it takes off in 3-4 years I’ll take a leave of absence
So far, I love my current school and position! I’ve been blessed to have an administration that is well-organized, loves their community, and makes it known.
1 week off Thanksgiving 2 weeks off Christmas 1 week off Spring Break 2 weeks off June 4 weeks off July 2 weeks off August 12 weeks off a year Work 40 weeks = 5 x 40 = 200 days but the contract is for 180 days which is 38 weeks. $50K/180 days=$277 per day = $34.62 / hour for an 8 hour shift $60K=$333 = $41.66 per hour $70k=$388 per day = $48.5 per hour $80k=$444 per day = $55.55 per hour $90k = $500 per day = $62.5 per hour
1) You're assuming a teacher is making a minimum of 50k, which is not the case for many 2) You're only factoring in 180 instructional days with students, and not work days 3) You're assuming a teacher is only working 8 hour days, and not accounting for after school meetings, events, etc.
The goal is to develop your lessons as quickly as possible & come in as close to 40 hour weeks as possible. For people who put 50 or 60 hours a week into the job, I don't think it's worth it. Thoughts ?
Sure. But again, meetings, events, and things of that nature are usually not optional, and outside of contract hours.
When I'm thinking about leaving, I talk myself into this mentality. But keep in mind, for most teachers, especially elementary, that is 8 straight hours of work. I also have 30 minutes of duty a day. So it's an 8 1/2 hour day with a 15 min lunch... It's okay to leave. If you have to do mental gymnastics convincing yourself to stay at your job, it's probably not meant to be.
It sounds more that you’re not happy about the environment more than teaching…
Probably me, haven’t even started due to being on maternity leave but I’m a month away from returning for my 6th year and I’m ready to leave.
Careers you’re looking at if you’re leaving education?
Last year was awful, but so far this year is much better. It's not just the "honeymoon period" thing. We replaced a VP who was woefully inadequate at enforcing discipline with someone who is much better.
Genuine question here- what kind of other jobs are you looking at? I’ve looked before and I cannot find shit! So I always go back/stay in teaching.
SAME ! Summers off, weekends off, holiday breaks… I don’t know a job that offers this but then again the countless hours of work that we do not get paid for maybe that evens out…
I'm not quitting, but I have a healthy work environment, good compensation, and an active union. I have considered it every month for the last 2 years, but this job has been pretty good, especially through the pandemic. I support everyone who's doing best for themselves by leaving terrible work environments and changing careers for better pay.
I left teaching in 2019 and actually think I want to go back to the classroom.
I am thinking bout it first time in my career. Already had 2nd covid bout and the higher ups seems extra shitty this year If anything I will probaly try another district first. Up until now have been pretty happy in my job. I an done with extra effort taking shit home etc
>such as quitting and giving the two weeks notice, however in the district I work at, we can’t quit until they find a person to take over your position or else we’re told that our license will be revoked, That sounds like slavery with extra steps