Why I'm Leaving Teaching
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2024
- After 7 years teaching in a UK secondary school, I've finally realised that I have no choice but to quit my teaching job. The demands, the expectations and the uncontrollable workload have brought me to the point of burnout. It's time to leave teaching for the sake of my mental health and wellbeing.
I know many people want to get out of teaching, so comment below about your experience in the classroom.
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Congratulations! We are ALL quiting because of the students not having any respect for us. It's hard to even get attention of students because their parents never correct them so they are like wild animals. Yes,really. Not joking!
Yes true. And they are starting young too, with their attitude.
As a former computer tech for many schools, the biggest issue I would always see in classes is getting the students to be quiet. Teacher says be quiet > students are quiet for a minute > students start talking > rinse and repeat. Parents need to be more involved in their children's lives!
They have no respect because, at the visceral if not the intellectual level, they understand that everything the profession has stood for ever since the Second World War is philosophical garbage. Teachers have regarded their jobs as training children for socialism. They got away with it in the first generation because their parents were still responsible people and could, to some extent, correct them. But once that first generation themselves became parents and started living the lives teachers trained them to live, it came back to bite them in the backside, and now they're eating the nihilistic fruits of socialism. If teachers had done what teachers are supposed to do and actually taught instead of indoctrinating, there wouldn't be a problem.
@@Dabhach1 100% yes
I think schools should be left teacherless.
"Sunday evenings are horrific." I feel you bro. I feel you.
In my entire teaching life, I don't think I ever had a Sunday that was free from tension about school 😂
@@bryngilwern5766 schools have become a Bolshevik indoctrination cesspit where logos does not live. Add to that equally brainwashed & spoilt kids & medicated & entitled parents & tons of equally moronic red tape & you have a perfect environment for nervous breakdown. #LogosRising, # TruthFreedomHealth
Underlying tension and dread going into work. Yep know that and I’m desperate to leave.
They are the worst!
Yep yep
Depression, sleeplessness, heavy anxiety, underlying tension -- all of the time . . . yep, that's what it feels like to be an everyday teacher. Every word is exactly, EXACTLY what I have experienced.
u guys have to learn how to not give a fuck. separate your mind from your job.
EVERY DAY OF EVERY WEEK OF EVERY MONTH teaching.
In which career and work place you don't have such things if it is not minimum wage?
Yes, to all of it… good job sharing this.
Funny, that’s what it feels like to be a student.
I went into it because I wanted to give kids a great education and ended up spending most of my day dealing with behavior problems instead of teaching a subject. so got out to preserve my mental health. Teachers are not social workers, probation officers or therapists or there to parent your child.
Teaching failed as a career when parents started to use them as child care and surrogates. The strap line on teacher’s promotional material should read ‘We care so you don’t have to’
brilliantly said!
Says it all!
Compleate bs maybe you should look up the video where teachers we’re making fun if parents in cali for wanting there babysitters back we can’t sometimes because of work and other shit that goes on with the kids or parents life the gov is giving you money where is the money going?!
Also taxes have gone up and the majority of our tax money is going to public schools and there constantly failing and the parents are going toward private or charter better yet home school teaching didn’t fail the teachers and the system failed the parents.
@@adrianjuarez1162 Where is the money given to teachers going? A teacher could tell you, but they could also tell you that the money going to them personally goes back out from their pockets to buy supplies for their students or for the teaching effort. At least in the USA.
As an previous employed Secondary School Teacher, I can relate. I decided to use my skills and talents by going into Adult Education. I have found teaching Adults very rewarding as they want to be in the classroom.
Thanks Giovanni. Would you share what kind of adult education you are doing now? I know people read the comments and it could provide a spark for someone else in the depths of teacher despair!
I'm very interested in adult education and how to get in to it. I work in a middle school right now, but after two years I'm pretty over it. 🙃
When I got to 65 and retired, I started going to evening class to study French as we were holidaying in France at the time. Our teachers were great and when asked why do evening classes with adults? Reply: You all want to learn and I want to teach you!! Win Win!!
What should be the reality. Reach adults so theyy can teach their children. Make better first educators.
Bravo. Exactly. Children learn differently. I wanted to learn when I left school too. I was taught ITA English Twaddle in school (70s). This was a backward Alien language that made no sense whatsoever. And I had Asthma so I was always off school. I taught myself to type from a book and worked my way up from Reception to Managing Directors Secretary with not one qualification to my name.
When school failed to teach my daughter to read, write and spell, I used Music and Art to make reading fun, not stressful. Yet the Government Services had the nerve to bully me for Home Educating. They should have kept an eye on their scandals in the school and left my poor daughter alone.
I was a teacher in the U.K. and I left to teach in international schools in various Asian countries. My average net salary has been more than double what I was getting in the U.K. and I have been teaching pleasant, respectful, motivated students.
I've heard this before. Glad it's worked out for you.
Me too
Unfortunately, only works for white teachers
@@indrinita How do you mean??
@@indrinita That’s not true. I have worked with British, Australian, Canadian and American teachers who were not white. From what I have heard, being a teacher in those countries is even worse than in the U.K.
Being a teacher is the worst job ever ! Spending your whole damn youth at school just to spend the rest of your life at school ?! You teachers have a big mental strength ! I could never dream of doing that !
Right? I fng HATED school.
Teaching is an impossible job. What we feel has become epidemic. You expressed your feelings well. Congratulations in leaving the horrible stress behind.
...and a thankless job in most cases
Plenty of applicants, low attrition rate, must be a good job.
For female teachers....showing up drunk, all sorts of false accusations by teen thugs, basically.
Exactly. In other words teaching isn’t difficult per se, just impossible. So it’s not even worth the effort to try anymore. When the current system breaks down something on the order of GED for everyone starting as soon as they can do their own exercises in perhaps computer labs monitored by youth leaders should become the norm. Then when they’ve completed their test prep they can test out and get on with their lives. This concept of grouping kids socially in a mandatory pass situation where they’re being coddled by supposedly caring teachers just isn’t going to make it anymore. They’ve alienated the teachers and consequently the teachers no longer give a shit. I quit after 7 years in 1988 and never looked back.
@@sharoncurtis3413 Yep, they lie and get teacher's fired all the time.
It’s similar to an abusive relationship with the few good moments keeping you in, isn’t it? Your third reason is beautiful, as cheesy as that sounds. Thank you for this. I needed to hear it right now.
That's a very accurate comparison. Also because I think teaching 'hurts' a lot: I often felt in agony, like I was putting myself through a period of suffering. I hope that doesn't sound melodramatic or OTT-I really felt like that.
I started my adult life out as a high school teacher and very much look back on that now as an abusive first marriage.
I quit during the pandemic best thing I ever did. I have set up my own business coaching teachers how to run their own businesses. I also have my own tutoring business. Its so much better teaching when the kids want to be there. I am earning more and so much happier. The Sunday feeling is the worst feeling ever!
Thanks Melissa for this message of hope! Also going down the tutoring path. You finding it ok?
How are you earning more tutoring than teaching under a contract? Is this in the U.S.?
@@jerryconn6496 Not to speak for Melissa since I know this question was directed at her. But speaking as a tutor of nearly a decade's worth of experience in that field myself, I can say that yes, tutoring can produce more profit$ than even full-time classroom teaching in the U.S. (and abroad) if you get enough students to total one whole day's worth of work five+ days per week and charge a comfortable hourly rate for yourself. Plus, you can also tutor year 'round. Students and parents often seek tutoring during the summer months as well.
I quit teaching in the west 5 years ago and moved to an Asian country. The Asian students are kind and respectful. After most classes they thank me for teaching them. The 1st time this happened I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
I know what you mean. I've tutored a few Chinese students who have been a dream to work with.
You will NOT be able to get entitled thugs to listen.They will graduate and then deal drugs, rob steal, etc....
well thats a lie
The problem is that teachers are dilly-dallying instead of whizzing through the content while going into more detail. That will make it fun for the ones who are interested whilst overwhelming and shaming the ones who are not. On top of that it would be possible to use the responsibility of needing to learn everything you need to solve every problem the world has to create discipline. Imagine how different schools would look if the terror of every single one of the world's problems provided consequences in the form of nightmares. They would study obsessively if someone made sure they woke up to just 1% of the world's suffering.
"Living on the edge of student anticipation all the time." Very true, and for male teachers, living with the fear of false accusation from young female students who know they will get away with telling lies about male teachers. The " always believe the child" policy is a real problem for male teachers in particular.
That happened to a male teacher I know. Some sixth graders didn’t like him because he “gave out too much work,” so they wanted to get him fired to have an easier teacher. Another student overheard their plan and told the admin. That saved his butt because they had started investigating him and he was mentally destroyed by it.
Knew this would happen with ‘children never lie’ BS.
Im part of the support staff. A few years ago 2 kids running in the hall crashed into me. One went home and told his parents I shoved him down. I was investigated by the police and treated like a criminal. The other kid told the truth and I was reinstated with pay after a month.
@@rickrussell8382 that’s awful! i’m so sorry you went through that. don’t they have cameras in the hallway to show that you were right all along?
@@_rachelreads The school was built in 1962. Cameras were installed a couple of mouths after my incident. Even though I was innocent I was still recorded as having a incident with C.A. The staff stood up for me too.
Thanks for your honesty. I’m a teacher in Australia and feel exactly the same way you have articulated. Every morning feels like putting on my soldiers kit and sticking my head out from the trenches.
There are an awful lot of people who feel this way, it seems. Best wishes from manchester.
I live in Greece. I am 34 years old and I work as a teacher 11 years. I agree with you. I can t sleep at night. I can t enjoy my evenings. I spent a lot of time in bed. Everyday is like a living hell. But I don't have the gut to say I quit. It is taboo. Everyone think I am the most lucky guy having this job. I feel like living in prison.
I encourage you to consider trying something else. Life is too short to be unhappy every single day. I am earning less at the moment, but life feels brighter and more filled with opportunity than during my teaching days.
And from the bottom of my heart, I send you lots of goodwill. I know how truly dark it can be when you're there. But please know there is hope on the other side.
@@bryngilwern5766 I quit! I have a life to live!
@@user-hw2nn2bh9l Well done. You have made a big step. Try not to worry about what other people think about your decision. I recommend the book 'What Colour is your Parachute' as a book to help you find your next career. But be easy on yourself. Don't jump straight into the next toxic job: it takes time to find your feet so don't rush things.
Oh, and congratulations.
I am a Canadian who could not get work as a chemistry teacher years ago. Now I’m considering returning to the teaching profession. May I ask, why did you feel teaching was like a living hell for you? Why was it so stressful and so bad for you. I’d like to understand.
@@ShikokuFoodForest Good evening! The real reason is the disrespectful behavior in classroom. Whatever you do, they find you not interesting enough to pay attention to your lesson. You have it or not. The parents and society feel disappointed about you and they would prefer to have a more suitable teacher. You can t control their children s classroom. You feel worthless and guilty. Then you want to quit after so much effort you put into becoming a teacher. Next you feel trapped and insecured. It is a troublesome situation. Here in Greece is too difficult to find a new job.
Congrats. Great video. Everyone wants to leave teaching. Everyone. The lack of mental space, stress, lack of autonomy, politik, administrative abuses and overall toxicity in education are worse than the low pay. I've been in for 13 years and met maybe 1 person who legitimately does not want out of this nonstop penetrating migraine. Those who stay (me too) are trapped by debt and/or dependents. If you live in a country/situation where there is an option to leave, good on ya, get out. The rest of us are envious.
Thanks for the comment. You're right about it being a non-stop penetrating migraine. I would say though, that I am already looking at things like pension, sickness benefit, secure pay and feeling slightly envious of teachers! I guess there is a lot to be said for the security that it offers.
You're never truly trapped. It's a trade-off and a choice you make. Get out of debt somehow, even via bankruptcy. Sell things; begin to live very frugally; sell your house (the current market is white hot!) and downsize to a small house or renting even in a not-so-desirable neighborhood. Be willing to accept less and you will not be trapped.
Good luck. I sincerely hope you can get out.
Think about your mental health. Money cannot buy it back.
When I worked for a living, it was 32 years in the public secondary school classroom. Despite a certain deterioration in the environment during the last 6-7 years, I can say that I always enjoyed the time in the classroom with the students. Playing nice with my peers and the admin- that’s another story. In the years since I’ve retired, everything I’ve seen in education has served to convince me that I could never do it today. Not an option. Good luck in your future endeavors.
Former male teacher here. I just resigned today. You definitely hit the nail on the head. I thought I wanted to teach since my college years but now I see that I was really doing just please my parents and extended family.
I don't sleep well so I'm here. I'll be back in the classroom tomorrow trying to be positive. I've invested so much, and love many aspects of teaching, but I live on the tides of emotion. Thanks for the video.
I totally agree with you on your points...and I live in the United States. I had No idea teachers 'across the pond' were as unhappy as U.S. teachers. The horrible student behaviors, lack of parental & administration support, unrealistic expectations, etc, are causing teachers here to leave the profession in Droves! Good luck to you!!!❤️
It’s something about the class system in English speaking countries which essentially dooms tax supported schooling for the masses. It’s like when I was guiding canoe trips at an exclusive private canoe tripping camp in Canada that catered chiefly to rich boarding school kids. One of them smugly told me that “private school is better than public school”. And I had to admit that that was mostly true but with the possible exception of public schools in wealthy heavily Jewish suburbs. The Jewish kids from Beachwood I’d known at the Cleveland YMCA’s canoeing camp up on Lake Temagami, Northwoods Camp, now defunct, would’ve mopped the academic floor with most of these smug boarding school WASPs, and no, I’m not Jewish in spite of my name, but was raised Episcopalian. But I’m not really a WASP because my ancestors were more German and British celts, and not English per se.
As a student, if I ever achieve an influential life, I'd push for more benefits for teachers. Education reform, and more respect for teachers, as well as higher pay. I've always respected teachers and understand that teaching a generation is ultimately the foundation of continuing a successful society.
Thank you.
There has been education reform in the past (and ongoing now), but it seems more focused around what is being taught rather than to support those who are supporting the learning process
Back in my days, we treated teachers with utmost respect and they are second only to parents. If I ever get in trouble with a teacher, I would have a even bigger problem at home with my parents. Gone are those days..
You heard his description of teaching life, constantly anticipating student reactions. It’s like being a manager except the employees don’t get payed and don’t want to be there.
You need incredibly driven and tough individuals to do that. *Benefit-driven jobs* do not attract those people.
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Teachers need competitive salaries, not more benefits. They’ve got enough benefits.
We all felt the same way at your age too. It's hard to realize there is no way out of the chaos and now you must find another career to survive. We need to speak out to our youth that are getting sucked into this dead end career. It's not a challenge it's impossible!
as a fellow teacher, I can RELATE to you.
Thanks for the reply M C. I'm sure all teachers will relate on some level. Stay strong!
Ditto..
School social worker here. I salute you both. Teachers here in the states are overburdened with bureaucracy, and politics. Low pay, buying your own supplies, horrible treatment by administrators.
You’ve made an incredibly brave decision and I applaud you. I quit secondary teaching in July 2021 after 16 years, for all the reasons you mention, I was head of department too so had targets coming out if my ears and toxic SLT. I hated it from a very early stage but felt obliged to see it through and not be a failure. It took me 16 years to finally make the very brave decision to get out for good as my mental health was through the floor. The constant challenges and demands of the students , every minute of day was exhausting, but you never get a break at home either as you then have to prepare for the demands and challenges presented by parents and SLT. Living in fear constantly of unannounced observations by a three strong team of leadership, marking scrutinies, learning walks and lesson drop ins was making me ill. However I summoned up the courage to start a distance learning masters degree in July 2020 in building surveying as my escape plan and after 1 year of study I secured a well paid job with a large international business as a building surveyor. It felt like my life has restarted after being paused for 16 years. I was released and free, akin to being reborn! My simple message to anyone who wants to leave is see your goal, make a time bound plan to achieve it, stick to it and don’t get cold feet. Just having planned my exit and to know there would be an end point was an enormous boost. Teachers have a vast range of skills which are recognised in industry, one of these is incredible resilience. Use this to your advantage in achieving your goal.
Great post. Cheers
I worked for 3 years as a teacher in Scotland, and I can completely identify with every word you said. That awful feeling on Sunday evenings, the ruined holidays by the thought that I will have to go back, the suspense over what kind of hell could be unleashed any day any time, and that feeling of being trapped .... In the end I had to lie to the local authority that I got another job (which I had not) and I would not be coming back. I would do ANY OTHER job than go back to teaching. Picking trash from the streets would be a much better job, than fighting trash in the classroom. And to put the cherry on the cake, that self-absorbed administrative idiot, the headteacher, gave me a bad probation report for not being able to control the zoo I was supposed to teach languages. It was a very satisfying moment when I replied to his comments with a very long list of his and his school's failings, and sent it to the General Teaching Council for Scotland. A few years later the local authority decided to close down that hellhole he was running. I would like to think that this report made a small contribution to this decision. But for my sake, I brushed up my skills, got another job and had a much more sane and satisfying career in subsequent years. THE MAIN PROBLEM is that pupils and parents have all the power, all the cards, while the teachers have nothing to respond with, and still are expected to accomplish miracles from this position of absolute powerlessness. I am sure that as time goes by this hopeless model will become so unsustainable that serious reforms will be needed. In the meantime, I urge anyone in the profession to start packing their bags, and those who are thinking about a teaching career to and get a job as street sweepers if necessary. They will have a much happier life picking trash.
When I was a kid, I really thought teaching was easy. Especially the short hours and long vacations. I don't think that any more.
go to japan.
Kids aren’t the same now. Parents aren’t the same now.
Admins aren’t the same now.
@I I Kids were definitely as entitled and rude lol especially in Western schools, not because of "liberal ideology" and its obvious when people grow up to be in their 30s and 40s who never take a "no" and have a meltdown. They pass these onto their kids who flout this trait in social media and generate more entitled kids. It starts with the past generations always. Work as a customer service person and you will see.
I have always been the opposite. When i was a kid i couldn't understand why someone would posibly want to be a teacher, i was aware that kids were a pain to treat with
@@khaddy72632u yeah but they are talking about usa. My uncle repeated first grade a couple of times and cared more about working, but that was chile a ton of years ago
I think the workload and kids' behaviors are just too much. You really have to all but stop caring.
@@misterb1132 there is actually some truth to this, there is a delicate balance between caring and not caring. You actually have to learn to know when to not give a shit and when it is important.
I agree with everything you’ve said. I just told admin that I will not be returning next school year. I’m just counting the days !
Best wishes in the run down to finishing. On the plus side, you have some time to think about other paths. Have you had any thoughts about what you might do when you leave? I'm sure people here would be interested to know! Thanks for the comment.
Same here!!
@@bryngilwern5766 yes! I will be going back to school for nursing
@@Myaaaaa90 Nice! Well done for coming up with a plan (still working on that over here!).
@@Myaaaaa90 Anything in the medical field will always be needed. Right now with this pandemic, though, it's a really tough job, draining, exhausting and dangerous all at the same time.
Don't feel too bad, you still have your youth. I'm in my fifties and in the same boat.
This applies to the University I teach at. A push towards making money, like a business. A principal being a CEO. A push for research to increase rankings. 80% of our workload does not actually involve teaching. The ones who leave are the great teachers, the ones who are left are the great administrators.
Great administrators? Many of the ones left, but not all, are those who are focused daily on self-preservation and care very little for teaching. It is a kind of art to be able merely to "go through the motions" on a daily basis, not an art that interests me, but an art nonetheless.
Agree, at least 80% of what I do as a teacher has absolutely nothing to do with actually teaching! Yet, teachers are held 100% accountable when students fail! SMDH!
Administration in my district just came up with a way to improve our teaching. We need to word our standards differently in our lesson plans because that’s what needed revamping. That was the squeaky wheel that needed to be greased. (Sarcasm here).
I taught for 33 years. Once I hit the rule of 88, the point at which you can retire with a full pension in Iowa, it became difficult to continue teaching. In my state the respect from students, parents, and our legislature is at an all time low. I felt like I had no support from administration. I loved teaching most students and I miss them. It seemed that the most unruly students also had totally unreasonable parents.
My wife is still teaching, God bless her. I feel so bad for those that teach these days. Our Governor and state legislators spread lies about teachers through the media. Teachers are on an island. A once respected profession is now at a very low point.
I'm an introvert and dealing with lots of people at once can be a real challenge. I always knew teaching wasn't for me, but I kept giving myself another chance (another semester) because the hours are nice and the commute is just 15 minutes but I just can't do it anymore. Each semester is worse than the previous one. Also I have completely lost interest in my subject. I have my resignation letter ready in drafts, I just need to hit send.
Dammmnnn what’d you end up doing
I also discovered that I’m more introverted than I realized while teaching and would just shut down when it became evident that I was dealing with a bunch of loud mouthed imbeciles who would most certainly never amount to anything of substance anyway, so why bother?
@@marcmeinzer8859 right? Good for you !
@@Angelhaswings555 Check out “Teacher describes American high school chaos” about New Jersey public high school. I think even former mayor Bloomberg of New York commented that the schools have been virtual zoos for a very long time.
There are no expectations or consequences for anyone but the teacher. I have been teaching for 28 years and it has been in a nose dive for the last 10. It was declining before that but it's on fast downward now.
I left teaching over 20 years ago. It was no longer the profession I trained for, I'd hated it for some time but it took a big upheaval in my personal life to force me to quit. It was only after I left that I realised how bad things had become, so good for you for making the decision before it got too bad. It's disappointing that things haven't improved since I left though.
Like you, I didn't have anything lined up to go to, but a "temporary" job turned into a very rewarding career and I hope you find something that you enjoy doing . By the way, I still have occasional nightmares where it's been discovered that I owe the eduction authority a couple of weeks in the classroom.
I love that final sentence about owing the educational authority a few more weeks 🤣 It's nice to hear from someone who also left. What did you get into after leaving teaching? I'm sure lots of people here would be interested to know! Thanks for the comment.
Me too! Even 20 years ago it became very readily apparent that the reality of the situation was already not what I signed up for. I did not sign up to teach conformity and feeding into the dysfunctional status quo.
@@goldilocks3593 Did you leave teaching? Thanks
@@bryngilwern5766 yes - public school teaching was my first full-time adult career. After that I did private tutoring, contract writing, taught half time at a community college and now I work full-time for a non-profit that serves developmentally disabled people. I still do contract writing too. All of which are highly preferable to the toxic culture of public education :)
@@goldilocks3593 Thanks for the comment again. I am also doing private tutoring at the moment. It's alright. A bit soul destroying when you have uninterested kids (but that's always the case) but a lot less stressy than the classroom. What is contract writing exactly?
I'm not a teacher, but I am also leaving my career as a graphic designer. Spending hundreds of hours and putting your heart and soul into a brief and then having it shut down for no other reason than "I don't like it" or "we don't think it works" is crushing, and it led me to similar feeling!s of stress, anxiety and sweetness nights. This video makes me feel relieved that there are others out there who are brave enough to take the leap and follow their hearts toward a happier future! Thank you for sharing, and good luck to you and everyone else 😊
Burnout feels like this in other careers too. I worked at tech startups for 18 years and got to the point where I couldn't even open my laptop because of anticipatory anxiety. It takes time and distance to get over the PTSD of burnout.
After 11 years of teaching I also left in last September... Now I'm solo happy I regret not doing it before. You'll be very good too!
Thanks for the comment Marvin and congratulations for making the leap. I am guessing it will have been a tough leap, with many challenges. How has it been?
@@bryngilwern5766 the most difficult thing in fact was to let go their system (the one from the schools) and adapt, create and accept my own. Other things apart from that ran smooth. Now after 7 months I'm really on my own track.
What are you doing to make a living? I've considered leaving, this is my 9th year as a full teacher, but I subbed for 7 years before that. (Which I loved, btw!)
I have no idea what else I would do though.
And I liked your reasons. Underlying tension from knowing that the success of lessons depends on the kids (and is therefore out of your hands), and having to think about catering to different interests and abilities. Which leads to too much time planning and considering (plus marking, admin etc.), and the job always on your back. It becomes like a bad relationship - constant demand and high expectations, with no personal time. Always expected to give and to sacrifice.
Thank you for the response. It's really interesting to hear from someone in a similar boat. I agree the job is always on your back: there are no hiding places in teaching. I notice you say you're doing relief teaching (we call it 'supply' in the UK). Hope it goes ok for you. I did a three month stint in supply once and i liked knowing that there was an end point. Never done day-to-day relief but i know a number of people who prefer it and manage to make it work. Best wishes my friend!
@@bryngilwern5766 Thanks. You too
I make easy money working in a grocery store our managers work with us and understand our situations. Stress free and fair pay I'm happy
I come from a family of teachers: my mom, my sister, her daughter and her daughter's husband. Mom & sister retired, and nephew-in-law decided to quit, but my niece is still teaching. She was able to leave a city district for the suburbs where the community is wealthier and the schools are well-funded and -supplied. This has been better for her, but still very stressful, especially with the pandemic and its accompanying behavior issues. I remember when my mom was still teaching, we couldn't make family plans on a Sunday because she needed to spend the day gearing up for a new week. She worked from home A LOT to keep her nose above water. Constantly changing curricula, inept supervisors, school politics and staff pettiness all took a toll. Not to mention the disruptive, sometimes emotionally disturbed kids and their entitled parents. I am very proud of the teachers in my family, but it never appealed to me as a career. I'm coming to this video a year + later, but I truly hope you are doing well and breathing easier. Best wishes.
Its very brave of you to talk about this openly and make this video! Its exactly what you say, it just is a long list of things that go wrong in the organisation and schools and all together its putting to much stress and problems on the teachers. I am a teachers assistent and at the moment also really stressed, I do this job for about 10 years, with periods it was good, but also a lot of stress involved. My biggest problem i think what causes my job to be stressfull is that i dont have an own working place, like a place were i can put my stuff and stay there or go there to work with kids and to do certain administration tasks on a computer. I am all the time in the morning unsure of were i can sit and wich room or place is available , cause there are other people who need that working space too. At times it was better and i had a place, but also had to move my stuff like my bag and laptop twice or 3 times a day. Not to mention the schedule, i am assistent of 6 classes and the schedule is just to hectic and makes me feel constant on edge. I realise i didnt step up ealrier to say this is not working for me and now i pay the price for it. Just feeling super stressed and on edge cause its very morning uncertain where i can sit or work with kids that need attention outside of the classroom. Also because of i dont have an own good chair to sit on, i use other chairs and low tables but they make my back hurt when i sit on them for longer period of times. I feel like there is no place for me but i have to do the tasks that they ask me to do. It makes the job very unpossible.
I did one single semester as an intern (unpaid student teacher), and decided there and then it was not the profession for me. I was in a middle school. I feel so horrible for the kids. The system is beyond dysfunctional, top to bottom. The teachers I worked with were terrible, and the kids looked constantly on the verge of a breakdown.
I'm also an unpaid student teacher for this academic year and while the teachers are incredible, it just does not seem like a career I want for the next 30-40+ years. I'm really considering what my next move will be once I graduate in May 2022-I do not think it will be pursuing certification and then a teaching job.
@@Lindz2817 You are not alone! I am also graduating May 2022 and hopefully will not teach after graduation. Im doing my year long student teaching and about to finish my last two days for this semester, and let me tell you I definitely do not want to go in those last two days! The system is so broken and its like teachers have to step on the broken shards everyday. I keep telling myself and the other student teachers at my school we just need to finish to get our degree, and then after we do not have to teach! Its just so sad that the majority of student teachers i talk too feel the exact same way as you and me
I'm doing unpaid student teaching right now, at a middle school. My resident teacher is ok and the rest of the staff is fine. Admin is terrible and never discipline students. I graduated in May 2021 and had to do an extra year to get my credential, but I'm still not decided whether or not I want to continue. Part of me wants to finish what I started, the other part wants to move on. I hate the feeling of investing in myself and wasting it but I truly feel that teaching is not the right profession for me, especially for my mental health.
@@vc3126 Trust your intuition, and know that nothing you have learned is ever wasted.
@@Lindz2817 Please stay very, very far away ..... half the teachers in our jurisdiction have a burn out in their first ten years. Teachers' contracts are for about 195 days. A day's work has been 8 hours since the Second World War... working an extra five or six hours week even a full day for free is fine. But I used to kid my students I work a minimum of eight days a week sometimes nine and paid for five LOL
2 more years until retirement and I am barely holding on! Each day of the work week, I struggle to get out of bed, think about calling it quits and am filled with anxiety! Literally, tons of admin paper work, overlapping deadlines, excessive weekly staff meetings, repeated "new" teaching protocols, daily multi-page lesson plans, constant grading and assignment uploading, weekly parent conferences and phone calls, daily building duties (supervising kids), monthly required district "professional development" workshops and not to mention, monitoring of special education "legal" provisions and daily monitoring of accommodations and supports. Co-workers are tired, unhappy, unhelpful and rude! Students are mean, violent, disrespectful and feel entitled to pass under any circumstance. Teaching nowadays is beyond anyone's good sense!
It's gonna be a sweet sweet day when you hang up your whiteboard pen for the last time!
Just bag it at end of year, I left at age 60 last year with only 25 years but I didn’t care ,, calculated to the day . What is nice is coaching has tacked on another half year
Luckily my wife is 5 years younger so health insurance not an issue
I still coach and work PT at my own business
Taking my pension in January at age 62
Hold on! Just retired from education. The last year was hell, but it's worth it. Now I'm in heaven...🎑
I totally understand 🥺 I had to take a leave of absence for the rest of the school year because my mental and physical health started declining. Best wishes for you ❤💕
You are far from alone in this-any sane and rational person will be driven to despair by the cold, unloving embrace of teaching. Take the time to rest and recuperate!
I tried in January and it was denied.
Wishing you all the very best. I spent 30 years teaching in secondary schools. I wish I had had the courage to leave when it started to get me down.
I currently have 15 more schooldays to go. It's a real struggle. Despite the short time, I am sleeping badly and dragging myself through the days. It's scary to drop out into the unknown, but it's currently not really a life. I hope things have improved for you, even a little bit, even in small ways. All the best.
Retired two years. Still have ptsd.
History is literally repeating itself; one of the aspects that brought the Roman Empire's downfall was the degradation of the educators. In the beginning, the teachers were professional with great experience who felt they made a difference. In the end, there were literal slaves, and their students didn't care about the knowledge they were being taught. Which caused severe degradation to Roman Society, as it started to be destroyed socially.
Ohhh this is fascinating! Where did you read this info? I want to learn more
@@ms.rainh20teachesart I learned it through a Podcast called ,"History of Rome" by Mike Duncan. Also another aspect of Roman society we are currently seeing in America is the Cult of personality. People in the Roman Republic loved ceaser, but the senate saw that Ceaser was taking away their already weakened senate power. This is also the case with the USA as prior to going to war, president needed permission from the house or senate, but during Obama's time he didn't require permission at all. He actually made a speech before them stating I am doing this because I respect the constitution, otherwise I have the authority to go to war without your request. The presidential power in America is coming closer and closer to dictator levels. I'm Canadian, I don't care about American politics, but sadly it affects my country.
@@Unnatural09 Yes I can totally see that! And who better to usher in the cult of personality than the communist Obama!
I'm going to have to look into that podcast about Rome. Fascinating!
@Ms. RainH20 Teaches Art how is Obama a communist? If you believe he's a communist then what do you believe regarding trump, he's more inclined to the cult of personality than Obama was. Plus he's as far from a communist as you can get.
@@Unnatural09 if you do a little digging you will find out how Obama is a communist who deeply hates our freedoms in America.
Brave and bold move. I wish you all the best. Mental well being comes first.
Yes, teaching certainly has a dramatic impact on one's mental wellbeing. I think a big part is the way you feel judged every day. It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of the lesson, regardless of how you're feeling, putting yourself and your problems on a shelf, and teaching a lesson to an (often) hostile and disagreeable crowd!
You do understand this is going on in my country, the U.S. and 🌏 Australia as well...
The part where you said Sunday evenings are horrific and you don’t enjoy a single minute .. this is me at this very moment! After five years of being in this profession and really not enjoying it at all. I am finally quitting this career and going back to do my masters in September to get into a field I really love again and work a normal job with adults around me! I really cannot express how much I dislike teaching now and I cross off each day until July. Thank you fir this video and I hope you find a job that lights you up! Your mental well being comes first.
Hello from Ontario, Canada. Try crossing out your days after 38 years in the business! - Everyone, (Administration, parents ...) expect absolute perfection, despite the lack of hard work or even any participation on the part of the students. If you are a teacher, everything is all your fault - all ways - all the time, not matter what. I am just weeks away from the end of my gig.
Hang in there! ! ! !
@@wiseowl1696 wow you made it 38 years! Hats off to you. Your right about everything being our fault and nothing for anybody else. We seem to be responsible for orchestrating everything! Not too long now for both of us, you hang in there too! We can do it!
@deepred91 What are you getting your master's in?
Good luck on your masters ! :)
What did it for me when it came to wanting to leave classroom teaching two years ago (I am now an online tutor, having tutored in person for eight years prior to the pandemic) was the fact that it is a one-sided deal for teachers. The parents, students, and administrators are always right, and the teachers are always wrong no matter what the circumstances. A teacher's physical and mental health and well-being are at stake on and off the job, and the admin. and many of the parents and even students couldn't care less. Students and parents often come into school ready for battle with the teachers over stuff that the teachers had absolutely nothing whatsoever to deal with (family crises, mainly). Admin. are looking for all the "crimes" to point out that teachers allegedly committed so that they (the admin.) can have a reason not to fall asleep at their fancy office desks because their jobs are so boring and highly overpaid. Teachers are problem solvers while the other three parties are frequently instigators.
What I said "no" to while teaching in the classroom is the fact that students are now guaranteed passing grades because the school administrators are: A) trying to keep the school afloat financially by not driving away families and enrollment; B) the better the test scores, letter grades, and GPAs look on transcripts, the higher the government- and other outside funding to come; and C) they are scared to death of being sued by the parents (for racial and other means of accused discrimination) anytime a teacher gives a student any grade lower than an 'A' or a 'B'. The people at the top of the ladder are mentally unstable, ignorant imbeciles. The fact that a student can miss a ton of school, never participate in class or (the parents not) respond to teachers' outreach via email, phone calls, or in-person meetings to rectify the underlying disciplinary issues; turn in all of their work late, incomplete, or even not at all; and still graduate at the same time as those students who do work hard, are organized, and deserve their accolades, is beyond irrational. Not only will those low-achieving students who are non-communicative-by-choice end up not knowing a single thing by the time they enter college, but schools are also intentionally rewarding bad behavior and promoting bad morale among the students when it comes to holding them accountable for their actions and decisions, and never ever punishing them for poor work- and moral ethics (i.e. bad-/no discipline).
I could always handle the lesson planning, grading, emailing, posting assignments and other updates online, attending and participating in faculty meetings and parent-teacher conferences, recess and lunch duties, and other miscellaneous duties that teachers are expected to perform at the drop of a hat (without one single 'thank you' expressed unto them by anybody else in the process). I could even withstand unruly students by unashamedly showing them who's boss at all times no matter how exhausting that task was in and of itself. But once the powers that be required that I pass students who never lifted a finger on the work front, I said "forget it". If students are able to sleep right through their education and still move forward on paper, then teaching is an utterly pointless job now. All this new age hoopla about students "being in charge of their learning" and "choosing what they want to learn" basically says that the kids are the ones ruling the roost. Not on my or any other sound-minded teachers' or parents' watches! You can't always do or get what you want. And teaching is NOT, ABSOLUTELY NOT ADVANCED BABYSITTING! But that's pretty much how it is viewed by many people who are not teachers.
I feel the same way. I've been teaching for 14 years and really want to leave for the same reasons. I'm a Spanish teacher; how did you get your private tutoring going?
I got my tutoring going on the online tutoring network called WyzAnt. You can create your own tutor profile, set your own hourly rates and your own hours of operation, and post the academic subjects you wish and are qualified to tutor. You can reach out to students and they can reach out to you at leisure.
You can also advertise your tutoring services at LinkedIn and on Craigslist. Good luck with it all! I hope you get many new students!
Here’s a link to WyzAnt:
www.wyzant.com/
couldn't agree more as I am still teaching and unfortunately can relate to EVERYTHING you mentioned
I can relate to this so much..... I particularly searched.... "Teachers feeling disappointed" And this video popped up....
I am feeling disappointed in myself.... In my own ability to teach..... In India conditions are worse..... Here also children and even their parents are least bothered about the classes... Some of the students don't even attend the classes.... Not even once but during the online exams which are taken every six months.. Those same students are getting full marks (my guess that's their parents doing not them)...
I have 50 students in a section of class 5 out of those only 34 or some days 35 students attend the classes and that also regular students are only 25 and the rest come and go (as if the class is a movie theater or something.... Come and go as you want )
And out of the students attending only 10 students send their work for correction or answers the messages that I need to tell them about their work.
I really sometimes question my ability...almost everyday I feel like I am incapable of becoming a teacher and maybe I am in the wrong profession.... But I cant leave the job as I need the money to help my old parents who live with me.....
Sometimes I feel so screwed and the point about Sunday evenings is absolutely true..... I literally cry in anxiety evey day.
I've been where you are right now. I quit teaching last year to start my own business, sadly numbers were not good enough to sustain my family expenses, and by March this year, I started working on a school again. I am still running my own business putting everything to make it grow so I can, one day, finally quit teaching (in fact, it is not quitting teaching, I want to quit the schools).
It is just so sad to see how the dream of being a teacher is turning into a living hell for many of us and nothing seems to stop it. I used to think that this problem was only in Colombia, where I'm from. But as far as I can see, this crisis is spread in many countries.
Anyways, Bryn I wish you the best I know you can do it, you deserve it. I just watched your update on your journey and it made me happy to see that you are doing it. Thanks a lot for sharing this video.
I think you've hit on something real there Javier Pinto. People like to teach, but the toxic school situation is too much.
Welcome to the club. Left in 2008, Happy with my decision. After 10 years it was time!
Good for you! I ignored my dislike of teaching for decades until a nervous breakdown brought me to my knees and I had to quit lest I harmed myself.
Thanks, and I'm sorry that you had such a rough time in teaching. No I'm out I realise how detrimental to my health it was too.
I was a teacher for over 30 years and during this time I watched potentially great teacher's, like yourself, leave this vocation. The lifespan for most new teachers has been 5 years. At this point, one sees brownout eventually building to burnout. The foundation reason boils down to "They don't give a damn!" They being the administrators, colleagues, politicians, and even parents. Sorry to see you go but I'm sure you will find another path controlled by your passion and you will find that success you are looking for.
Be careful with apostrophes!
teachers, not teacher's Everyone is not going to care about us. Hopefully, you have people in your family who care about you.
Leaving teaching after 23 years
The drop out rate after five years according to the Ontario College of Teachers is 23 %. Would we accept that in any other profession? No. But we do cause what the hell, they are mostly women, they are supposed to sacrifice for the kids.
I am so proud of you. Please continue to tell your story!!! Sing it from the highest mountain!!
Good luck to you, I think a lot of others will be doing the same thing.
I’m in the process of enjoying my last year as much as I can and leaving the teaching profession for good. I had HORRIBLE admin in the past at a couple of schools. This school is my third and finally has a healthy positive staff, but the admin bends to the will of the tough rich parents even though we are a public school. It’s not worth it for me to stay any longer…even for $46,000 a year. Teaching is like an abusive, gaslighting ex that is desperate to keep you for it’s own gain
I think that from grade 6 and above the majority of learning should be in the context of project based education, or applied learning. Math should always be taught in application. House building, (measurements etc...)cooking and baking. (Fractions) Science, community gardens, caning the yield. Project based education uses higher order thinking and problem solving. Sewing is not only a practical skill with so many personal or career implications, it trains the brain to be able to take 2 dimensional shapes (fabric) and transform it into 3D forms. (Pre engineering) fabrication (math, science, creativity, problem solving) It could be taught within the community with contracted individuals. Students would be able to graduate when they complete the requirement under their planned program. The program would not only include skills for a career path, but life skills as well.(cooking, health, human sexuality, home and/or business financial planning, child care and development, democratic values and responsibilities. Healthy social and interpersonal relationship building, conflict resolution, retirement planning, elder care ind interaction.... There are so many non academic skills and knowledge that is essential for a successful life. Project based learning contracts would advertise skills, concepts and learning outcomes. Students would have a variety of choices on which classes they want to acquire the outcomes from. Some classes could even pay stipends to students whose projects result in some service or product being performed or created. The current system is broken! (I’m retired two years from a public school art teaching. The last few years were so brutal I have ptsd. We need more options for students. There are some kids that just do not want a traditional academic education. They would benefit from a more skills oriented approach. Students don’t realize that education is a privilege that comes from the sacrifice of tax payers. They often resist and waste the educational opportunities they have. We need to create an education that trains people to become deeper thinkers, people that are more socially responsible and aware. We need to value and encourage the development of personal integrity, and a deep seated commitment to giving back to the community through volunteerism. The old paradigm of collecting more and more material goods and the current competitive belief that personal worth is based on the amount of money you make, has to be replaced with a better view on what life is about.
All wonderful ideas. I’m Canadian teaching in Japan for over 10 years now. It is much worse here. Education here is all passive learning. Independent thought and problem solving for example are not valued and taught at all. Teachers never, ever ask students a question in class. If they do, students are scared to death to respond. I know from experience. I have come to learn all these young students are just being trained to be followers in society - to only follow rules and only do what they are told. It is the only way they will fit into Japanese society. Japan is a country of followers. No leaders here, at all. I’d consider returning to the teaching profession in Canada in the future if I could find a job. But, I’ve been out of the teaching profession in Canada for 30 years. At least I’d be ‘fresh blood’.
@Douglas Farshtey Perhaps not, but that’s unimportant. I tend to agree that most education should be practical and applied, rather than pure for some unknown, future application. But sure, there may be future benefit in pure research for example. Keep in mind, some of the most creative, successful visionaries and business owners dropped out of school, college and university for good reason. They often achieved greatness and contributed much to society in spite of, not because of their traditional education. Of course I am generalizing here and there are exceptions, but our education system and therefore society as a whole would benefit from a complete overhaul. Just because something has always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean that is the best way. It all depends on what we want to achieve - specifically, how we want to shape the minds of future generations. It starts with having an open mind that there may be a better way.
The math part, YES. I never keep what i memorized cause i didn't had any use for it, it was just boring formulas with no purpouse
@Douglas Farshtey I taught very successfully for 30 years, you?
I've been at teaching for over 25 years now and I can relate to everything you have shared. I do love my job although strangely enough, I never planned on becoming a teacher. Fortunately I have more good days than bad and I also spent time as a VP. I prefer the classroom though because I like the idea of being in control of how my day is going to go while as an admin., you don't have that control. Everything you have said is correct though and you are still young! I envy you. I wish you well and in many ways, I am envious! Just remember, you have only one life to live and you should live it as you wish. Congratulations and good luck in whatever you do!
Just subbed bruh! The sky's the limit with that kind of bravery! Legend. Will be watching with great intent. Peace!
Thank you for being so honest! It's so good to know that others feel the same way as I do. Best of luck to you! ❤
Good luck on your journey, I'll be following along with you! You've got this!
Thanks for the support-I'm already feeling the heat of being adrift in the job market, but I think it's still the right thing to do.
@@bryngilwern5766 I can imagine, try and stay positive and remember why it was the right thing to do! I wish you all the best!
Congratulations! You are so brave!!
This video hits the nail on the head! I wish I had watched this when I was transitioning from teaching. It's easy to make these mistakes, but being aware of them can save a lot of time and frustration. Well done!
Sorry to hear this - you were probably exactly what the students needed. Best of luck to you.
I’m on my 8th year and I love my job. I’ve learned to leave school at school. Once I shut my door, I shift my mindset to me and my family. I teach at a high poverty high school with many issues. Kids face a lot these days but they are still kids. Top down decisions are frustrating and have caused some of my friends to retire early. It’s tough but there are many great things too. Good luck to you!
I taught at a public school for 21 years I left because i just lost my passion for it, all of the symptons you experienced I had, it took a huge toll on my health and with a heavy heart i took the leap and left.
Good luck Bryn! Hope things have worked out for you OK. Cheers!
I really needed to hear these words. Thank you❤
I taught public high school in the US for two years, my first job right out of college. I thought I was lucky because in teaching advanced math and most of my students were self-motivated, I just had to guide them along the path of excellence. But very early n my career, I realized that it only takes one silly, angry, thoughtless, and/or ill-mannered student to ruin everyone's day. Parents were rarely any help and most often the reason for the student's bad behavior. They constantly reminded me that as long as the kid was in school, the kid was my problem. The fallout from the school administration's analysis and second-guessing as to how such a student should be managed was the reason I left the profession. It seemed that in addition to all the work I already did (lesson planning, checking homework, and all the state required testing and administrative tasks), I was also expected to be nurse, therapist, friend, mentor, cop, snitch, and parent to a child who could not care less about me, his/her fellow students, and his/her self. At first, the decision to leave was hard (if I didn't care about the kid who needs help, who will) but by the end the decision was easy (my taxpayer funded salary and benefits was not nearly enough for me to care for and raise all these damaged childern). Twenty years later, things have only gotten worst. Technology's ability to make everything entertaining to our lowest and laziest impulses has taken cheating and bullying to a whole new level! Best to save yourself because even though there are some students and parents who do care, it is the bad apples that spoil the bunch and demand all your attention.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Found myself nodding along to everything you said here, and massively respect the courage it takes to make such a difficult decision. Like you, I left earlier this year, simply because my body said 'enough' at that point. Wishing you all the best in whatever you do next!
Thanks for sharing-nice to hear from someone in a similar boat. Feel free to update about your experience so far. I know people reading the thread benefit from seeing how others are getting on, good and bad. Personally it's certainly no picnic having left and being semi-employed now, but not regretting leaving
for a second.
@@bryngilwern5766 I've managed to get a teaching job in Malaysia, have been applying for international posts for some time (even before deciding to quit my last school) so looking forward to it. It will be hard work, but on the other hand I feel it is one of the countries where the teaching profession is still held in high regard!
@@keka9117 Sounds like a good adventure too. A couple of people have commented on here how international teaching is more rewarding etc.
I'm not a teacher, but in my working life I've constantly run up against many of the issues you mention in your video. Anxiety is a big one. The constant potential for ... I dunno, chaos, disappointment, even confrontation, together with a growing internal resentfulness at my inability to change direction and, as they say, 'be the change'. I think your remarks could very easily apply to a vast number of people in non-teaching jobs. Many of us feel trapped between deep professional unhappiness and the demands of economic necessity. I've walked out of jobs in the past and I know I can do it again. I'm pretty sure I will. Picking that exact moment is tricky, although often made easier by unexpected events. Good luck! You are not alone!
Thank you Sir for being so honest. This is how teachers feel but rarely are we open about this.
I hear your story! It is a necessity to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Your mental health is so important...The tension is toxic. I did 38:years and the environment has become so unattainable to be successful. I stayed because of the kids. I taught special needs students. I respect you for being strong and secure to leave while you are still young and can create a new career that brings you happiness and peace. Good luck to you.
Best of luck to you, hope all goes well, I can’t blame you in any way. A very honest video 😃👍
A big well done! Fully agree with your reasons. I left my job in July due to management making me a nervous wreck. Sunday nights are the absolute worst. I’ve no confidence now due to the effects of my school. It has caused a nervous breakdown. Enjoy your new chapter now!
Best wishes to you too!
You express the thoughts and feelings of many very accurately. Good for you to realize this now! One life- live it the way you would like!
Well said!
I taught art privately from home for the age group 6 - 18 for years and it was great. I only had one 15 year old who misbehaved and I had to tell him to leave.
I don't know what subject you teach but giving private classes is sometimes an option. Then you have the control of what happens. I wish you best of luck with your future.
You have said exactly what I feel every day.
Sorry to hear that Cynthia. But happy that I can be an echo for your feelings. I think there are many, many people in the same situation. Do you have possibility of changing your situation?
Well done mate, a brave decision, I hope things work out for you - I'm sure you will do well.
Well done mate. I hope everything turned out for the best
As a veteran teacher (36 years), I completely understand how you feel. There were years where I felt so depleted that I had absolutely nothing more to give. I actually retired back in 2012, but have continued on, mainly because I need the money. But, the last few years have NOT been fun... teaching has become MORE difficult as the years progressed. When I started, back in the mid 1980's, it seemed as if teaching was a creative field. Back then, there was talk about open classrooms, integrated thematic instruction, project-based learning, etc. Then, the testing companies profited by promoting the notion that students were not making adequate progress. Teaching then morphed into teaching to the test, with the role of the teacher being that of deliverer of instruction (a trained monkey could do that). Thankfully, I have my music education background to fall back on, and this year had taken a job as music teacher. Let me tell you, I can breathe again! I wish you well, and completely empathize with your decision. I subscribed to your channel, so please keep us informed from time to time. You are obviously a very bright young man, and I know that you will be successful at just about anything you undertake! Best of luck!
You are tired of teaching, but you accepted a job as a music teacher. Okay..
@@Michelle-pn9xt The change was a very good one! I no longer have to put up with the BS that I didn't like, but get to do what I DO like... teaching! Most teachers never dislike the actual teaching end of being an educator... what they don't like is everything else! They asked me to come work at their district, so I must be doing something right in the classroom!
Thanks for sharing your experience Scott. It's one that will ring true for many you are reading this page! What did you teach prior to teaching music?
@@bryngilwern5766 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, MS Social Studies, ESL.
@@scottconnuck2632 I also taught English, but could teach guitar as a sideline if I need to.
Left teaching in 2013, never looked back or felt better! Great video and insights. Life is too short to be miserable. I hope you are doing well
Love these sorts of messages 👍 And yes thanks, doing pretty well so far!
Bryn!! Thank you for making this video and making me feel normal 🥴 I couldn’t put my finger on what makes me feel so exhausted and stressed everyday, but it’s just as you said: anticipation. Like you, I don’t even feel I have a choice anymore. It’s teaching or my health. Chronic migraines to the point of being unable to cook, drive - it’s not life. Anyway, thank you for being brave! It is making me braver.
It's not a life really.
Thanks for this vid and your perspective! Hope it's working out well :) I only have about a month to go now until I'm out, also after 7 years of working in secondary... The whole thing needs a system change; people deserve better.
I feel every word you say. I feel scared posting this under my real name for fear of being pulled up on it or recognised. But I am not just talking about just my place of work. I’ve seen, read and heard similar stories from many other schools. You describe how it feels for me exactly. But I don’t know what else I can do. I need the money to pay the mortgage and need the security to support my family. At least that is how it feels. I teach a core subject; students have to be in my room until they are 16. Almost all don’t want to be. Every day is a battle to gain some kind of basic attention from some of the 30 students in the room. Usually I’m just completely ignored or actively verbally abused. I can escalate issues as much as I want and they can be dealt with short term, but the next lesson is just the same as before. I am lucky if I have maybe two ‘good’ lessons out of 17 per week, where we get through some amount of planned content to a satisfactory standard. Getting two thirds of a class to write the date and title within the first 10-15 mins is a good lesson - just to provide context. Shockingly I am at a school where behaviour is supposed to be good. Common opinion is that this is a great school for student behaviour and the student community. Far, far from it. Expectations are down and through the floor. We reward and praise for bothering to turn up, for sitting down or for not getting a phone out for writing the date after heavy and repeated requests to do so. In these days of being ‘kind’ as a widespread popular culture mantra and working with what feels like such a hyper sensitive and socially aware generation we have in our classrooms,it baffles me that such a large number of them are awful, appalling and horrendous in how they treat teachers. Hypocritical. A kind, fairly gentle teacher such as myself and many many others I know are bullied in the classroom by groups of students. I don’t use that word lightly. Even five years ago it did not feel like this. So I’m no longer kind or gentle; I have to survive. I don’t have time to nurture or foster a love of English. Many of us don’t end up really being academic, we just get through an hour without a major incident in the room, that’s a victory. It has all become noticeably worse since the pandemic; it feels like many young people have come back from that and have forgotten how to behave with the minimum levels of respect required to function in a classroom. I’ve never been as regularly (personally) insulted, made to feel like dirt and just regarded with such a vitriolic hatred by so many people, even if they are young and still developing. You are insulted openly as you walk down a corridor. Windows are knocked on during lunch when you are trying to work. All equipment such as pens, books, handouts and glue are smashed up and ground into the carpet. Instructions are ignored or directly refused with a smirk. All you try and do is teach them something new. We are their enemy and I do not know why.
I really feel for you. It's a horrible environment, an average secondary school.
@@bryngilwern5766 I’m sorry - I have ranted massively here. It is all genuine though. Thanks for making your video. It is really good to know somebody else felt similarly and was able to get out.
@@OTheQuietOneO Don't worry about the rant. It can feel really isolating and lonely to be stuck day in and day out with challenging students. People on the 'outside' - I notice - find it faintly amusing and kooky that kids can be hard work etc, but I don't think they understand how painful it really can be and how hard on your nerves it is.
I'm a UK teacher and went though all that. Now I teach in an international school in Asia, and it's fantastic. The students are great to work with and I save more in a month than I earned in the UK.
@@grahamblack1961 Yes - I am glad you have chosen that route! I actually taught in Malaysia for two years before returning to the UK a few years ago and feel I was perhaps spoilt by the largely wonderful and respectful manner I was regarded in as a professional by the vast majority of students. Not that I need this kind of validation, but in the simplest terms, it made lessons and learning far more straightforward. I respected them (as I do with any class!) and they respected me; behaviour was never really a concern. One or two students here and there did have behavioural issues, but this was very much in isolated cases and far more manageable. When the majority are pulling in the same direction, are relatively driven and fundamentally understand that I am there to assist them in their education, things just work. The classrooms I have to deal with now contain 2/3 or more of a class who are difficult to engage in anything and genuinely do not see any value in being at school or learning English as a subject. I miss teaching internationally, but I have commitments and a family of my own now, so am UK based for good. Best of luck to you and enjoy teaching in Asia - they were some of the best years professionally of my life and hopefully will be for you too. :)
I quit teaching in March 2021, I don´t regret it. I choose myself; my mental and physical health, the school still survives without me. I really miss teaching, but I will go back after the Pandemic is over, hopefully, things will go back to normal someday.
I work at university, and just this morning, the dean of science and math and I talked about the students at your level matriculating to ours and the problems that will bring with it given the behaviour issues permeating generation Zulu and the shortcomings of secondary education that they allow to perpetuate into the university level.
I wish you cool runnings and a more peaceable walk good sir. Godspeed.
I admire your courage to break way. I can often relate to your feelings. I have have been teaching for 18 years and I sometimes feel like it is a life sentence.
I left teaching in the UK (secondary) too at the end of April. My experiences sound really similar to yours.. Now I have lunchtimes where I can actually switch off and relax without the fluttering tension you speak of, no anxiety about work and I don't have to worry about speaking and no one listening to me (I have literally had nightmares about this). Hope things are looking up for you and you're happier
Yes, the fluttering tension that never really leaves except on Friday nights and for a bit on Saturday. Otherwise, you're constantly anticipating the next lesson, the next task, the next tricky situation, the next awkward moment, the next lesson plan etc etc etc
@@bryngilwern5766 Exactly. You have to accept teaching becoming your whole life, if you're going to succeed in being a teacher. You have to live and breathe it, and some people can, but not you and I and that's ok!
@@susierobertson2703 how are you finding life post-teaching? We really must have left at the same time!
@@bryngilwern5766 Thank you for asking - I've been very lucky, managed to find a new job very quickly and I'm really enjoying it - it's shift work with 4 days on, 4 days off, so I get to experience not working on weekdays! I can listen to the radio whilst working and it's SO relaxed compared to teaching, just what I needed. Aside from that, I'm feeling a lot less anxious and healthy, getting more sleep which is the main thing! How about you?
@@susierobertson2703 I'm 100% with you on the sleep thing. In fact, sleep was what pushed me over the edge in all truth (though obviously the sleep emanates from the job stress). I've basically squashed a couple of side gigs (tutoring and proofreading) together at the moment. Just following my nose with it and thinking what I might want to do. Have researched instructional design a little bit, but otherwise not really sure.
I have been in 20. You are correct on every point. The other issue is trivial matters always being framed as a crisis. The things are never a crisis for kids just teachers.
I was thinking about this the other day. The things they make urgent are not, and the things that are actually urgent are ignored until the circumstance necessitates that they be attended to.
I’m leaving today after 12 and a half years! So I will be watching your progress and my own of course. Good luck and may God bless your new journey.
Best wishes. It's not sunshine and roses when you leave, but it beats the daily dread!
Around my 10th I has such a bad batch I started having panic attacks at night, which turned into insomnia. Finally went on Lexapro and eventually was able to sleep. But the effects of that episode still linger 20 years later, I'm convinced I have PTSD from my teaching career.
You said what we're all thinking.
🥺🙏 I can relate to everything 😫 God bless you and all teachers in the struggle 💯🎇🌈
Hi Amina. There seem to be a high number of people who feel like this. Take care of yourself.
@@bryngilwern5766 thank you 🙏 14 years later and I am burnt out in every possible way 😔
You articulate so well how so many of us feel! Stress and tension all of the time… so true. I should have gone years ago. I’m very good at my job but it’s not very good for me! This will be my 18th year in September and my last year. Good luck!
Best wishes on making the break!
I used to be a social worker but can so relate to you and the teacher in comments. I’m glad you made the leap. I hope you find your feet and do well 🥳
Social work sounds rewarding in many ways. Why did you decide to leave the field and what do you do now?
Great video mate, I echo all your sentiments and just need to leave now too.
Thanks for the comment. As difficult as it is (what with having zero time), I'd recommend investigating other options before leaving. I've moved into online tuition to get the bills paid whilst I sort out what to do.
I have been teaching for over 30 years and I would love to escape. I hope soon to be able to retire. I have had a couple of jobs that have started out really well, but over time have deteriorated, usually because the head teachers have become despots ruled by bigger despots. The heads are willing to jump and make us jump through more and more impossible hoops. There are too many special needs in ordinary classrooms and not enough staff to help them. If heads could say 'NO! Enough!' occasionally, our jobs would be better and easier and the children educated more effectively. Good luck in all you do. Believe in life! :)
Well done for your 30 years-that's an impressive shift. Sounds like the end is drawing near. Perhaps there is a different job you could do before retiring? I understand it's hard of course, and financial considerations are paramount. But maybe there is something less demanding or more in tune with you that you could do in the twilight of your career. Best wishes and thanks for taking the time to comment.
Wish you all the best. Yes, a better life is always possible. It's a crazy workload for teachers.
I’m putting in my resignation today after almost 20 years of teaching and decided to work full time in Early Intervention, something I really enjoy doing! Wishing well on this journey can’t wait to see what you do next.
That sounds interesting. What is early intervention?