School

[cheekypickle]

I've gone back to teaching after a year off on maternity.

I'm really not enjoying it. Husband says we can afford for me not to work.

I've recently been diagnosed with bi polar and the opinion is that I should work rather than sitting around the house getting bored.

I don't want to sit at home all day with DD but I don't really want to work either. Career change perhaps?

AIBU should I just get on with work and stop complaining ?

My job isn't exactly high pressure and I do get paid well

I think this decision has to be down to you, but my only notes of caution are firstly, teaching is difficult to get back into should you want to return, and also, you may want to consider the impact on your pension. I went back after May half term 2012 and although it is wank it's not as bad as I thought!

Again?

Yes

What would you like to do instead of teaching?

Are you just 'not really enjoying it' or are you actively disliking teaching? What exactly don't you like?

You will need to do a lot of careful thinking before you make any decisions over quitting work or re-training.

Personally, I don't think you are in a good place at the moment to me making life changing decisions such as quitting work as this might be I do with your illness. But on the other hand, yor self doubt and insecurities seem overwhelming (the seven trillion posts on 'is it ok to not go swimming with DD/ to put DD in childminder for 2 hours' etc) so potentially you are not in a good place when you teach.

How do you feel when you teach? Confident? Happy? Capable? Can you keep control of the class?

Argh phone fail.

If you don't feel capable teachig your class the. Might be best to step away for the sake of the kids. Not fair on them to have a teacher who can't step up.

Not high pressure? As a teacher I'm under a lot of pressure from many angles (parents, LEA, Data etc) BUT I do enjoy it. Could you consider a different year group? If you don't enjoy teaching is that healthy for you and good for the children in your class? I would consider - change of school/year group/ going part time if money isn't an issue or a change in career path, even voluntary work. Teapots is right however by saying that once coming out it's hard to get back in. There are hundreds of applicants for most teaching positions. Good luck and I hope you find a solution x

How about tutoring? It your own time... not full time work and earning some income and not getting bored.

Supply teaching?
Or what else would you actually like to do?

To be brutally honest I don't think you should be teaching a class full of children when you find simple decision making so hard.

If you're not enjoying your job, I don't think you should be doing it just because it's well paid - not when the children's education is at stake.

I also wonder how you'll cope when it comes to your teaching assessment as some of the strongest teachers tend to find that extremely stressful.

I agree with poopnscoop that tutoring during your own time might be the way to go.

Worra has said what I was thinking.

From your previous posts I am not sure if you are in the best place to cope with the daily challenges of teaching

I'd be interested to know what teaching job isn't high pressure. Do you already work part-time or job share? If not, that might be an option.

I agree with what Worra said, completely.

But, I also think that being completely dependent on your husbands income could also become a problem for you, going by your many previous threads and will just make you feel more isolated.

You are a young woman, who should have friends in real life that you can discuss these things with, because you do not really take on board any of the advice that is given to you by anyone on here.

It is clear to all of us who have seen your previous posts that you are still unwell, and the first thing you need is someone in real life who can give you some support as you are obviously struggling with daily life.

Being at home all day on your own with your child is not going to be good for you in my opinion. You will be starting daily threads asking what we think you should do for the day.

To be honest, after yesterday's thread from you, I'm inclined to agree with above posts.

How about applying for a career break for a year, get well and work on your confidence, and make a more considered decision?

I think if you feel like this you owe it to your class to let them have another teacher who does feel enthusiastic about their education.

You can work without being a teacher. Choose something else, or start looking for a nice part time job that you can leave behind you when you clock off.

I remember some of your posts before you went back to work. Is this a recent diagnosis? you didnt mention it in the posts I remember. I think you really don't want to work. you say the opinion is that you would be better off working. This doesn't sound like its your opinion. I find teaching to be quite a pressured job and it is a difficult job to do if you don't want to do it or are unwell. if you can afford not to work then I think you should probably stop working as a teacher until you are well again.

I haven't seen any of your previous threads but if you can afford to stay at home, and find work stressful, then I would do it.

If you want to keep busy then there are plenty of other things you can do besides working - short courses, voluntary work, reading, crafts, baking, gardening, meeting friends, exercise classes etc. No reason at all why you should be sitting around getting bored.