AIBU to want to leave teaching?

[Timetochangeisnow]

AIBU to want to leave teaching?

I'm a Primary School teacher. I love working with children, it's incredibly rewarding and no two days are the same. What I don't love however, is the mounting pressure and constant paperwork and pressure. There is barely time for anything outside of teaching and evenings and weekends are taken over with marking, planning, analysing pupil progress etc. the job in the classroom is increasingly difficult too and I think I need to leave before I have a breakdown.
I am finding I am enjoying the things I used to love less and less. I'm even having dreams about school so can't even escape at night.
I think it's particularly pronounced this year and I have some very difficult children that make every single day a battle.
I think I want out of the classroom now but would still like to remain either in a school or in education.

if the pay was better I'd be a TA no question

I'd consider retraining or studying again but I'm the main breadwinner and we have to renew our mortgage next summer!

Has anyone done similar? I don't know what's out there etc and haven't found anything online the last few months.

If anyone can point me I the right direction or has felt similar and stayed in teaching after feeling like this would be good to know!

Too much has to be documented. I hope it's less in private schools. Australia sounds like when my mother taught and obviously it was all better then.

Also if you weren't any good you got sacked and a good head could see who was useless and the inspectors would come without warning and sit in and no teaching assistants to breach your privacy and lurk in the class. It was your class and your domain. Much better.

I really wonder what will happen to the older/more expensive/capabilitied out/ground down/compromise agreemented out teachers in years to come? Will there be hundreds upon hundreds of ex-teachers in their 40s and 50s with no decent pension but still 20+ years to work?! What will they (I) do!?

Checking nc

We know teachers who have gone abroad to teach in public schools in places like China. Others have started businesses.

Teaching always had a big drop out rate. Originally once you married in the UK if you were female you had to resign even if you did not have children. Then it was when your children came. Then luckily we got discrimination law but even today plenty of female teachers choose to stop when they have their children

I've not seen a shortage of older teachers in my children's schools and I like a mixture of older and newer ones.

I am SMT. I have watched two fabulous colleagues totally broken by the system and by OFSTED in the last year. I love teaching but am struggling to keep up with the constant tide of shite and the unbelievable pressure. I have been in the job twenty years and have never known so much change for change's sake.

I could go for promotion but fuck that. Not for a big fucking clock.

I've not seen a shortage of older teachers in my children's schools and I like a mixture of older and newer ones

It's only really been this year and last, headteachers have been given powers to bully expensive (or, 'underperforming' as they are now known) teachers out.

It will become much more apparent over the next few years.

I doubt teaching has ever had the drop out rate it has now.

Buxtonthebluecat, would you say it was overwork that broke your colleagues or a deliberate ploy by the head to remove them?

Why are you 'ha haing'? My DD's school does it like that. Perhaps the real problem is the SLT's Management or ability to deal with paperwork rather than the individual CTs. Many of those in SLT would have not trained when paperwork was so important, and therefore not put off from becoming a teacher in the first place because of it no?

Surely schools need champion system and paperwork organisers who take some of the burden off of the front-line? Again, that's how it is in my dd's school though I won't pretend the teachers don't still do long hours.

Sorry to laugh, it's a good idea; just not one that I've ever seen happen.

Many of those in SLT would have not trained when paperwork was so important, and therefore not put off from becoming a teacher in the first place because of it no?

I'm not sure what you mean here. Are you suggesting that the SLT are older?

Many senior management these days are younger than most of the teachers under them.

Many senior management these days are younger than most of the teachers under them.

Yep. I am late thirties and every member of SMT in our school (apart from the head) is younger than me, some by 10 years (we have a lot of SMT!)

Yes, I'm assuming older SLT. I don't know loads of schools just a few but SLTs tend to have never had a huge paperwork burden prior to the role.

I recognise everything that has been said. I was described by my head as a "gifted teacher" but that didn't stop me having a break down. The relentless paper trail, the loss of autonomy, which allows the teacher to decide the children's needs and how best to spend her time in the pursuit of the most effective teaching. The inability to think of anything but school and the spiral downwards from a respected teacher who relished in service training in order to do her best for the children but was prevented by endless pen pushing to a total wreck. It can happen fast. I was ill, took ill health retirement. After a year I was asked if I would like some part time work and I took one or two days work a week. I continued to do that until my normal retirement age. I never had the satisfaction that I had at one time as a class teacher. I had lost a job I loved but I gained a life.

I left school in tears today. I am sick of teaching new things at the drop of a hat with no info or guidance. Time taken away from the basics which I must show rapid improvement of despite new children with no English starting literally every week. I am judged on how much improvement the children make despite only having 8 of the children who started the year actually finish it!
New curriculum but no new resources. Everything planned from scratch e.g. Any worksheets written. Head doesn't believe in schemes as it stifles creativity. So does spending over an hour planning an organising each lesson!
Every week there is another theme day so visitor or change to the timetable. That time may well enrich the children's life, fine, but that means a week of money will not be taught. Oh and it's not on the planner to be taught again til may!
New initiatives all the time. For SMT I am sure they think it's just another hour or so. Yes but that is on top of all the other initiatives you have heaped on us. I have being teaching 10 years and frankly have not enjoyed the last 2. Thinking of moving but have heard much worse from other schools. Can't see me lasting more than another 5 at best.

Don't schools have like team leaders who write the lesson plans based on the outcomes determined by whoever is in power, for teachers to deliver

I have never taught in, visited or even heard of a primary school where the lesson plans are written for you by the SMT until your post. Tell me where it is, I will apply!

Our controlled assessment task bank changes every year, for example Starlight.

Each member of the team has a couple of schemes of learning to write each year. They're detailed documents - the last one I did took about 60 hours - this is evenings, weekends & holidays.

Then each teacher has to demonstrate, through their detailed individual planning, how each lesson they teach takes the scheme & adapts it to the requirements of their particular class (down to specific & different tasks or support for a variety of named individual students). & how they are going to adapt next lesson, based on their evaluation of what happened this lesson.

It all takes hours every week - & I'm extremely efficient at it - I'm the queen of fancy Excel planners that impress SLG but are actually largely c&p from last year. Still takes a good few hours & is almost entirely pointless

Oh & the ENTIRE GCSE syllabus, exams & all, changed in 2010, & is changing again next year. All of it. KS4 need schemes of learning to cover a 270 hour course, totally from scratch.

So no, our HOD can't do all the planning . Really, really not.

This thread is shocking. suicides, breakdowns and psychiatric wards. Nothing in this world is worth that.

Well done to all you teachers. Admirable.

The only thing that prevented me from walking out of school during the afternoon today was the fact that I would have to go back later to collect my daughter. I teach in 2 schools. One is a wonderful place to work. The other...well.....I have been teaching for 17 years and this term has been the first time since my very first term that I have come home in tears on a regular basis.

Well what's the difference between the wonderful place to work and the other?

I hope hels71 will be back to answer this, but I'm willing to bet it's about SLT having your back.

At its best it's expressed through an understanding of common decent behaviours and expectations. It's the ethos.

However, what it boils down to is: if the SLT don't/won't support staff, the staff are fucked. The kids know it.

I left for all the reasons you stated, OP. That was 9 years ago and by all accounts the job is almost unrecognisable even from then. I started a tuition business and have never looked back. It's all the great bits of teaching without any of the crappy bits. I'm actually looking for teachers at the moment so if you're in the south east please let me know!

It's worrying that the majority of schools are now staffed by relatively inexperienced staff. Anyone who lasts longer than about 7 years is head teacher material these days.

Whereabouts are you, Misty?! Can you please PM me your location?

The quick answer to what is different is...the head....

I know there's a national shortage of HTs, and Deputies. It increases the chances of one not up to the job.

Anyway, would part of the problem be solved then if HT training and recruitment was invested in?