To wonder why so many teachers want to quit

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

Inspired by other threads but I didn't want to derail.

What is going on in education that is making teaching so stressful?

I work in the City and you don't see too many people quitting with stress even though the work can be stressful. Certainly, not the numbers you see in teaching.

I hadn't realised how prescriptive teaching has become. You will teach in a certain way because exam questions have to be answered a specific way etc. you will mark and give feedback in a particular way because there is an OFSTED box to tick. It must be very frustrating.

Such a depressing thread.

I come from a family of teachers - my mum was a teacher, as was my aunt, and my sister (who got out early, and now writes books and runs training courses). Many of my Facebook friends are teachers. They all report exactly the same issues as are raised on this thread.

When we moved to France there was a period when many expats considered moving back to the UK once they had school age kids, because the UK system was seen as better especially for SEN kids. Hardly anyone considers going back now unless they can access private schools.

Teaching here in France is I am sure thankless in some ways - it's not well paid and a lot of state schools are a bit crap because of ghettoisation - but at least teachers are treated as professionals who get to exercise their judgement, and who are not completely demoralised, and as a parent I think that is how it should be.

OP I do a City-type job (though I am not a banker and am not physically located in the City) and while my job can be stressful I am treated as a professional, I have managed who trust my judgement, and I am paid in consequence. Few teachers these days would say the same thing. I wouldn't be a teacher for twice the salary; thank god there are still people who will do such a thankless job in such poor conditions for such a (relatively) modest salary.

I wonder if some of the feelings of stress come from feeling trapped in a career which turned out not to be what you expected.

Is there much opportunity for potential teachers to have a proper look at the career before they make the plunge? In other careers there are lots of ways in which you can 'try before you buy'. Does teaching have enough of the same?

My DD is currently at uni studying biochemistry. Many times people have suggested teaching as a fall back career option for her. Hardly good career advice.

Increasing expectation without the funds to provide them or the staffing.

And wages are not increasing in line with the increased work load.

For the number of hours worked with a degree level required job the pay is not at all fair IMO.

Everyone harps on about the amount of holiday they get forgetting they also work during those (paperwork as everything is accountable) and ignoring the fact most teachers work 7.30/8am - 6 pm everyday and often do more at home in evenings and weekends too.

Very high targets and if they aren't reached then no pay rise.

Dolly that is so sad about that poor student. And utterly demoralising for your DH. I hope he did something about it (no idea what but anyway) It shows a lunatic system where we are treated like robots to be graded at all times.

Budgets have been cut (with more to come) so we have lost teachers. Because of this class sizes are becoming uncontrollably large. Yet expectations regarding results and marking are constantly increasing. When I started teaching ten years ago I could mark a set of books with some ticks, crosses, a mark out of 20 and a 'well done'. Now I'm expected to be pen pals with my students writing notes back and forth to each other.

With the number of kids in the class, the workload is becoming unsustainable. I know results will drop despite us working our arses off to compensate but this will be seen to be the result of incompetence and not good enough.

I've also spent several weekends recently putting together a lever arch file of evidence to try to get a meagre pay rise.

The kids are feeling it too. We have ever-increasing numbers of kids with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, self harm. That's quite hard to deal with too.

Not enough hours in the day to meet expectations.

Gnome most applicants will have done volunteering in a school as standard. I think most courses expect you to have spent time in a school.

A previous poster mentioned teachers being blamed for all the wrongs of adolescents - teenager pregnancy, self-harm etc.
Recently another onerous burden - identifying and flagging up potential radicalisation - you can imagine the stress of being responsible for prevent ing that, and also FGM.

As an experienced teacher, you are expected to do more and more with no prospect of a pay rise and the threat of capability (eg the sack) if you dont.
what many also forget is teachers dont get paid holiday pay and the cost of holidays during peak periods are so high cant afford holidays anyway.

Endless, relentless scrutiny with incredibly high expectations attached. Only outstanding is good enough, anything else is literally red-marked against your name. It is very high stress.

This has never been about the children - I have taught in a range of schools. It's about members of leadership justifying their own existence by enforcing relentless strategies upon class teachers and then checking up every week to see they are being implemented so they can create a bank of evidence it is working.

As leadership groups in schools have grown - there were over 20 assistant principals in my last school each with few teaching hours and a role to oversee a ceratin aspect of school life and teaching - the number of expectations/strategies/initiatives forced onto staff grow too.

The trick is (easier said than done) to not allow some of the bullshit to grind you down.

I have really unrealistic exam targets this year. So what are they going to do if I don't achieve them, sack me? I'm an experienced chemistry/physics teacher with a good reputation of classroom practice in an area with a teacher recruitment crisis. Actually, crisis is putting it a bit mildly. It's all hot air and a way of the head justifying to the CofG that they are 'doing performance management' so they can then justify to Ofsted that they are overseeing the head 'doing' performance management.

I don't do after school clubs. I'm part time and, after 12 years in the profession I am still on MPS as I didn't want anyone to make me feel 'obliged' to take on extra responsibility. There are only so many hours in the day that I'm prepared to give the job. Again, if they don't like it they can find someone better (or just anyone at all considering how many applicants they get per job).

I mark as much as I have to and as little as I can get away with. The kids mark a lot of stuff (fill in the correct word here type stuff) and I mark the bits that really need proper marking. If that's not good enough....

After 12 years in teaching I know which battles are worth fighting. I know which bits of paper and policies can be quietly placed directly into the recycling bin knowing full well that they will be out of fashion next year. Whatever happened to differentiation based on VAK learning style?

It keeps me sane.

Last night I was told at Year 11 parents evening, by a parent, that 'all the kids love your lessons'. It's little things like that that make the job worthwhile. It is too easy to forget those moments.

Anyway, it's half term....

My three words are: perception and reality

Perception: teachers are saps who couldn't get better jobs and don't live in the 'real world'. They moan and are lazy and aren't bothered about what is best for my child. Useless wasters. They think they know it all. They make a big deal out of marking but they are paid to do it so why does it matter how long it takes?

Reality: marking, marking, marking,marking, marking, marking, planning, work scrutiny, data entry x3, verbal abuse from students ( see perception for reasons), mistrust and complaints from parents (see perceptions for reasons), punitive performance management, new initiatives every week (to be judged under performance management). No chance of a pay rise in this life time but as my pension contributions go up ( for a pension I will probably never actually see) my net pay actually goes down every year. The 1% cost of living rise actually cost me £30 a month in extra pension contributions.

Does any of this sound appealing?

It is so sad to hear of so many good, dedicated teachers leaving the profession.

I have a teenager who wants to be a teacher. Ten years ago I would have been delighted that they were hoping to do this. Now I find myself hoping that they choose another career because I worry about the pressure, stress, long hours etc.

Someone showed me this cartoon recently - it's spot on!

I have been an escaped teacher for a year now. I finally feel human. I can go into my old school without feeling anxious. I can volunteer in MY children's school and hear readers without feeling anxious.

I left after teaching for 20 odd years because the things that made me a good and sought after teacher 20 years ago were making me a 'requires improvement' teacher now. I left because i was told I cared too much about the whole child and not enough about the results of my group. I left because a bad lesson observation meant I was put onto an improvement plan which left me subject to so many observations that I developed performance anxiety and could not teach in front of an observer... (I fainted after one observation and my year 2 class had to call someone to help). Managements solution to this was to observe me even more. I left because I could no longer be a good mum to my own children (who both have an ASC). I left because I dreaded waking up each morning and delayed going to bed each night because then tomorrow came slower. I left because I was barely functioning as a human being.

Mistigri
I am beginning to see now why my stressful job is more bearable. I do have autonomy and trust from management. My ideas are listened to and nobody micromanages.

Teachers aren't rewarded with big bonuses either. It's not a dig OP, my DH works in banking but I know he wouldn't do the job if it didn't afford him bonuses that made it worthwhile. I know the bonus culture is dwindling but it does still exist, (most) teachers have to battle for pay rises.

And you don't have Gove as your CEO!

All of above plus fact that everyone feels they know everything about your job because they went to school once.

We're dealing with lives here. Delicate, little, unique lives. But all the government sees are numbers.
I think this is perfect orange. We are dealing with children who don't fit a certain mould. We do our best. That should be good enough.

Also you have about 400 people telling you what to do and how to do it from senior leaders to Ofsted and parents.

Certainly remuneration is an issue. Partly because it is a tangible form of recognition. Even if management doesn't congratulate you on your work, if they pay well then you do feel acknowledged.

Gove is no longer in charge of education.

This thread depresses me. I work in financial services and find it incredibly dull and stressful, and hate the paperwork. I am so inspired by the teachers at my DC's school, but threads like this put me off completely. I think teaching would break me.

I'm not a teacher myself but have a few family members who are. When my sister and I lived together I would come home from work and be done. She would often be up until stupid o clock marking/sticking things in books. Going in early, staying late, getting abuse off certain parents etc. And that was just foundation!

She was exhausted constantly. She loves teaching but now does supply.