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.

Which is why I always marked as a supply teacher.
Long term supply is different. Short term supply is the norm because of PPA time and courses.

Any primary class is going to do without the teacher when they get PPA time.

My eldest son's PPA is covered by an HLTA (I have no problem with this - special school so supply would be a disaster)

I agree about the relationships thing mentioned by pp. One of the reasons we've put a particular school first choice for ds3's secondary applications was because they spend a lot of time focussing on relationships - both between pupils & between pupils & staff

I toyed with the idea of doing a PGCE years ago. Decided to work as a TA and Cover Supervisor via an agency, just to get a taster.

Admittedly I worked at quite a few challenging schools, in not the best areas...but the experiences put me off teaching with a vengence.

I got hit across the face with a chair wielded by a 6ft 15 year old when I got between him and the boy he was going for (teacher had already exited the classroom). Had my handbag stolen hidden for several hours. Was sworn at on quite a routine basis.

Believe me I was certainly no pushover, but the basically 'casual' nature of the verbal aggression and insolence took some getting used to.

I can't recall any really overt bad behaviour in lessons when I was the CS, but it felt far more like crowd control than actual teaching - even when it was an English lesson, and I have a good English Literature degree and studied linguistics at Post grad, and could have been of genuine help (rather than being the Cover Supervisor in DT lesson say?).

I did it for months, hoping I would have better experiences, but never did. Needless to say I dropped my PGCE before the course started.

Out of quite a few of our friends who went into teaching straight from university the only 3 left working as teachers are all teaching at selective schools, having regretfully left the state system before they were 30.

Skandi that's reminded me of the pupil who threw a lab stool across the room once. When I tried to restrain him he smashed my head into a concrete wall.
The supply teacher who took over my class had her handbag stolen and was locked in the stock cupboard. She'd worked in a school for pupils with complex needs and she was no pushover either.
My Head teacher basically wouldn't admit that the school had discipline problems. Any incidents were dismissed as lessons not being sufficiently engaging.

I did a lot of research on this last year for a book. Excessive workload was the number one reason given. Other reasons included Poor behaviour of students, Lack of support from senior staff, Too much focus on exam results and targets, Bullying by the head or senior staff, Changes to pay and pensions, Too many ‘new’ initiatives, Unrealistic expectations of pupils’ abilities, Poor work/life balance, Verbal abuse from pupils, Physical assault by student, Not enough time to do things properly, Too physically tiring, Constant observations , Criticism of performance, Public perceptions, Government interference, Ofsted.

The book is called 'Leaving Teaching' if anyone is interested and gives advice for teachers who want to leave as well as case studies of people who have left to do other things. It made me really sad seeing how many great teachers had left the profession.

I enjoyed supply because i still got to teach and i took nothing home.
On the flip side, in my previous job I was head of my subject. One member of staff was signed off sick (stress) for about 8 weeks and for those 8 weeks I had to plan and set work for his classes as well as my own. It was totally exhausting and almost finished me off. None of their work got marked because the school tried to cover the absence with free staff here and rather than paying long term supply.

As a supply I was not lazy - in fact I was more attentive to student than I am now, since now I also have to be logging merits, behaviour, online hw, reading emails and often sending work elsewhere for absent students. I was able to focus 100% on the students and their understanding of their task. I always marked work as I circulated around the room as well as giving verbal feedback.
I am confident that I did a good job as two different schools called me In when they found out they had ofsted the next day.

The only reason I am still teaching is because I do PPA cover (which does involve planning, marking and assessing but less so than having English and maths) and supply and only work part time.
The sheer bonkers work load and pressure from on high to meet totally unattainable targets led me to decide no more class teacher for me. #

We had a supply teacher in for a term and they refused to do any marking or reporting

Genuinely interested to know why the school didn't just ask for a different supply teacher? I realise this would have meant another change for the students, but if they wouldn't even do this I can't help thinking there'd be other things they'd leave undone too - some of them perhaps crucial

'Why so many teachers want to quit.'
Isn't that the subject of this thread? It's interesting how much of it has been about supply teaching. A bit different.

It's all my fault, I suggested earlier in the thread that we teachers should all resign and do supply and have an easy life. And perhaps indicate to Ofsted how we feel. Sorry it was at the start of the half term break. I am almost human again now and might do something fun with my children. Bless them, I think they are almost as knackered as me. We have done the orthodonist, the dentist, just the MOT to go.

I would go back to supple in a heartbeat... But once baby no2 arrives in a couple of months it will cost me 90 childcare for a day, to earn £90 before tax, NI etc. So in real terms it would cost me something like £10 a day to work! We would get no help from govt as DH salary takes us over the threshold.

Genuinely interested to know why the school didn't just ask for a different supply teacher?

Because they were a maths teacher. There wasn't a choice. A teacher who could actually teach maths, (from minimal planning) but who wouldn't do marking, or a teacher of a random subject trying to teach maths for a whole term, who would need a lot of support.

Ah yes, see what you mean, giraffe - my fault for not having thought of the "specialist subject" issue

Still a bit mean of that supply teacher though ...

This is the reality of science supply teaching in our area...

Science supply teachers offer us their services. They are qualified science teachers, so students can expect their practical entitlement to use Bunsen burners, acids and all the other stuff that secondary science requires. They will not do any marking and only the most basic of lesson planning based on pre-provided schemes of work. The HODs will have to tell the technicians which lessons are being taught - the supply teachers won't do it.

That's it..... take it or leave it. The free market at it's best.....

Over the last four years our school has not had a single year without at least a term's worth of supply in physics. The head of physics was expected to set all the cover work, books and reports were left untouched. Unsuprisingly the head of physics left. What option does the school have? There aren't any supply science teachers who are prepared to mark shitloads of books and plan lessons. If they are prepared to do that, they'd be in permanent jobs. They do supply because they don't want all that crap but they are always in demand because they can supervise science practical lessons.

In our area we are just far enough out of London to be not exciting, and close enough to have rents of +£1000 pcm for a one-bedroom flat. Hence, we can't even attract overseas teachers looking for a year or two in London.

I wish it was different. I don't wish it was 1981 - I'd settle for 2007.

t's a very valid point, ReadtheSmallPrint

Considering what we've seen on this thread, I ought to have remembered that schools should be grateful for anyone with a science degree who's prepared to teach at all. After all, just why the hell would they ...

Actually, Puzzled I still genuinely enjoy it most of the time. I love my year 11s, who will all make their target grades because they are motivated and interested in the subject. My year 12s and 13s are fantastic, but will be the undoing of my performance management because ALPS targets never translate well between GCSE scinece and A level chemistry. I don't love my bottom set year 9 last lesson on a THursday with 3 students with a Statement and 5 others on the SEN register and no LSA at all because 'it couldn't be funded'. The attitude of the SENCo is 'don't do practical work with them'.

I still enjoy my job, but it's on a knife-edge. I can't take on any more. I get away without doing a lot of the crap that other people on here have to put up with because we have good kids (mostly).

As I've said before, I don't worry for me. I worry for my DCs.

I still genuinely enjoy it most of the time

As with most who do the job, frankly I'm lost in admiration; I just hope they appreciate you at least some of the time

I am not a teacher but having read this thread I think you are all amazing. Such a shame that you cannot do your jobs without interventions. All the box ticking and silly different coloured pen stuff is in my view insulting to your profession. I know I couldn't do your job. Have some from me

Thank you Puzzled and sugar.

It's amazing what four days off and a large glass of Metaxa will do. If I can make it 'til Christmas I'm sure I'll make it through the year. At least we shouldn't have Ofsted this year!

'Supply teachers can't become the norm because behind every supply teacher is a class teacher setting the work and picking up the threads once they've left.

We had a supply teacher in for a term and they refused to do any marking or reporting (as I've seen some supply teachers advise on here). What actually happened was the marking and reporting was divvied up among the rest of the department increasing their workload. But I guess the supply teacher was happy.'

In some schools, supply is becoming the norm though. Why did your school acceppt the refusal if it was not OK with the other staff? Why didn't they get someone else in who would plan, mark and report?
She was honest about what she'd do in the role, so I don't think there was any deception, was there?

Oh bother, I didn't read on far enough and see that you's answered the question, Noble. Apologies for being in a rush.

The very first thing that I read on Twitter this morning was that supply teachers are costing schools a fortune- especially in subjects like physics.
The answer is simple, so I hope that Nicky Morgan does read this, the work load has to be eased. Teachers have families and lives and they need more time - they can't be expected to work every evening and one day at weekends. (And more at busy periods like report writing).

''Why so many teachers want to quit.'
Isn't that the subject of this thread? It's interesting how much of it has been about supply teaching. A bit different.'

Not exactly off topic though. There are a lot of reasons why teachers leave FT classroom posts, and many of those reasons have been given here.
One of the reasons teachers stay in posts when they are on the verge of cracking up, or are already a scrambled weeping mess is that so many of them don't know what else they can do.
That's not because of lack of skils, but if you tell someone they are crap, over and over again, if they are being abused by multiple sources on numerous fronts,rendering them sleep-deprived and feeling guilty that they aren't coping, it takes a while before they find the strength and self-belief to think that they are capable of making a choice.
Like any emotionally-abusive relationship.
So they leave, and after a breathing space, many choose supply. Where you are still teaching in a class, doing duties, back in the same environment that you thought was unsurviveable.
But this time, you have the power. People are pleased to see you, thank you, look after you and if things get unpleasant, you can make an active decision to stay or go. You can take a day off whenever you like.
Have I quit teaching? Sort of.