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.

DC1 is a teacher at secondary school. Gets home around 6:30 pm after a short commute, but can be later if there's been a staff meeting or department meeting. Eats dinner, works for around three hours, usually planning lessons and tries to fit in a reasonable night's sleep so fresh for the next day. Last weekend spent around 20 hours 'deep' marking. That's not even mentioning the time spent trying to learn a few words in a different language so that they can communicate with some of their pupils. Saw their sweetheart for around two hours last week. I am not sure this is sustainable in the long term, especially when they want to settle down and maybe have their own family.

Add message | Report | Message poster Leavingsosoon Fri 23-Oct-15 19:19:28
Again that assumption that a dedicated teacher would never do something as crass as leave on time at the end of the day!

No-one said that at all. I haven't seen one post on here that said teachers don't leave at the end of the day nor that leaving at the end of the day was wrong. A LOT of teachers I know leave at the end of the day and take work home.

Have taught for 20 years, am in FE. Teaching is stressful there too, we have all these problems too and in some depts there is a high turnover of staff. We have lost some inspiring teachers in the last few years.

In FE, the pay along with many, many of the issues posted here is a major issue. We have no pay rises as such, for example a colleague works 0.5 so half the week and she is on £11,000 a year and has been for years. So £22,000 full time.

We love the teaching, we are a great team but we are being ground down by constant demands of targets and constantly changing expectations. [ sad]

It seems crazy that there are all these initiatives, strategies, boxes to tick and yet they aren't working so instead of stepping back and talking to teachers, politicians try something new ad infinitum.

I never understood how the bankers got so much understanding and support and 'There there, no one will take your bonuses away' from the government when they lied, cheated and cocked up spectacularly.
Iceland jailed their corrupt and incompetent bankers.

Teachers are powerless and have no powerful advocates in government.

I am beginning to understand that it is not so much the teaching but the structures and expectations imposed on teachers that are causing problems. spot on. It is micromanagement hell. I can be spot checked against outstanding criteria for any lesson, any day of the week. This happens at least once a week, every week. It is recorded. It is soul destroying. I started off confident and robust. I am shattered by it all. I am also highly regarded in my school and viewed as a very valued member off staff. Lord knows how the ones they are less sure about are treated.

Saw their sweetheart for around two hours last week. I am not sure this is sustainable in the long term, especially when they want to settle down and maybe have their own family. my NQT (worked with me as a trainee too, then taken on) confessed he has no idea how he is going to have a serious relationship and a family as a teacher. I'm FT with responsibilty and the only one with DC in my department. I was sat in on a conversation with younger members of staff who think they won't be able to have a child and stay in teaching. It is so sad, but I understand why they feel this way as I have zero work-life balance and rely heavily on DH during term time.

I am feeling a bit Friday night and half term now. What if all of us classroom teachers resigned and went on supply? The bills to the schools would be massive but no one would have to adhere to the decisions that come from SLT or government. We would, of course set work, teach and mark work because we want the best for the children/ young people.

ipsos if you came up to me and said anything nice in the morning I would probably cry it would be such a shock! I am so used to ridiculous complaints and it always being my fault even if they want me to directly contravene a school policy to suit their dc.

I have had it now and this will be my last year. Luckily I have an alternative up my sleeve relating to the job but not teaching but I would be leaving even if not.
I spend NO time with my seven year old dd as I leave at about 7 in the morning to get to work by 7.15 and I leave on average at six, half six. Then rush home, bath the small one and back on the laptop for another hour or two (normally 2) while DH puts her to bed and makes the tea.

My lesson plans are scrutinised weekly and I get given feedback on them (before I have taught) to improve them in advance so they are as good as they can be.

There are a million other reasons up thread and I agree with all of them. I am not a perfectionist by the way, just a nice person trying to help little kids.

I am DONE. I CANT WAIT TO LEAVE!!!!! I am actually counting the days. It took me over two hours to mark my children's books yesterday, as pp have said with nice colours giving next steps etc, this happens every day! They can't even read them.

Ahhhh I am ranting!!! feeds self wine and steps away from thread

Yes and it's the fact that teachers feel like they get in the neck from EVERYBODY. It's hard enough dealing with the workload, the responsibility, the behaviour of difficult kids etc if you feel supported and valued. But to deal with that while being slated and blamed by government, senior management and often parents is a thankless task.

Pebble
I am a teacher in Scotland. I get to work at half seven. You obviously don't rate your children's school but it bears no resemblance to any other school in Scotland I know of if staff work 9-3.

Well said.
How dare you class us all [teachers] here in Scotland by your own personal experience. Teachers have stresses and are held totally accountable. We are inspected regularly both by the LEA and by Her Majesty's Inspectorate. We are required to be observed, almost EVERY teacher i know does not leave school without having work to do. I work way more than what i should. I have been off twice with stress through this job. The Unions are constantly trying to improve workload as it is a major issue. Your comment its completely insulting.

That comment was to Pebble [ incase it was unclear]

I really hope that Nicky Morgan reads this thread.
What is so sad is that the posts are nearly all saying the same thing, which makes for a huge problem in education and ultimately a loss of many talented teachers as they vote with their feet- if they can.

I wish I was a teacher in Scotland, working 9-3. Sounds idyllic. Oh, hang on, I was a teacher in Scotland then had to stop before I had a breakdown, after working myself into the ground, crying/having panic attacks as I drove to work, getting repeatedly assaulted/injured whilst having endless pointless initiatives/monitoring and stupid paperwork foisted on me.

I'm about to go back to teaching, but on supply so I can feel more in control/take a break if I get anywhere near that stage again. I've been teaching for 15 years, it's got so much worse since I started, I just want to get on and TEACH, do the job I loved so much.

The same Nicky Morgan who did the workload survey, didn't like the results so binned it?

That's the one! Since she ignored the survey she needs to read this and see that the problem has not gone away!

Teaching can involve being sworn at, spat at and grabbed. And that's just by the head teacher.

The tragic thing is that we can't vote with our feet, we have mortgages and kids. We'll end up burning out, going sick (for which we will no doubt be judged) and never making it back into the classroom.

I love teaching, I am very good at it. I am managing to keep on top of things but I am exhausted and I really miss my kids. I just feel like I am never there for them anymore. If I can't be there for my own kids, what's the point?

I finished up by doing supply work.
One teacher seems 'perfect'- so well organised I didn't see how she could do it. Then I covered for her because she was off work with stress. She was doing the impossible.

I'm sorry if some have taken offence at my comments.
It certainly wasn't meant.
Yes, I do think the system where I am is particularly poor but I know others from MN and in RL who think that teachers, in general, have an easier time of it in Scotland.
I have seen it said on MN before too, so it is not just me.

As for using my own personal experience - what else can one use?
(apart from others in RL and on MN)

If the Scottish system is so great why is NS in such a panic about Primary achievements and why does the SQA blame pupils for huge cock ups like last years Higher Maths?

There is far far less accountability in Scotland.
The dedicated teachers get on with it and those who are not get away with it.
Heads are practically unsackable and the Curriculum allows woolly meandering rather than structured rigorous teaching.

Pebble if your child is in P6(I presume that is what you mean as we don't call our classes Y6) then your child is not expected to have already completed 5 years of French. While we have been teaching MFL for many years, 1+2 is pretty recent. I cannot imagine any school abandoning the curriculum for French. I'm also delighted to know that I'm not responsible or accountable for anything at all. Won't bother working through my 3 bags of work this weekend then and will spend time with my DH and daughter instead.

I already am part time (3 days) and dread the thought of going full time ever again. As for our headteacher, she is absolutely on her knees and guess what she is being forced into taking on a second school!!!! Can you imagine? Find a second school or we'll do it for you!

It's not quite true that Nicky Morgan has done nothing. A year after the survey she has announced that 3 working groups will look at the issues.

Perhaps in another year they will make some 'proposals'? And a year after that they will announce a new 'initiative'.

indy I can only go by what my school tells me. If they are incorrect and dc have 'missed' less than I thought than that is good news, thank you.

Re YOU not being responsible or accountable.

I didn't say YOU were not. You may be really diligent for all I know.

But I do know many local teachers who are not and who are not held accountable at all.

Of my children's combined 10 years in Primary so far they have had 2 really good teachers. They were like different children for those years. A good teacher can make a massive difference to a child and be remembered all their lives. And so can a poor one.

That is the issue in (at least parts of) Scotland, as far as I can see and CfE facilitates that (which is not the teachers fault in anyway).

I'm not a teacher but I was a TA, and I would never ever be a teacher for all the money in the world (I'm hopelessly unorganised for a start, give me a bit of paper and it'll be lost 2 seconds later!)

I've always admired teachers even before I worked in a school, but working there and seeing the shit they have to put up with from SLT, Academy management (faceless Academy management pissing me about was the reason I left) and Ofsted made me admire them all the more.

All this crap about all children having to meet average or above average targets. DSs teacher told me wearily that DSs target was too high and he wouldn't reach it (I knew it, he wasn't telling me anything I didn't know. DS has mild SEN) but he still had to try and get DS to that impossible target. He didn't, and then he left teaching, no job to go to. Teaching lost a fantastic teacher, because he couldn't just be left to bloody teach.

My best mate was a secondary school teacher, she'd get home from work at 7pm, then sit doing marking and planning till 1am, up again at 5am to get to work. She'd go in in the holidays - having to take her kids with her. It's no bloody life.

I make sure I say nice things to my children's teachers all the time! They probably think I right creep.