To believe that I will leave teaching altogether within a couple of years ?

[Phoenixxx]

I am fed up of verbal abuse from students, and being spoken to like dirt and mocked. Some of them are astonishing. I'm fairly thick skinned, I get all sorts of comments about how I look, how I walk, my voice, anything, but it just wouldn't happen in a lot of other professions and we shouldn't have to put up with it. Because of the cost/issues attached with permanent exclusion, most are back in your lessons within a couple of days, even the next day.
Other teachers in my school have had death threats, and luckily i've never been assaulted.
But I have some very intimidating characters in my lessons, and the fear is there.
Like most other teachers, I frequently work more than my directed hours without extra pay. The 30 minute lunch break is rarely a full break for you to sit and do what you want.
I barely have any energy in the evenings.
Is it like this in all schools ? I saw on Facebook a friend who was posting practical jokes that colleagues were making on her during the day. I couldn't believe that people actually have the time at work to sit and mess around like that.
People going out for cigarette breaks when they please.
It's a shame for the students who do want to be there, who have good behaviour. I would like a less stressful job with better pay and no daily abuse or intimidation.
Did anyone leave teaching and find themselves happier in a new career ? Or is anyone in a school where majority of students are very well-behaved and respectful ?

I have none of that in my school, but it's private. I have worked in some very tough state schools and frankly, fuck that shit. Being locked on site all day was shite too, management treating us like children.

I'm getting out soon. Retraining as we speak, with lots of voluntary work in the holidays and dropping to part-time soon to get qualified in my new field.

It's fighting teenagers to care about their grades, reasoning against them to do work or sit in their assigned seat or just not talk to me like a piece of shit. It's fighting against parents to enforce sanctions, trying to support the mute, deaf, blind, those with behavioural issues, those with terrible home lives, the young carers, those just not suited to an academic life - often all in the same lesson, with no support. It's constantly proving I'm doing my job, despite it being blindingly obvious for anyone who enters my classroom.

On my second day volunteering I was left alone, being told "we trust you". On my third I was taking over little projects. They offered me a job straight away once I fully qualify. I had an actual lunch break every day.

Today, I didn't pee between 8.30 and 5.30 in my teaching job.

Therein lies the difference and the reason I'm happily halving my pay to get out.

I couldn't put up with that. Could you look at changing schools, perhaps move to a better area where parental expectations of ordinary standards of decent behaviour are higher? I know there are supremely dedicated teachers who put up with a lot to make a difference in schools like yours.
But no shame in admitting you're not one of them!

Have you thought about TEFL?
Students are generally motivated, classes are small and kids want to learn.
It doesn't pay as much as class teaching but it's a world apart and very rewarding.

Another voice saying try changing school rather than career. Special schools have different pressures, but student behaviour is rarely one of them.

I don't know how you do it. I worked in a couple of different comprehensive state schools when I first started teaching and was so overwhelmed with the levels of abuse and daily crap that teachers had to put up with from the kids and the lack of sufficient consequences to stop poor behaviour from continuing. I considered leaving teaching but then applied to a local independent school. 10 years down the line and I have never regretted it. Yes I have other stresses to deal with, there will be demanding parents and pressure for results at any school, but day to day I never have to deal with rudeness, disrespect or really any disruption in my lessons. Any significantly poor behaviour is dealt with severely but tbh the kids just wouldn't dream of being rude to their teachers. A bit of cheekiness maybe but all good banter! The kids hold the door open for teachers and say thank you after the lesson (even if it's just a private study session).

I do really admire teachers who are continuing the run our state sector schools dealing with the daily toll of increasingly poor behaviour but I personally felt so worn down and demoralised by it.