To hate teaching

[Fireflyfly]

Any fellow teachers on here just feeling absolutely burnt out and wondering why you chose this career ??

Im on a long term supply ( meaning I don’t plan but have all other responsibilities) . The school itself is lovely …. But , I am just worn out .

I spend the day feeling like I’m just shouting all the time . Behaviour is not challenging in terms of major issues , but it’s CONSTANT talking - that is too much for a learning environment , I’m constantly shouting ! All the time . I never wanted to be this type of teacher . I work through lunch , marking , and still don’t leave until around 1645 . The to do list never ends. Everything is on a strict timetable so I’m rushing to get lessons completed , when the class are virtually incapable of doing anything independently. I have an amazing TA who is just as worn out as me and the other 2 teachers of the other classes in the year group are the same ( if not more as they are planning and resourcing ! ) - so I know it’s not me and I’ve been told this year group as a whole are very challenging .

Im mentally and physically drained. I look worse than ever as I have no time or desire to do anything for myself , I’m in pain as I’m on my feet all day and leaning over tiny desks , I don’t have a car right now so I then have a commute . I get home and I have to vacuum ( have a dog so has to be done daily ) , then I’m sorting things for the next day , doing dinners . It’s 715pm and I’ve just stopped and about to make my own dinner . I have never known a job like this . My mind is racing , I feel like the whole day is full speed , my throat is horse from shouting ( that’s mainly just to be heard ! ) , I’m snappy with my children , snappy with my husband .

I didn’t think it would be like this , it’s the hardest job I’ve ever done. I’m still an ECT - my first permanent job was harder and I left as I almost had a breakdown . I went into day to day supply then took a long term for financial security . I’ve been offered a job with this school for September but I can’t face it , I don’t want to go back to day to day ( I have to work part time in the holidays if I do ) but I don’t think I can live like this long term .

I’ve applied for roles out of teaching and I’m awaiting outcomes but I’m worrying about not having the holidays with my own children .

I feel trapped and wish I had never gone into teaching . I trained for 5 years and i hate it and don’t want to be a failure but I don’t know how I could do this forever .

If you hate it, get out. Life's too short.

Yep…and that’s why I left and retrained and now I’m in a career I love which gives me so much more scope for progression etc.

It's impossible to do now. I got out when Covid came. Just never went back. Have never regretted it.

I left 2.5 years ago and have never looked back. I worried about the holidays but it was and still is totally manageable. Get out, it's not worth it

Is it year 4?

it is hard! It does get easier with more experience as you get more efficient but getting to that point is a slog. You can’t do it for the holidays, you have to really want it and accept that there’s always more to do and you’ll never complete your to do list.

It sounds like you're not extroverted enough for it, OP. I wouldn't be either. Even on the best days it would be constantly draining.

It's horrendous in every single way. I'm struggling though to find another job so feel completely stuck. Even basic admin jobs I'm not getting interviews for. Feel very low. Best Wishes to you OP, I hope you find some happiness soon.

OP, you need to join the Facebook group ‘Life After Teaching - Exit the Classroom and Thrive’ - you will see that you are very much not alone. You can get out and things will get better.

Before I read all the replies - it speaks volumes that I have 6 replies within 2 minutes of posting and at a glance none of them say I’m being unreasonable !

It's a really hard job. You said you are an ECT so you may find it easier in the future- I.e can reuse planning/resources and things just generally take less time due to experience. The school you are in can make a massive difference to workload- we do absolutely no marking outside of lesson time. So if there are parts of the job you enjoy then maybe give it another term in another school?? But really life is too short to be giving everything to a job. Whatever you do- you are not a failure.

This is the phrase said to me at the beginning of my career and I didn’t realise how true that would be !

its y3.

I feel like this but I'm 55 and have been teaching for 28 years.

It does get easier as you become more experienced and learn what you really don't need to do. There is really is so much rubbish you're expected to do just in case Ofsted visit (we're expecting them in the next 12-18 months)

I dropped a day before Christmas and have just downsized with a view to retire in the next couple of years.

It's not the job it was when I started in 1996.

I left in 2019 - never looked back. The grass is 100% greener on the other side!

It is exhausting, but as a teacher of 18 years and counting: Find ways other than shouting to manage the classroom. It doesn’t work and the more you do it, the less it works!
Also I would never work through lunch. I don’t know what you’re doing in that time but you are possibly marking more than you need to…depends on school policy but research shows that a lot of marking is pointless. In pedagogy, the tide is turning against marking.
Can you get a car? A commute would make the job much harder for me.
Vacuuming - can someone else do that/take it in turns??

I thought about another school . The thing is this school is really passionate about teacher wellbeing - but it’s still a lot . I thought this school was perfect , and in terms of support , the environment etc it is but it’s still overwhelming so I wonder - is it me ? We can mark that lesson within the lesson but it’s too much to do it all in one lesson with having to actually support the children , I have tried and I don’t think it’s beneficial for them so I have stacks at the end of the day

So get them to self mark or peer mark, mark only 1 piece of writing per week and one Maths.

Year 3 is a tough year. The transition from KS1 to KS2 and often the support drops off the radar.

It’s all within the policy that I do 😩

I have a new car on order , I will have it by the summer so that’s something that won’t be a problem next year.

Inhave always been really positive with my approach to behaviour management and every day that’s how I start but then once the lessons get going , it just doesn’t work . I hate that I’m just shouting and I know I’m just background noise now . When I first started for a few weeks I barely shouted and when I did it had a massive impact and now I just feel like I’m nagging them all the time , I don’t feel in control any more .

Vaccuming / all the stuff I do when I get in has to be me - my husband is amazing but he’s just started a job ( to take the hit of me earning less ) that’s 1 and a half hours drive away and he gets home 7 and a half hours before he’s up again and he also works 6 days so he is even more exhausted than me so I think its unfair to leave him jobs to do. He literally just eats and goes to bed but it’s all he can do x

We can’t do that, it’s not the policy at this school . I get them to self mark at times and it’s awful - changing answers or marking incorrect as correct . They are like they’re y1 I’ve never known anything like it .

YANBU OP. Put it this way, I've never met an Ex teacher who has regretted leaving. I'm sure they exist, but all the ones I know are much happier in their new jobs, and all of them feel like they have a much better work life balance.

What do you do now ?

A lot tell me that , that it’s changed so much .

This school are also due OFSTED , it’s a celebration each week when they don’t get the call !

Already in the group lol I think I joined it within a month of qualifying 🤣

I’m sorry you’re going through this !

Im with you ❤️

I’m am an introvert! I don’t think that helps . One of the reasons I haven’t gone back in permanent is observations . I can’t imagine going back and having to face them eve eye half term , terrifies me !