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 .

The behaviour in schools right now is shocking. Teachers are done in and it is terrifying to see. Lots are leaving, lots of cover, only 1 or 2 people applying for new roles. Teachers are overworked and under appreciated. I worry for the future as we need teachers to educate our future adults. Looking at the state of the kids today, the future looks bleak.

Our Year 4's are the class that were affected by Covid. Partial time spent in Reception and Year 1.

I left teaching in 2018 after 14 years. I now work in higher education and I wouldn't go back to schools under any circumstance. I still have anxiety dreams about being back in the classroom!

I took a significant drop in pay when I left, but I'm not a million miles away from the UP3 equivalent now. The holidays are just a non issue because I'm not completely exhausted, and I also get plenty of time to do life admin around my job. The flexibility and autonomy I enjoy now are just astounding in comparison - I never take my working conditions for granted.

You are not a failure for wanting to leave. It's an impossible job and life's just too short.

(edited for typos)

I'd try something more extreme with the kids.

Do the main culprits have parents that support the school? I'd start by calling home and telling the parents about the poor behaviour.

Another option is sending them to the head en masse! I teach in secondary but once sent 6 to the behaviour room in an hour - I'd just had enough of the low level disruption. I regularly call parents too as that works well if the parents are supportive.

Before quitting this is the time to come up and try with new strategies.

If they're all being a pain then get them out the classroom for an impromptu PE lesson and make them run a mile round the playground!

Ps - I'm also a parent to twins in Y3, one of whom can be a pain in the bum! The teacher regularly chats to me and I implement punishments at home if she is naughty!

If you can manage on contracts, you may be able to survive until you find yourself a new career, and still be around for your own children. Do yourself a good CV and sign up with as many agencies as you can. As a teacher you have good transferable skills which you can finesse into useful attributes for an employer. (For example: teaching enables you to present information clearly and confidently to a wide range of audiences; you can easily multi-task; you are a self-starter who is happy to manage and prioritise her own workload, and you can manage large mixed teams...!)

I left 10 years ago after 15 years at the chalkface. I was burnt out and exhausted. I'm so relieved I got out.

I also left during Covid, never went back. I was ups3 so very experienced. Never regretted it. It’s a shit job these days

Which career? 👀 Asking for a friend...

I am sorry you are feeling like this. It sounds like you are doing a good job - your school want to keep you - and it's clear from your posts that providing a good education for the kids in your care is important to you. But you want a decent work-life balance too, and that's reasonable.

I am in secondary, which is a lot easier. (Would you consider moving into secondary? I work with a number of former primary teachers who find secondary a lot of conducive to a good work life balance - planning and marking is lighter, larger schools so responsibilities more shared out, etc etc).

I absolutely LOVE teaching - other than my child, it is by far the best thing in my life and I feel so privileged to have the job I do. I work in a city comp in a deprived area, but in my opinion (not Ofsted's!) a good school. I prefer it to other environments I have worked in (including a brief stint in an independent) - it suits me perfectly.

I did not always find teaching so easy or enjoyable. The first two or three years of teaching are brutal. I would have really struggled if I had had kids. There is so much to learn, and planning takes so long!

And then every time you move school, it takes at least a year to bed in and get fully accepted by the kids. But that doesn't compare to the full on stress of starting out.

It can be a great job. It has given me so many wonderful opportunities to go places and do things I would never otherwise have done, alongside the kids. It has given me a really solid sense of purpose and self worth, and of my place in the world, even at points when everything else has gone tits up.

But it's not for everyone. I do believe you need some form of vocation for it to work - obviously that can look different for different people. But if you don't truly have that love of it in your heart, however excellent you might be in the class room, you will burn out I think.

You must do what is right for you - life is too short to stay unhappy for long. You could give yourself a sensible deadline, and if you are still hating it by then, make plans to get out. It might be worth trying at least one contrasting school environment first (schools really are so different - even ones which on paper look similar).

Possibly consider some counselling - your school may well have access to a service that could provide you with some for free. I find it can just help to sort out all the different strands of what is going on, and clarify exactly what you are looking for.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Hey OP. You sound completely overwhelmed. For your own mental health you need to change things. I'm 30 years teaching come August (Scotland). It's very rewarding but very hard job.

It's not for everyone . If it's not for you, it's best to find out soon before it breaks you. Like PP said, it's quite an extrovert 's job- you're performing all the time. I'm a big personality, & you often need this to keep the kids on side. I'm secondary.and don't shout: my mantra is that if I make them laugh I'm 50% of the way there, the other 50% is having interesting topics & resources tailored to my clientèle, being super organised, having high expectations and by being kind- kindness gets you a long way in life generally, but especially with young people.

Some days I want to lie in a dark room, but mostly I love my job. I'm in a deprived inner-city school & that's exactly right for me.

Please don't break yourself, in the end it's just a job.

This sounds ideal...but we have to follow the school marking policy. In my school, we have to mark EVERY piece of work in all books every day. Our SLT do daily 'drop ins' and go through books...they 'found' (searched hard for!) one piece of work in one book that I had somehow missed a few weeks ago, and I got an 'informal warning' about following the marking policy!! I've been teaching for 30 years now and felt like a scolded child. It was utterly bizarre to be so chastised over a single piece of work out of the many hundreds I'd already marked that particular week. The work...a short, three sentence answer to a comprehension question! I suspect the book simply hadn't been handed in and I'd not noticed 🤷‍♀️

Exactly this! I'm in Year 3 and I've never, ever had a year as bad as this one. It's broken me to the point I had to take a week off with utter exhaustion in February. I honestly thought I was going to have a break down...I just walked out one day in absolute tears, with no support offered, and stayed in bed for a week. I worry about what is going to happen with this cohort...and wonder how it's got to this point!

Something has to give...and more research needs to be done about the issues we are having now in schools. It's just so sad. I feel like we are heading towards some kind of 'perfect storm' that will implode our education system.

I suspect nobody will respond to this as I’m months late but also a teacher and feeling the same. Keep looking for other jobs out-with the profession but don’t know what else to do. I feel trapped. I have toddlers at home and when I go home I’m exhausted and same story at the weekend. It’s all consuming and I’ve had enough. I feel your pain.

Hi! I feel in the same boat too! 15 years in. Overwhelmed with everything and burnt out! What jobs do people do when they leave teaching? I have no clue!

Who the fuck voted YABU?!

I teach year 2 OP and am very experienced. It's a really draining job, physically, mentally and emotionally. Have you just had an 8 week half term? We have and everyone is totally exhausted.

Only you can decide if teaching is for you. Is your eCT mentor supportive? I'd try to stick out the 2 years then you can teach abroad or jack it in but still have your QTS.

I totally agree there is a perfect storm brewing in schools.

Covid led to poor speech and language in babies and toddlers cared for by masked, isolated adults. Lack of socialisation opportunities has produced 7 year olds who can't take turns, share or compromise. Children parked in front of ipads for hours every day now cannot concentrate for any length of time. Poverty is rife due to coL crisis. No more surestart centres means messages about reading to children daily from birth, singing rhymes etc aren't getting through. Many children have no books at home. Parents are more entitled than ever. Children are more anxious and risk averse than 10 years ago. Cuts to funding mean far less additional adult support. Crammed curriculum with ridiculous expectations and overcomplicated planning means the basics aren't taught properly. Endless red tape means planning simple school trips takes hours. Ridiculous reinvention if the wheel every 5 minutes to fit the latest trend.

The teaching part is great, I try to zone out of the above.

Go work in a private school. It's night and day behaviour/discipline wise.

Holy shit - that's unbelievable
I'm in secondary and I'm lucky if I mark each class' books more than once a half term. It's impossible. I teach 300 kids, am head of 2 subjects and am currently organising an exchange trip. I could work 80 hours a week and I still wouldn't get everything done. The kids at my school are really well-behaved though, thank god.

OP, I wouldn't stay in teaching now as an ECT. Save yourself - I'm 53 and have been a teacher for 30 years, so it's too late for me!

find a way out now. Dont get trapped. It is relentless both short and long term.

and you will not necessarily get the same holidays as your children. My
oct and feb weeks rarely match. So it is two weeks off which have no benefit to family time. Easters used to be wildly different.

Our policy is every book every three weeks. I have ten different classes. It is endless… and rather pointless.

Teaching works pretty well when you have school- age children, but not forever. There's just too much riot control and managing spoilt children to make it a long-term option. I did 12 years, and left when I realised I was burnt out. (The pension is handy, though!) You do acquire the capacity to multi-task, the ability to express yourself clearly, as well as instinctive crisis management - all of which are transferable skills for another career.

I'm a massive extrovert and was an excellent teacher. Everyone was so surprised when I handed my notice in as they all thought I had my eye on leadership positions. But I was completely burnt out. I switched to a WFH job and was worried that I would miss the buzz of school but honestly I was so 'peopled out' that it was at least two years before I started feeling like I needed some human contact at work again!

I left after 3 years. Best thing I ever did and never regretted it. Sorry to hear it's the same story now, I feel bad for the kids in school but you need to be a super human or very gifted imo to be able to cope with being a teacher. I take my hat off to teachers who do a good job and enjoy it. Please leave for yourself and your family.

Run away! Don't look back!

We don't have a marking frequency policy, thankfully!