Teenagers want to be teachers because many of us here are giving all of ourselves to teaching them in the current climate and they have no idea of the sacrifices we make. They will be inspired, we are doing excellent jobs - they don't see the cost of it.
13 years and been off sick LOTS this year. Worst ever. I'm absolutely done it with it all but I can't afford to leave. I still love teaching, still get excellent results and am still very highly regarded, but that is because there is never any let up to the 70 hour weeks. There are staff members who coast, but I can't bring myself to be like this. I would be upset by thinking I wasn't doing my job properly - which is why I am getting so burnt out as it is harder and harder to keep up. I know loads of people who are leaving, recruitment is very tough and some core departments are staffed wholly by NQTs and the turnover is vast. You tell SLT it is too much, they nod, and then ask you to do more. Salt is further rubbed in the wound by the culture of employing lots of APs who have very few teaching hours, if any, and big salaries, whose main job seems to be to monitor what teachers do and put more and more initiatives in place. Whoever said micromanagement is what is doing us in was spot on.
I am a data analyst and a hoop-jumper before I am a teacher nowadays. I spend more time marking (up to 16 hours for one set of more able books) than I do planning lessons and making my subject interesting.
HR tell me I must cut my workload. I tell them that if I do that, I will be put on capability as the hours I do cover the basics of what I am expected to do. If I do less, I will be flagged up. We are scrutinised weekly - work scrutinies, student voice, learning walks at any time (documented). We aren't supposed to do any of this stuff, but the union has given up as nobody will take action against it.
The state of education is terrifying for me and my mental health, but far more terrifying as a parent with a 7 year old going though school.
DH wants me to look abroad, but it's not great timing for DD who is going into Year 13, then uni, next year. Plus, will possibly be very restricted by health issues - she is nearly an adult, ASD and had cancer a few years ago. DS is 7. It would be lovely to move somewhere and feel like they had their mum back .