Anyone else thinking of leaving?

[TeacherPrimaryabc]

I work full time. I am exhausted every evening. The children are getting more and more difficult. I work most evenings and one day at the weekend. But, I just get on with it. My Headteacher doesn't know that I am feeling like this, i work really hard so they are happy with my work, so they would probably be shocked if I resigned. Do I just keep going, feeling harrassed, tired and fed up, or do I get out? What would I say, when I haven't shown any signs of leaving till now? Do I say I look fine but I am actually not, so I'm leaving?? Do I ask for part time or just do supply? It's such a tough job.😥

Just get out, you won’t regret it!

You could try part time.
I dropped a day 18 months ago and it massively improved my mental health but I'm still leaving in July.

What's your situation? Age, how long have you been teaching, kids, mortgage?

I'll be 56 and 6 months in August so I'm retiring with a view to getting a part time job to boost my pension. I've been teaching 29 years. Our mortgage is paid and kids have got jobs and are self sufficient.

I have 39 school days left.

I feel for you. I moved to another school, which has helped as my colleagues are more supportive. However, the kids are increasingly more difficult. There are other options, maybe explore these?

Thanks for responses. I'm early 40's so still got some time to go before I can retire. Still paying bills etc and family life but working every evening and weekend is completely exhausting me. I resent having so little time for myself and family. I work in a good school, we get great results in SATS, a supportive SLT with behaviour and the children achieve, but it's very intense. Lots of book looks, observations, phone calls with parents etc. I hate having to prove myself over and over again. You have to work so hard. The fact that what we do, works for the children, makes it difficult to argue against. They think highly of me, I believe but inside I'm anxious, stressed and exhausted, trying to keep up with their high standards. I don't want to leave a "good" school for a rubbish school, but it's so intense here. I'm so miserable being so tired all the time, but teaching is tiring everywhere. Do I leave a career I'm doing relatively well in because it's making me miserable?

I'd leave a school like that! We don't really ever have book looks and I've not had an internal observation since before my youngest child was born....he is starting school this year! We get good results and were close to Ourstanding in our recent inspection. It doesn't need to be like that to be effective.

It sounds like more to do with your school than with you not being suited to teaching.

That said, I think most schools are becoming progressively more difficult to work at mainly due to behaviour and workload/expectations.

I'm moving to another school in September teaching a different subject and a different age group (currently KS3/KS3 science, moving to KS5 psychology) and am hoping that this will give me a bit more positivity and enthusiasm because right now I am not enjoying teaching at all!

I think that it would be wise to explore other options, you have to look after yourself first and do what is right for you. There is no shame in trying out different things until you find the place/job you are (reasonably) happy in!

You need to find another school. Or form a plan to apply for other roles so you can be gone within a year.

I am thinking of leaving teaching altogether. Just finishing another long term Supply role. I am really, really fed up this time . They asked me to apply for permanent, then lost my forms and asked me to apply again a month later. When I asked what was happening a few weeks ago they took a few weeks to find out and said they weren’t going ahead.It took them two weeks to answer my question about an exit date.

I know it’s part and parcel of being a Supply Teacher but it grinds you down in the end.

I'm looking for other work. I can't handle the rudeness and total lack of respect from students. When I tell them clearly that they're making it impossible for the rest of the class to learn anything, their parents complain that I'm being unkind or mean.
I'm not suited for teaching. I tell the truth. Parents don't like it, and we aren't allowed to be honest anywhere.

@colourmystic
It isn’t you! Unfortunately that’s the way it is now in teaching. There’s no respect from students or parents and no support from SLT and no consequences for poor behaviour. I remember the day I knew that I wouldn’t be in teaching until I retired. We were shown a video on the first INSET day where the teacher was high fiving every student as they walked into the lesson. This was followed by the head telling us about a ‘revolutionary’ practice in another country where there would be about 30 people (including students, parents, governors etc!) stood around the classroom observing a lesson! When these outrageous ideas were being suggested as good practice, I knew it was time to go. I was not there the following September.

God, I would LOVE for thirty adults to observe what I'm expected to manage on a daily basis. I would PAY for that. They'd have to be hidden, though, because a couple of students are cunning enough to know that if they treated anyone else the way they treat teachers, it wouldn't fly.
Doesn't fly with me either but I've lost enough teaching contracts to understand that the education system doesn't want anything to change. Apparently we should keep rewarding students for the most appalling and often abusive behaviour. Teaching is horrible.

I hear what u r saying. I'm m.55. Single. Handed my notice in. Selling house and relocating. Need to get a part time job to supplement pension. Had enough of crap SLT, school becoming like a business, increasing indiscipline and ridiculous work load. I just don't want to have to work so hard.