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If it makes you miserable, get out now. Don’t listen to anyone spouting toxic positivity. I taught for just over ten years, and my single biggest regret is not leaving the profession sooner.
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Talk to other teachers. Don’t leave yourself on an island. Listen to their horror stories, as well as their triumphs. You’ll learn that it can be mentally and emotionally draining on some days. But it will be great as well.
Your first year will be the most difficult. Next year (if you choose to stay in the profession), you’ll improve a ton. Again, talk to other teachers. Ask for advice. Ask for which lessons work best. Which behavior management strategies do they use that are most successful?
Take mental health days every so often. Give yourself a three day weekend to recharge and refocus- it’ll do you a world of wonder.
Honestly, you’re not supposed to love it your first year, you’re supposed to survive while learning a shit ton.
The overstimulation and stress will probably get better as you learn how to keep a tighter ship and, arguably more importantly, learn what stuff isn’t actually that big of a deal.
My advice is to give it another year or two. Try really hard to take a mental snapshot, or keep a diary or something, to capture how you feel right now and compare it to how you feel 1 or 2 years from now. If you still feel exactly the same, then maybe think about changing careers. But for the vast majority the issues you are describing get much better, especially for people who do genuinely love working and interacting with kids like it sounds like you do.
This. I had a mentor teacher that said told me that it would be unfair to myself to consider quitting before year 3. Like OP, I cried every day my first year (middle school). But now I'm in year 25 and I have honed my craft well and I can honestly say that I love it. Honestly, I do. It is hard goddamn work, but worth it in the end. I lean in to my professional growth and that has made all the difference. Still teaching middle school, and loving it. It's what I was meant to do.
Listen, I am finishing up my 40th year of teaching and I love teaching. I am really good at it and just a few years ago I received national recognition for being an inspiring teacher. Individually, I have good kids in my class and they are making great improvements in their writing and math in particular. But, they just don’t shut up and respect learning. They are so into fooling around and making noise. They don’t know stillness and quiet for even a second as they bounce off each other. This is their norm and they have to be constantly stimulated and I am so done with trying to control it all day long. If a kid is not happy about something, the parents attack. I realize that I am a very effective teacher in a world that just wants me to babysit kids. I have to keep going as I have to pay off my house in four years and hopefully take my wife of 35 years on a first vacation that we can pay for. So I will keep plugging along. But I keep thinking about retiring as this is exhausting. And I am very young for my age. I am one of the best runners my age in my region of the country, so I still have lots of energy. Teaching is just not the same as to what it used to be even post Covid. It is exhausting, demanding, and comes with such a lack of respect from the community, the parents, and the children. Good luck to all you younger teachers.
This is a very good perspective. I’m just wrapping up my 5th full year. Yes! There are aspects that get easier after your first year, but it is not easy no matter how many years you are teaching. There are so many factors outside my own control—changes in the culture of the school due to admin or colleagues, changes in society, changes in parenting, all these impact how easy my job is.
OP, I read this post and I can't help but think:
Why would anyone stay in such a difficult job that pays so poorly that it will take 44 years to pay off a house and go on a vacation?
Get out as soon as possible.
To answer. It’s a paycheck and I get good healthcare. At this point, I only work contract hours. I have not brought home any work at all post-remote learning. My cars are old, I can’t fix my house the way i’d like, and my wife and I have not been able to afford a vacation yet. However, money is not everything. I have a great marriage and three awesome adult children. I get to continue being an athlete on my teacher’s schedule. I have gone to Africa 5 times in the last 12 years to help teach in the slums. Many friends have helped me out and I sold a bunch of my stuff to help pay for that along with money I earned creating high quality materials that I made for my class that I sold on TPT. We did win a trip to Hawaii about 15 years ago as well as a trip to LA for the AMA awards show. So we have had some fun. I could keep working for years as I enjoy being a creative teacher, but I am afraid that the attitudes towards teachers and education in this country may drive me away sooner than I would like. I also have money from the teacher award I won three years ago that will find a nice trip for my wife and I when we are ready. I live a wonderful and happy life. It is a shame teachers have to scrape by at this important job. I would not trade my life for the life my wealthier friends live. I went to a pretty prestigious boarding school with classmates from well known important families. Recently the school did an article on me and my life, not on the much fancier lives that my classmates lead, due to my commitment to education and the extra things a quiet little guy like me has accomplished. I like my life, even though the pay sucks.
I wasn't an award winning teacher like you, but I was good. For 16 years, I felt just like you still do - poor but proud. I REALLY admire you.
But my last nine were a living hell. As my administrators became younger and younger, they weren't willing to step up and support their teachers. I have no idea what these whippersnappers do all damn day.
Unlike you, I retired earlier than I planned. My husband and I still have a mortgage to pay and it's tough. I couldn't box my job within contract hours. The disrespect and long hours were unsustainable. My health was shot.
The glory days of teaching are over. Hopefully society will get it together and give teachers the support and respect they deserve - but it won't be anytime soon.
And the more I think about it, the stronger I stand by my advice: get out of teaching while you can.
As someone currently switching into teaching as a career, stories like yours are making me second guess myself.
Can I ask what grade level you’re in? I hated my elementary teaching placements, so I switched into the secondary division through ABQs and I’m hoping it’s better.
It’s my first year and I absolutely love it. Every school is different. Every class is different. Every student is different.
I still feel like idk what I’m doing. But I smile on my way to work
Happy to hear this. There’s a lot of hopelessness and negativity in teaching right now and it’s draining me before I’ve even started. What division do you teach?
Here is my two cents. My second year was a lot better, but I am planning to leave after next year (my 8th year). Here are my reasons why:
1) Overstimulation never really went away, I still feel overstimulated almost every day.
2) While I will never stop loving the reasons I do this job, it never seems to be enough to outweigh the issues we have in education right now.
3) I eventually had a family and realized this job may be the worst job to have with a family. I’m leaving after I have my second one because I have no idea how I am going to do it all after that.
4) While I take work home a lot less (which is a purposeful choice), I still only have enough time to do the things I absolutely have to do. I don’t have the time I need to truly elevate myself to the next level without (again) working myself into the ground.
It’s just not sustainable for me. Nobody can make this choice but you. But I know I thought my second year was amazing, but also still ended up here.
You are not alone. Coming up on 20 years. It’s been hard in the past but not like this. I’m really reconsidering my life choices, but it’s so close to the end of the year. Schedule the chiropractor, the dentist, your checkups, make sure you eyeglasses script is up to date. Find what you enjoy, what brings you back to balance and do that the other half the day. (I can’t tell you how much joy I have that my kid needs braces, sad, I know) Summer is on its way, avoid any commitments during that time at all costs. That’s when you will recharge, and remember why you got into this crazy business. Hang in there!
This sounds so similar to me. I felt the exact same during my first year but I thought I’ll give it one more shot after learning so much in year one. I am finishing my second year and struggling not to quit every day. Worried about having a full on breakdown. Needless to say, the parts of teaching that got easier did not come close to offsetting the many parts I find stressful and draining.
My experience may not be yours, but I certainly identify with much of what you said. My students are mostly good kids, but still entitled, helpless, and constantly disrespectful in ways they don’t understand or care about. I come home so exhausted and demoralized every day. Questioning my own belief in the school system and feeling powerless to do better. And last year I felt so invested in it as a career (like you, fearing what 5, 10, 15 years in might look like and wondering if it was even possible). This year I feel none of that. I worked hard enough at this job to believe in myself in finding something else I can do.
Everyone is different, but based on my OWN personal experiences I disagree with most of what I’m reading in the comments. I’m quitting this year, and this was my fifth year. I felt the same way you do in my first year and immediately wanted out, but I stayed. I found that for me, over the course of the first five years, it didn’t get better but definitely shifted how people say. It is true that there is way more lesson prep at first, but you also have way more capacity for it, since the profession hasn’t had as much time to suck all the life out of you.
Now I have all of my materials pretty much made but after five years of this I barely have it in me to even do what little prep is still required, while during my first year I still had enough of a spark to fuel staying up late and creating all the stuff I use now
I don’t think I could last another year. My workload decreased in terms of prep and figuring out what I’m doing but my capacity to cope with the job decreased pretty proportionally as well, and if I stayed on that trajectory I don’t think I’d survive it
I started a small business teaching my content area (world language). I spent all of last school year working full time at the high school and part time at my own language school and now I am shifting my full attention to my business.
We are early still in the year so whether or not I need to add a bunch of other supplemental income remains to be seen.
I will not ever go back to high school teaching, though.
The first year is the ABSOLUTE worst.
Give it a go next year, and see what happens. Your classroom management will be so much better. You'll know the curriculum. It still sucks your second year but it's not like you feel like you have no idea what you're doing the whole time.
That being said, I don't recommend teaching to anyone. And if you want to get out, DO IT.
It’s really hard, especially your first year. And honestly, your 2nd year can be really challenging too. You’ll start to notice a lot more problems but still may not know what to do to solve them. I came extremely close to quitting teaching by the end of my second year. Once I made that decision, I figured I could enjoy the rest of my year more if I just focussed on the few students who were actually engaged and try to make my class as fun and interesting for them as I could. After a few weeks, I actually started enjoying teaching again. It will get easier over time but it may take a few years.
I’m a 2nd year and I wrote this today “I am so conflicted. I love what I do but the sheer volume of stress doesn’t seem right. I feel like even on the best of days when my students are finding success there’s always a demand for more. My heart is so heavy with the weight of this decision. I terrified of going under contract again and getting stuck “ they told me year one was the hardest but this year wasn’t any easier
I taught for three years after scoffing at the five-year quit rate all throughout college. Quit last June. If you're really considering leaving, at least take a year off. Yes, the first year is the hardest- but summer isn't quite long enough to recover from the burnout. Don't feel guilty about leaving if you feel that's what's best for you-teaching is an entirely different beast than it was even five years ago. Enjoy the last little bit of the year-it's May, have some fun with the kids and then get the heck out of there if that's what you need to do. I'm an admin assistant now, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've felt as frustrated or overwhelmed as I did while teaching. No one should have to stay in a borderline abuse environment while trying to simultaneously be an exemplary role model and teacher-take the toxic positivity that's bound to pop up in this thread with a grain of salt.
You can do this! Only a little bit left to go!
I usually get downvoted to hell when I bring this up but I’ll say it again. I started in an intercity HS where I was overwhelmed, overworked and even verbally threatened by students. I didn’t think I would last and I stand behind that assessment. While there are problem children and issues of entitlement everywhere, I found my niche in international teaching. The energy and attitude of students, support of parents, size of classes, selection of resources, professional development… all by-and-large were vast improvements over what I experienced in the states. You DO need to be a different kind of resilient to be away from family and support systems that you’re used to and you DO need to plan differently for retirement but for me, 21 years (six schools and 71 visited countries later), it was the definitely the right choice for me. Food for thought. There is an international teacher sub reddit you might look into if you are interested.
Look for other teaching opportunities. My worst year of elementary school teaching was my only year teaching a single grade. Before then, I had only taught in one room, k-8 or k-12 schools. Because of the spread of the students, you had to individualize the "3R"s and design milti-grade arts and sciences. Keep in mind that one room schools today tend to have 15 or fewer students. In my year in grade 5, I had 32 students who had almost the same spread in skill levels. One room schools may be in very rural or isolated areas.
Another option is adult basic education. They bring their own set of problems, but by and large, they are a lot easier to work with.
Lol no- but I have been told that my classroom management especially for a first year teacher is really good (which I needed to hear this week because the kids were off their rockers)
Is this your first school? If it is, I would try another one and see if you can find a more supportive administration. That's what I did. It fucked up my induction process something awful and it's not perfect but I'm a thousand times happier.
The thing is I have really supportive admin. My principal is someone I worked closely with while I student taught. I really enjoy most of the people I work with and have a lot of support. I think it’s mostly the entitled bullshit from parents and my students that’s making me second guess if I can do this. Thanks!
I see. Well, that might be more difficult to fix by finding a different school but maybe not impossible. I'm glad you found a supportive administration. That's huge.
On one hand, it gets easier. It really does. It takes time to build the experience and skills to make it manageable. Stop trying to be everything to everyone and, if nothing else, stop ragging yourself for not being an instant master of your trade. It doesn't work like that. Ever seen a first year carpenter build a beautiful oak table? Ever seen someone driving a car for the first time lay down a perfect lap on the Nordshleife? It's not realise and it's not a fair to expect this off yourself. You wouldn't put that expectation on anyone else, student or adult, so don't do it to yourself. Instead, just focus on one thing you want to improve on at a time. Eg, get your start of lesson routine solid by the end of the month. implement a transition strategy and stick with it for a couple weeks to see if it works for you or if you can improve it. Focus on routines and, above all, be kind to yourself. This job is hard to master and you do not learn how to do it in one year. Or two for that matter. You just get a little bit better at things that you put effort into getting better at, one at a time until eventually you look back at where you started and realise how far you've come.
On the other hand, you don't need anybody's permission to quit. If this isn't for you, if you do not want this. That's ok. You are the only person coercing you to continue against your will.
This job will bring up every insecurity and buried demon and slap you in the face with it. You can run from that or you can see it as an opportunity to unlearn those thought routines and replace them with new ones that actually help you. Therapists see a lot of teachers because of this. That's a good thing. Therapists are one of the best tools you can get for recalibrating your mindset, your self-talk, your beliefs about yourself and your stress coping mechanisms.
You think you're "failing" and you're not. You're learning and you're learning fast and sometimes that feels the same. But you must remember that every time you "fail" its just you recognising something you can improve on. What you do with that information is up to you, but I have never ever met anyone who did not fuck up constantly in their first year and more of teaching. The learning curve is as steep as they come
Are you a parent, or planning to be one soon? If so, will you have a supportive partner?
I regretted becoming a teacher mostly because I did so much for everyone else's kids and not enough for my own. I just wasn't present enough for my family. I had only one child and plenty of support, but I wasn't there for my son when he needed help the most and it still haunts me.
Teaching is HARD. It did get easier after my 2nd year. And then it got harder for the last nine of my 25 - mostly because of lack of admin support - which is a common problem in teaching right now.
Sounds like you may be at the elementary level, which I could never handle. Way too much stimulation.
I teach 11/12, and as a hard-core introvert, I have reached my annual maximum of human interaction. About three weeks ago. I can barely get myself out from behind my desk and every single morning is a struggle not to call out. But I am powering through.
My first year was hell, and to this day (year 17) I am surprised I was rehired. But a warm body you can trust is better than having to interview, I guess. I'm glad I was rehired, though I left that school in the dust years ago.
I don't really have a point but to commiserate and to say that you can handle either quitting or trying again. If I were 24 and hating teaching, and didn't have kids and had flexibility, I'd figure out 1) where do I want to live; 2) is there a college or uni in the vicinity; 3) what other fields interest me; and 4) talk to a college academic counselor about my degree options.
They say that it takes 5 years to really get your bearings, and I'd say that is true - IF you teach the same subject/prep at the same school for that time. You don't start over if you change, but you get set back. Given the atmosphere right now, if I were in my 20s and not enjoying teaching, I would not give it 5 years. I might try 2, but then I'd go back to school. There are things I love about my job and things I hate. Other aspects of my life make it far lesser than other evils and worth sticking around.
If you have options, take them. I guess I did have a point.
Sounds like many other professions, without the assumed built in respect. It’s a grind for all of us, hero label or not. Gotta earn it just like everywhere else, except you have to repeat the process annually. Not a bad deal considering the time off, the only disappointment i see comes from misplaced expectations of grandeur. Happens to all of us until we realize we are but a cog in the machine, soon to be too worn to function properly thus promptly replaced under the guise of progress. TLDR I have a buzz pay no attention
Can i ask how you got on with this? I'm a first year and I desperately want out...worried about looking like a complete fool and lacking any resilence (perhaps I do)...I have a first career I can fall back on
Then quit. I'm so sick of teachers who come on here and whine about it. Teaching is hard and it is not for everybody. If you find you can't do it, fine. Leave and do something else. Anybody that gets into teaching without knowing salary, working conditions, and student apathy has their head in the sand. These things are not only different by state but even by districts. Either find a school that fits you or get out.
I'm less than a month away from finishing my 34th year. I have seen all of it. You cannot be an effective teacher if you hate it.
34 years! Congrats! No wonder you sound fucking miserable and mean :) on a serious note I understand the salary situation (I mean obviously this is like an actual crisis lol) and I get why you can’t retire after that long. You may want to consider looking into DN. It may help the retirement process get started, sweetheart.
You’ve been teaching longer than I’ve been alive, so I know your parents taught you that if you haven’t anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. Fucking idiot.
Look at all that name calling. I think you sound miserable. Since I've been teaching longer than you've been alive, that means I'm Gen X. My generation's parents taught us how to survive and not complain. They taught us to work hard and to be self-sufficient. We also were taught when to throw in the towel and when to dig in our heels. I'm not your sweetheart, and you make me fear for the future if this is the kind of teacher you are. You just reiterated the fact that the teaching profession is not for you.
Just so you are aware (because obviously social media is a new thing for you) Reddit is supposed to be an anonymous platform. Looking at your page, you seem to be a very negative teacher- including using the words “they shut up”! Anyone would be able to find out where you work based on your profile alone and I’m concerned for your safety. I’m not sure how people respect teachers in Arkansas, but where I’m from there is very little respect for teachers. As a VERY young adult (who happens to be doing their best and doesn’t have time for people that want to sit there and put themselves on a pedestal like yourself) it has been challenging to not be treated like the adult I am. Obviously part of my challenge is that I am not as experienced as the veteran teachers. With this being said, I follow the curriculum and do the best I can do. My students have shown major growth and I have many students that have gone from far below grade level to far above grade level. I am doing so much in my classroom that I don’t feel comfortable sharing because you are a random stranger, but I am doing a good job. When I made the post I was feeling frustrated because I felt alone, disappointed in myself, and like I didn’t have a clue what was going on. The way you worded your reply was not only rude and disrespectful, you’re acting like I didn’t know anything going into teaching. In case you were wondering I dreamed of becoming a teacher literally my entire life. I went to college to become a teacher. I never switched my major even when that got challenging. What I’ve learned is that student teaching does not prepare teachers for teaching by themselves. At least not the student teaching experience I had to go through.
It is my genuine hope that you as an English teacher are able to understand in my post I was complaining because of the lack of support I was feeling from my students and their families at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, because you were trying to make the point that I have my head in the sand (which I do believe would be some sort of name calling) I don’t think you were showing how to be very kind either. Don’t gaslight me <3
I know for a fact you complain about your job. Everyone does. No one loves their job 100% of the time. There are days that you come home crying. Maybe it’s because your student is being neglected, maybe it’s because you’re going through something at home, but not everyday is a good day. It’s okay to have a bad day once in a while (I’ve just been having quite a few and didn’t know what to do- I’m sorry I should have worded my original post better. I don’t hate my job I hate the way I feel. I feel exhausted every single day. I feel frustrated when I have to have the same behavior conversations with the same kids every single day. I love my students and I love watching them grow.)
Don’t give people shit for going through a rough patch and absolutely don’t speak badly on my generation, who’s going to take care of you when you need your diaper changed? I’m not saying there aren’t lazy, entitled people in every generation, but not every person in a generation is lazy, entitled, and complains all the time. If you had seen my name pop up 17,000 times a day with the same complaints I get it. I have made one post. It’s May. I’m exhausted. I have a lot going on in my personal life (I won’t bore you with the details but imagine a huge party where everyone gets to come see you in a white dress except your brother who’s deployed and has no chance or way to come home. This is the same brother who is literally your Irish twin and you’ve been close to since he was born.) I’m not complaining. I’m sick of people like you who think the whole world revolves around them and don’t care about anyone’s feelings or thoughts.
Sorry my skin is not as thick as yours, I’m sure that’s something I will learn to deal with as I gain more experience. I would never quit my job as a teacher during the school year. I am resilient. I have decided to give myself another year with different students to see how it goes. I am sure that once August hits I will be ready to go back to school but clearly I am struggling right now. I wanted to hear about people who maybe have had similar experiences and what they did. Your comment was entirely unhelpful, unnecessary and honestly you’re part of the reason new teachers don’t want to teach. You’re not being very supportive, kind, or very respectful.
Going forward, please don’t be rude on a platform that’s supposed to be anonymous- anyone can find you. As someone in Gen Z please take this opportunity seriously because you were not very nice to me and I’m trying to protect you and your family. Clearly you’re not a technology teacher.
Hmm. That is a lot to unpack and a lot of assumptions you are making about me. I'm going to let all that go. Anything I said I would say to you in person. The difference is that if we taught together, we would have a personal relationship, and I would not let a new teacher get to the point where you feel the way you have said. I hope this is not how you talk to other teachers.
Just because social media offers anonymity is no reason not to be truthful. Anonymity is why our society is like it is. We say and do things knowing nobody can call us on it. I'm kind of sick of that. Go make friends with a veteran teacher. They can help you deal with some of your stress as it applies to this job. Making an anonymous post, hoping for validation, won't. The first years of this career are definitely the hardest, and I wish you success.
I lasted 27 years. 5 in the classroom, then administration. The kids were not really the problem - although some groups were better than others. It was always bad culture and bad administration. My ten years at the college level was the best, followed by the five I spent in a K8, and neither was flawless. The college was lonely with working adults. The K8 was warm and loving, but you have to move to advance and increase pay. In my final 11 years at a high school, just a few weeks in, my boss who had been a friend of mine turned to me and said, “I own your a&& now. Keep your head down and shut up.” I can’t begin to tell you all of the ways he manipulated people. “English, History, and Gym teachers are a dime a dozen. Fire them all and hire them back for $10/h without benefits and someone will still take the job.” “What happens in [administration meetings] stays in the [administration meetings] and you better come out singing the right song.” Believe it or not, he was one of the good guys.
See, I was the IT Guy. I had to monitor emails, browsing history, security systems. I knew when the school board president came in on the weekend and tore the stage out of the old cafeteria without permission (We don’t know who did it!) so that the baseball team would have longer lanes for indoor practice. I knew when the teacher who was skipping out early had another teacher go in his classroom to click send on his emails to make it look like he wasn’t skipping out with that 8th hour prep. Cameras don’t lie. I watched the superintendent play Tetris for hours and hours each day because I was told to monitor every computer for inappropriate use. When my “friend” retired (and died a year later) the new superintendent was even worse. Apparently he sexually assaulted 3 wrestlers in the 90s, but nobody ever “proved” It. Only the old superintendent knew the full story. He immediately set out to get rid of me and install his own person to protect his secrets - it likely cost over $300k in taxpayer money because they replaced EVERYTHING, including brand new equipment.
50% of teachers don’t make it 5 years. School doesn’t exactly prepare you for this. Before the 90s, teaching was different. But “standards” led to textbook manufacturers creating books to teach directly to the test. They created PowerPoints and test generators - and if you don’t use them, your students are at a disadvantage. Those standardized tests began being used to evaluate teachers - “this teacher has a bias against 4th grade girls of Indian descent who statistically do 27% worse than the class average.” It is NOT the same education system I grew up in or started teaching in.
The rules aren’t the same for everyone. I saw a teacher fired for not reporting a student who had a legal sexual type encounter with another student. Yet, the Athletic Director who fired him, his daughter was 18 when she sent topless photos of herself to boys as young as 15, got off without a scratch by having the district attorney in to talk to the entire student body about sexting. The girls varsity bb team had produced “trading cards” Of themselves for the boys. Yeah, that didn’t go over well. That guy is still working today as an AD in another district by the way.
If you’re in tears now, find a better place. It’s not uncommon, and you will be happier.
I feel this down to the deepest part of my soul. This was me last year. I have taken the year away and I’ve found that I am not as stressed and I’m actually happy. Leaving was the best thing for me. As an aside, I stuck it out for 4 years. Teaching wasn’t my first profession. I worked on a psych unit for 7 years. I never felt stressed or anxious when it came to going in, knowing I was an angry patient punching bag (literally, we got assaulted weekly). Teaching though? It drained me in a way that I can’t describe.
Your happiness is the most important thing, your piece of mind. Your education and experience is transferable, so what is best for your piece of mind.
I feel the same about my job. I teach both kids and adults. All are equally terrible. The adults are dull, boring, sad individuals and just looking at them is bringing me down. They think greately of themselves, too greately. The kids are not able to read and write age 10. Some can, they are good, very good and love me.
When I get home I feel yucked. But I'm old enough now to realize it's not the end of the world and leave my problems at the door. However, I am considering quitting.
My first year was hell; my second year was significantly easier, BUT that was a long time ago. Even as a veteran now, I can tell things are much, much worse. It just doesn't seem sustainable. You are not alone, you are not hated by anyone that matters and knows you. Be disappointed in those who are ruining themselves and education, not yourself. Do what you can to survive the school year, and use your summer to plan a new route. Even if it is just with a different school, sometimes that makes all the difference.
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1st yrs the hardest and this time of year when the kids start shutting down, but you still need to work is terrible.
If it makes you miserable, get out now. Don’t listen to anyone spouting toxic positivity. I taught for just over ten years, and my single biggest regret is not leaving the profession sooner.
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Talk to other teachers. Don’t leave yourself on an island. Listen to their horror stories, as well as their triumphs. You’ll learn that it can be mentally and emotionally draining on some days. But it will be great as well. Your first year will be the most difficult. Next year (if you choose to stay in the profession), you’ll improve a ton. Again, talk to other teachers. Ask for advice. Ask for which lessons work best. Which behavior management strategies do they use that are most successful? Take mental health days every so often. Give yourself a three day weekend to recharge and refocus- it’ll do you a world of wonder.
Honestly, you’re not supposed to love it your first year, you’re supposed to survive while learning a shit ton. The overstimulation and stress will probably get better as you learn how to keep a tighter ship and, arguably more importantly, learn what stuff isn’t actually that big of a deal. My advice is to give it another year or two. Try really hard to take a mental snapshot, or keep a diary or something, to capture how you feel right now and compare it to how you feel 1 or 2 years from now. If you still feel exactly the same, then maybe think about changing careers. But for the vast majority the issues you are describing get much better, especially for people who do genuinely love working and interacting with kids like it sounds like you do.
This. I had a mentor teacher that said told me that it would be unfair to myself to consider quitting before year 3. Like OP, I cried every day my first year (middle school). But now I'm in year 25 and I have honed my craft well and I can honestly say that I love it. Honestly, I do. It is hard goddamn work, but worth it in the end. I lean in to my professional growth and that has made all the difference. Still teaching middle school, and loving it. It's what I was meant to do.
Listen, I am finishing up my 40th year of teaching and I love teaching. I am really good at it and just a few years ago I received national recognition for being an inspiring teacher. Individually, I have good kids in my class and they are making great improvements in their writing and math in particular. But, they just don’t shut up and respect learning. They are so into fooling around and making noise. They don’t know stillness and quiet for even a second as they bounce off each other. This is their norm and they have to be constantly stimulated and I am so done with trying to control it all day long. If a kid is not happy about something, the parents attack. I realize that I am a very effective teacher in a world that just wants me to babysit kids. I have to keep going as I have to pay off my house in four years and hopefully take my wife of 35 years on a first vacation that we can pay for. So I will keep plugging along. But I keep thinking about retiring as this is exhausting. And I am very young for my age. I am one of the best runners my age in my region of the country, so I still have lots of energy. Teaching is just not the same as to what it used to be even post Covid. It is exhausting, demanding, and comes with such a lack of respect from the community, the parents, and the children. Good luck to all you younger teachers.
This is a very good perspective. I’m just wrapping up my 5th full year. Yes! There are aspects that get easier after your first year, but it is not easy no matter how many years you are teaching. There are so many factors outside my own control—changes in the culture of the school due to admin or colleagues, changes in society, changes in parenting, all these impact how easy my job is.
OP, I read this post and I can't help but think: Why would anyone stay in such a difficult job that pays so poorly that it will take 44 years to pay off a house and go on a vacation? Get out as soon as possible.
To answer. It’s a paycheck and I get good healthcare. At this point, I only work contract hours. I have not brought home any work at all post-remote learning. My cars are old, I can’t fix my house the way i’d like, and my wife and I have not been able to afford a vacation yet. However, money is not everything. I have a great marriage and three awesome adult children. I get to continue being an athlete on my teacher’s schedule. I have gone to Africa 5 times in the last 12 years to help teach in the slums. Many friends have helped me out and I sold a bunch of my stuff to help pay for that along with money I earned creating high quality materials that I made for my class that I sold on TPT. We did win a trip to Hawaii about 15 years ago as well as a trip to LA for the AMA awards show. So we have had some fun. I could keep working for years as I enjoy being a creative teacher, but I am afraid that the attitudes towards teachers and education in this country may drive me away sooner than I would like. I also have money from the teacher award I won three years ago that will find a nice trip for my wife and I when we are ready. I live a wonderful and happy life. It is a shame teachers have to scrape by at this important job. I would not trade my life for the life my wealthier friends live. I went to a pretty prestigious boarding school with classmates from well known important families. Recently the school did an article on me and my life, not on the much fancier lives that my classmates lead, due to my commitment to education and the extra things a quiet little guy like me has accomplished. I like my life, even though the pay sucks.
I wasn't an award winning teacher like you, but I was good. For 16 years, I felt just like you still do - poor but proud. I REALLY admire you. But my last nine were a living hell. As my administrators became younger and younger, they weren't willing to step up and support their teachers. I have no idea what these whippersnappers do all damn day. Unlike you, I retired earlier than I planned. My husband and I still have a mortgage to pay and it's tough. I couldn't box my job within contract hours. The disrespect and long hours were unsustainable. My health was shot. The glory days of teaching are over. Hopefully society will get it together and give teachers the support and respect they deserve - but it won't be anytime soon. And the more I think about it, the stronger I stand by my advice: get out of teaching while you can.
what to do instead of teach?
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As someone currently switching into teaching as a career, stories like yours are making me second guess myself. Can I ask what grade level you’re in? I hated my elementary teaching placements, so I switched into the secondary division through ABQs and I’m hoping it’s better.
It’s my first year and I absolutely love it. Every school is different. Every class is different. Every student is different. I still feel like idk what I’m doing. But I smile on my way to work
Happy to hear this. There’s a lot of hopelessness and negativity in teaching right now and it’s draining me before I’ve even started. What division do you teach?
Give it another year or two. It will become easier once you have all your same materials ready to go and insight from learning and growing this year.
I asked my seniors, if they could focus for just twelve minutes today. They couldn’t 😂
Here is my two cents. My second year was a lot better, but I am planning to leave after next year (my 8th year). Here are my reasons why: 1) Overstimulation never really went away, I still feel overstimulated almost every day. 2) While I will never stop loving the reasons I do this job, it never seems to be enough to outweigh the issues we have in education right now. 3) I eventually had a family and realized this job may be the worst job to have with a family. I’m leaving after I have my second one because I have no idea how I am going to do it all after that. 4) While I take work home a lot less (which is a purposeful choice), I still only have enough time to do the things I absolutely have to do. I don’t have the time I need to truly elevate myself to the next level without (again) working myself into the ground. It’s just not sustainable for me. Nobody can make this choice but you. But I know I thought my second year was amazing, but also still ended up here.
You are not alone. Coming up on 20 years. It’s been hard in the past but not like this. I’m really reconsidering my life choices, but it’s so close to the end of the year. Schedule the chiropractor, the dentist, your checkups, make sure you eyeglasses script is up to date. Find what you enjoy, what brings you back to balance and do that the other half the day. (I can’t tell you how much joy I have that my kid needs braces, sad, I know) Summer is on its way, avoid any commitments during that time at all costs. That’s when you will recharge, and remember why you got into this crazy business. Hang in there!
This sounds so similar to me. I felt the exact same during my first year but I thought I’ll give it one more shot after learning so much in year one. I am finishing my second year and struggling not to quit every day. Worried about having a full on breakdown. Needless to say, the parts of teaching that got easier did not come close to offsetting the many parts I find stressful and draining. My experience may not be yours, but I certainly identify with much of what you said. My students are mostly good kids, but still entitled, helpless, and constantly disrespectful in ways they don’t understand or care about. I come home so exhausted and demoralized every day. Questioning my own belief in the school system and feeling powerless to do better. And last year I felt so invested in it as a career (like you, fearing what 5, 10, 15 years in might look like and wondering if it was even possible). This year I feel none of that. I worked hard enough at this job to believe in myself in finding something else I can do.
did you stay in teaching or switch to something else? What is your something else? ty!
Everyone is different, but based on my OWN personal experiences I disagree with most of what I’m reading in the comments. I’m quitting this year, and this was my fifth year. I felt the same way you do in my first year and immediately wanted out, but I stayed. I found that for me, over the course of the first five years, it didn’t get better but definitely shifted how people say. It is true that there is way more lesson prep at first, but you also have way more capacity for it, since the profession hasn’t had as much time to suck all the life out of you. Now I have all of my materials pretty much made but after five years of this I barely have it in me to even do what little prep is still required, while during my first year I still had enough of a spark to fuel staying up late and creating all the stuff I use now I don’t think I could last another year. My workload decreased in terms of prep and figuring out what I’m doing but my capacity to cope with the job decreased pretty proportionally as well, and if I stayed on that trajectory I don’t think I’d survive it
are you back to teaching or if not what did you switch to? ty for the ideas!
I started a small business teaching my content area (world language). I spent all of last school year working full time at the high school and part time at my own language school and now I am shifting my full attention to my business. We are early still in the year so whether or not I need to add a bunch of other supplemental income remains to be seen. I will not ever go back to high school teaching, though.
The first year is the ABSOLUTE worst. Give it a go next year, and see what happens. Your classroom management will be so much better. You'll know the curriculum. It still sucks your second year but it's not like you feel like you have no idea what you're doing the whole time. That being said, I don't recommend teaching to anyone. And if you want to get out, DO IT.
switch to what tho? I am lost
It’s really hard, especially your first year. And honestly, your 2nd year can be really challenging too. You’ll start to notice a lot more problems but still may not know what to do to solve them. I came extremely close to quitting teaching by the end of my second year. Once I made that decision, I figured I could enjoy the rest of my year more if I just focussed on the few students who were actually engaged and try to make my class as fun and interesting for them as I could. After a few weeks, I actually started enjoying teaching again. It will get easier over time but it may take a few years.
I’m a 2nd year and I wrote this today “I am so conflicted. I love what I do but the sheer volume of stress doesn’t seem right. I feel like even on the best of days when my students are finding success there’s always a demand for more. My heart is so heavy with the weight of this decision. I terrified of going under contract again and getting stuck “ they told me year one was the hardest but this year wasn’t any easier
I taught for three years after scoffing at the five-year quit rate all throughout college. Quit last June. If you're really considering leaving, at least take a year off. Yes, the first year is the hardest- but summer isn't quite long enough to recover from the burnout. Don't feel guilty about leaving if you feel that's what's best for you-teaching is an entirely different beast than it was even five years ago. Enjoy the last little bit of the year-it's May, have some fun with the kids and then get the heck out of there if that's what you need to do. I'm an admin assistant now, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've felt as frustrated or overwhelmed as I did while teaching. No one should have to stay in a borderline abuse environment while trying to simultaneously be an exemplary role model and teacher-take the toxic positivity that's bound to pop up in this thread with a grain of salt. You can do this! Only a little bit left to go!
I usually get downvoted to hell when I bring this up but I’ll say it again. I started in an intercity HS where I was overwhelmed, overworked and even verbally threatened by students. I didn’t think I would last and I stand behind that assessment. While there are problem children and issues of entitlement everywhere, I found my niche in international teaching. The energy and attitude of students, support of parents, size of classes, selection of resources, professional development… all by-and-large were vast improvements over what I experienced in the states. You DO need to be a different kind of resilient to be away from family and support systems that you’re used to and you DO need to plan differently for retirement but for me, 21 years (six schools and 71 visited countries later), it was the definitely the right choice for me. Food for thought. There is an international teacher sub reddit you might look into if you are interested.
This is super cool but I can’t even go like a week without seeing my mom and dad- I miss them too much.
I left after a couple years. I have zero regrets. Except perhaps that I should have left sooner!
Look for other teaching opportunities. My worst year of elementary school teaching was my only year teaching a single grade. Before then, I had only taught in one room, k-8 or k-12 schools. Because of the spread of the students, you had to individualize the "3R"s and design milti-grade arts and sciences. Keep in mind that one room schools today tend to have 15 or fewer students. In my year in grade 5, I had 32 students who had almost the same spread in skill levels. One room schools may be in very rural or isolated areas. Another option is adult basic education. They bring their own set of problems, but by and large, they are a lot easier to work with.
Have you gotten actual classroom management training?
Lol no- but I have been told that my classroom management especially for a first year teacher is really good (which I needed to hear this week because the kids were off their rockers)
Is this your first school? If it is, I would try another one and see if you can find a more supportive administration. That's what I did. It fucked up my induction process something awful and it's not perfect but I'm a thousand times happier.
The thing is I have really supportive admin. My principal is someone I worked closely with while I student taught. I really enjoy most of the people I work with and have a lot of support. I think it’s mostly the entitled bullshit from parents and my students that’s making me second guess if I can do this. Thanks!
I see. Well, that might be more difficult to fix by finding a different school but maybe not impossible. I'm glad you found a supportive administration. That's huge.
If you have another option or area you want to explore do it now. You can always come back to teaching if you desire.
On one hand, it gets easier. It really does. It takes time to build the experience and skills to make it manageable. Stop trying to be everything to everyone and, if nothing else, stop ragging yourself for not being an instant master of your trade. It doesn't work like that. Ever seen a first year carpenter build a beautiful oak table? Ever seen someone driving a car for the first time lay down a perfect lap on the Nordshleife? It's not realise and it's not a fair to expect this off yourself. You wouldn't put that expectation on anyone else, student or adult, so don't do it to yourself. Instead, just focus on one thing you want to improve on at a time. Eg, get your start of lesson routine solid by the end of the month. implement a transition strategy and stick with it for a couple weeks to see if it works for you or if you can improve it. Focus on routines and, above all, be kind to yourself. This job is hard to master and you do not learn how to do it in one year. Or two for that matter. You just get a little bit better at things that you put effort into getting better at, one at a time until eventually you look back at where you started and realise how far you've come. On the other hand, you don't need anybody's permission to quit. If this isn't for you, if you do not want this. That's ok. You are the only person coercing you to continue against your will. This job will bring up every insecurity and buried demon and slap you in the face with it. You can run from that or you can see it as an opportunity to unlearn those thought routines and replace them with new ones that actually help you. Therapists see a lot of teachers because of this. That's a good thing. Therapists are one of the best tools you can get for recalibrating your mindset, your self-talk, your beliefs about yourself and your stress coping mechanisms. You think you're "failing" and you're not. You're learning and you're learning fast and sometimes that feels the same. But you must remember that every time you "fail" its just you recognising something you can improve on. What you do with that information is up to you, but I have never ever met anyone who did not fuck up constantly in their first year and more of teaching. The learning curve is as steep as they come
This is literally what I needed to hear. Thank you 🥹🥹
Are you a parent, or planning to be one soon? If so, will you have a supportive partner? I regretted becoming a teacher mostly because I did so much for everyone else's kids and not enough for my own. I just wasn't present enough for my family. I had only one child and plenty of support, but I wasn't there for my son when he needed help the most and it still haunts me. Teaching is HARD. It did get easier after my 2nd year. And then it got harder for the last nine of my 25 - mostly because of lack of admin support - which is a common problem in teaching right now.
I’m not a parent yet, though I feel like I parent a lot of my students because they just don’t get enough attention, love, or support at home 😞
Sounds like you may be at the elementary level, which I could never handle. Way too much stimulation. I teach 11/12, and as a hard-core introvert, I have reached my annual maximum of human interaction. About three weeks ago. I can barely get myself out from behind my desk and every single morning is a struggle not to call out. But I am powering through. My first year was hell, and to this day (year 17) I am surprised I was rehired. But a warm body you can trust is better than having to interview, I guess. I'm glad I was rehired, though I left that school in the dust years ago. I don't really have a point but to commiserate and to say that you can handle either quitting or trying again. If I were 24 and hating teaching, and didn't have kids and had flexibility, I'd figure out 1) where do I want to live; 2) is there a college or uni in the vicinity; 3) what other fields interest me; and 4) talk to a college academic counselor about my degree options. They say that it takes 5 years to really get your bearings, and I'd say that is true - IF you teach the same subject/prep at the same school for that time. You don't start over if you change, but you get set back. Given the atmosphere right now, if I were in my 20s and not enjoying teaching, I would not give it 5 years. I might try 2, but then I'd go back to school. There are things I love about my job and things I hate. Other aspects of my life make it far lesser than other evils and worth sticking around. If you have options, take them. I guess I did have a point.
Sounds like many other professions, without the assumed built in respect. It’s a grind for all of us, hero label or not. Gotta earn it just like everywhere else, except you have to repeat the process annually. Not a bad deal considering the time off, the only disappointment i see comes from misplaced expectations of grandeur. Happens to all of us until we realize we are but a cog in the machine, soon to be too worn to function properly thus promptly replaced under the guise of progress. TLDR I have a buzz pay no attention
Get out. Run. It's a trap.
Can i ask how you got on with this? I'm a first year and I desperately want out...worried about looking like a complete fool and lacking any resilence (perhaps I do)...I have a first career I can fall back on
Then quit. I'm so sick of teachers who come on here and whine about it. Teaching is hard and it is not for everybody. If you find you can't do it, fine. Leave and do something else. Anybody that gets into teaching without knowing salary, working conditions, and student apathy has their head in the sand. These things are not only different by state but even by districts. Either find a school that fits you or get out. I'm less than a month away from finishing my 34th year. I have seen all of it. You cannot be an effective teacher if you hate it.
34 years! Congrats! No wonder you sound fucking miserable and mean :) on a serious note I understand the salary situation (I mean obviously this is like an actual crisis lol) and I get why you can’t retire after that long. You may want to consider looking into DN. It may help the retirement process get started, sweetheart. You’ve been teaching longer than I’ve been alive, so I know your parents taught you that if you haven’t anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. Fucking idiot.
Look at all that name calling. I think you sound miserable. Since I've been teaching longer than you've been alive, that means I'm Gen X. My generation's parents taught us how to survive and not complain. They taught us to work hard and to be self-sufficient. We also were taught when to throw in the towel and when to dig in our heels. I'm not your sweetheart, and you make me fear for the future if this is the kind of teacher you are. You just reiterated the fact that the teaching profession is not for you.
Just so you are aware (because obviously social media is a new thing for you) Reddit is supposed to be an anonymous platform. Looking at your page, you seem to be a very negative teacher- including using the words “they shut up”! Anyone would be able to find out where you work based on your profile alone and I’m concerned for your safety. I’m not sure how people respect teachers in Arkansas, but where I’m from there is very little respect for teachers. As a VERY young adult (who happens to be doing their best and doesn’t have time for people that want to sit there and put themselves on a pedestal like yourself) it has been challenging to not be treated like the adult I am. Obviously part of my challenge is that I am not as experienced as the veteran teachers. With this being said, I follow the curriculum and do the best I can do. My students have shown major growth and I have many students that have gone from far below grade level to far above grade level. I am doing so much in my classroom that I don’t feel comfortable sharing because you are a random stranger, but I am doing a good job. When I made the post I was feeling frustrated because I felt alone, disappointed in myself, and like I didn’t have a clue what was going on. The way you worded your reply was not only rude and disrespectful, you’re acting like I didn’t know anything going into teaching. In case you were wondering I dreamed of becoming a teacher literally my entire life. I went to college to become a teacher. I never switched my major even when that got challenging. What I’ve learned is that student teaching does not prepare teachers for teaching by themselves. At least not the student teaching experience I had to go through. It is my genuine hope that you as an English teacher are able to understand in my post I was complaining because of the lack of support I was feeling from my students and their families at the end of the school year. Unfortunately, because you were trying to make the point that I have my head in the sand (which I do believe would be some sort of name calling) I don’t think you were showing how to be very kind either. Don’t gaslight me <3 I know for a fact you complain about your job. Everyone does. No one loves their job 100% of the time. There are days that you come home crying. Maybe it’s because your student is being neglected, maybe it’s because you’re going through something at home, but not everyday is a good day. It’s okay to have a bad day once in a while (I’ve just been having quite a few and didn’t know what to do- I’m sorry I should have worded my original post better. I don’t hate my job I hate the way I feel. I feel exhausted every single day. I feel frustrated when I have to have the same behavior conversations with the same kids every single day. I love my students and I love watching them grow.) Don’t give people shit for going through a rough patch and absolutely don’t speak badly on my generation, who’s going to take care of you when you need your diaper changed? I’m not saying there aren’t lazy, entitled people in every generation, but not every person in a generation is lazy, entitled, and complains all the time. If you had seen my name pop up 17,000 times a day with the same complaints I get it. I have made one post. It’s May. I’m exhausted. I have a lot going on in my personal life (I won’t bore you with the details but imagine a huge party where everyone gets to come see you in a white dress except your brother who’s deployed and has no chance or way to come home. This is the same brother who is literally your Irish twin and you’ve been close to since he was born.) I’m not complaining. I’m sick of people like you who think the whole world revolves around them and don’t care about anyone’s feelings or thoughts. Sorry my skin is not as thick as yours, I’m sure that’s something I will learn to deal with as I gain more experience. I would never quit my job as a teacher during the school year. I am resilient. I have decided to give myself another year with different students to see how it goes. I am sure that once August hits I will be ready to go back to school but clearly I am struggling right now. I wanted to hear about people who maybe have had similar experiences and what they did. Your comment was entirely unhelpful, unnecessary and honestly you’re part of the reason new teachers don’t want to teach. You’re not being very supportive, kind, or very respectful. Going forward, please don’t be rude on a platform that’s supposed to be anonymous- anyone can find you. As someone in Gen Z please take this opportunity seriously because you were not very nice to me and I’m trying to protect you and your family. Clearly you’re not a technology teacher.
Hmm. That is a lot to unpack and a lot of assumptions you are making about me. I'm going to let all that go. Anything I said I would say to you in person. The difference is that if we taught together, we would have a personal relationship, and I would not let a new teacher get to the point where you feel the way you have said. I hope this is not how you talk to other teachers. Just because social media offers anonymity is no reason not to be truthful. Anonymity is why our society is like it is. We say and do things knowing nobody can call us on it. I'm kind of sick of that. Go make friends with a veteran teacher. They can help you deal with some of your stress as it applies to this job. Making an anonymous post, hoping for validation, won't. The first years of this career are definitely the hardest, and I wish you success.
I lasted 27 years. 5 in the classroom, then administration. The kids were not really the problem - although some groups were better than others. It was always bad culture and bad administration. My ten years at the college level was the best, followed by the five I spent in a K8, and neither was flawless. The college was lonely with working adults. The K8 was warm and loving, but you have to move to advance and increase pay. In my final 11 years at a high school, just a few weeks in, my boss who had been a friend of mine turned to me and said, “I own your a&& now. Keep your head down and shut up.” I can’t begin to tell you all of the ways he manipulated people. “English, History, and Gym teachers are a dime a dozen. Fire them all and hire them back for $10/h without benefits and someone will still take the job.” “What happens in [administration meetings] stays in the [administration meetings] and you better come out singing the right song.” Believe it or not, he was one of the good guys. See, I was the IT Guy. I had to monitor emails, browsing history, security systems. I knew when the school board president came in on the weekend and tore the stage out of the old cafeteria without permission (We don’t know who did it!) so that the baseball team would have longer lanes for indoor practice. I knew when the teacher who was skipping out early had another teacher go in his classroom to click send on his emails to make it look like he wasn’t skipping out with that 8th hour prep. Cameras don’t lie. I watched the superintendent play Tetris for hours and hours each day because I was told to monitor every computer for inappropriate use. When my “friend” retired (and died a year later) the new superintendent was even worse. Apparently he sexually assaulted 3 wrestlers in the 90s, but nobody ever “proved” It. Only the old superintendent knew the full story. He immediately set out to get rid of me and install his own person to protect his secrets - it likely cost over $300k in taxpayer money because they replaced EVERYTHING, including brand new equipment. 50% of teachers don’t make it 5 years. School doesn’t exactly prepare you for this. Before the 90s, teaching was different. But “standards” led to textbook manufacturers creating books to teach directly to the test. They created PowerPoints and test generators - and if you don’t use them, your students are at a disadvantage. Those standardized tests began being used to evaluate teachers - “this teacher has a bias against 4th grade girls of Indian descent who statistically do 27% worse than the class average.” It is NOT the same education system I grew up in or started teaching in. The rules aren’t the same for everyone. I saw a teacher fired for not reporting a student who had a legal sexual type encounter with another student. Yet, the Athletic Director who fired him, his daughter was 18 when she sent topless photos of herself to boys as young as 15, got off without a scratch by having the district attorney in to talk to the entire student body about sexting. The girls varsity bb team had produced “trading cards” Of themselves for the boys. Yeah, that didn’t go over well. That guy is still working today as an AD in another district by the way. If you’re in tears now, find a better place. It’s not uncommon, and you will be happier.
Get out now. 29 years in, I wish I would've listened to myself when I was younger. Believe me, you won't regret it.
QUIT!! I'm a second year and i'm leaving after two more weeks of paid hell. Your mental and physical health are not worth this profession.
what do you teach? Elementary or secondary? English, math, science? What?
I feel this down to the deepest part of my soul. This was me last year. I have taken the year away and I’ve found that I am not as stressed and I’m actually happy. Leaving was the best thing for me. As an aside, I stuck it out for 4 years. Teaching wasn’t my first profession. I worked on a psych unit for 7 years. I never felt stressed or anxious when it came to going in, knowing I was an angry patient punching bag (literally, we got assaulted weekly). Teaching though? It drained me in a way that I can’t describe. Your happiness is the most important thing, your piece of mind. Your education and experience is transferable, so what is best for your piece of mind.
The sooner you quit the better. When you think it can’t get worse, it does. Then you look back and regret not taking that risk soon but you’re stuck.
Are you me?
I feel the same about my job. I teach both kids and adults. All are equally terrible. The adults are dull, boring, sad individuals and just looking at them is bringing me down. They think greately of themselves, too greately. The kids are not able to read and write age 10. Some can, they are good, very good and love me. When I get home I feel yucked. But I'm old enough now to realize it's not the end of the world and leave my problems at the door. However, I am considering quitting.
My first year was hell; my second year was significantly easier, BUT that was a long time ago. Even as a veteran now, I can tell things are much, much worse. It just doesn't seem sustainable. You are not alone, you are not hated by anyone that matters and knows you. Be disappointed in those who are ruining themselves and education, not yourself. Do what you can to survive the school year, and use your summer to plan a new route. Even if it is just with a different school, sometimes that makes all the difference.