- I chose to be a teacher to connect with children and help them. The work was not what I expected.
- As a teacher, I valued student relationships, but job evaluations focused on other parameters.
- After six years, I stopped. Here’s what I wish I’d known before choosing this career.
I had many good reasons for deciding to become a teacher, including job security and set a good example for my son. But after six years of teaching English in middle and high school, I am leave the profession for good. This isn’t because I think I’m a bad teacher, but because it took me a while to accept that teaching just wasn’t for me.
Here’s what I wish I’d known before choosing this career.
The part of teaching that mattered most to me was not valued
What I found most rewarding about teaching was building relationships with students, especially the difficult relationships that others had abandoned. I became a teacher to connect with these kids, because I was one of them.
My personal barometer of success was when I realized that these difficult students were suddenly giving me a hug or coming between classes just to see me. I knew I had contacted them and could help them build their confidence and see their own value in the world.
The problem with considering this a success was that it wasn’t what mattered most to my supervisors. As a teacher, I was evaluated on skills such as classroom management, curriculum pacing, and test scores. Although I always prioritized the impact I knew I had on my students’ self-esteem, that wasn’t what I wanted to do. work performance was rated on.
Teaching has proven to have a low return on investment
A few years later, I began to realize that much of what kept me in teaching was the sunk cost fallacy. I had spent so much time becoming a teacher and learning how to be a good teacher, and I didn’t want that effort to be in vain.
Even though teaching took more from me than it gave me, I didn’t want to give it up because of how much I had spent to become one.
You shouldn’t plan your life around your job
Not only had I devoted much of my past to teaching, but many of my future plans also depended on being a teacher.
When my son finally got to middle school, I wanted the privilege of teaching at his school so I could watch him closely. College It’s a pivotal time for a young person, and I wanted to be able to point him in the right direction if I saw him going down the wrong path.
When I left the profession, I only had one school year left before I could teach in the same school as my son.
The breaks were nice on paper, but I was too exhausted to take advantage of them
A big part of the reason I became a teacher was because I wanted to have the same schedule as my son. I also didn’t want to have to go through the added expense and stress of having to find childcare during school holidays.
I liked the idea of having time off throughout the year that I wouldn’t even have to ask for. The problem was that I was so exhausted from a day of teaching that I felt like I could barely show up at home for my family most days. And when those breaks finally came, all I wanted was to rest, not journey.
Work Made Me Sick – Literally
Since my first day of teaching six years ago, I have faced health issues that I believe were caused by stress that comes with teaching in college.
The healthiest moment I felt in the last six years was when we had to close our doors for six months due to the pandemic. Initially, I thought I would adapt to teaching, thinking the work would get easier over time and I would find ways to manage stress better. But after throwing my back out one too many times, I came to accept that work was literally breaking my back. I felt like my body was begging me to take care of myself and make some changes.
I’m excited for my future
While my next career move is uncertain, my health is already improving.
I always wanted a job where I could help others and I knew I was doing that with my students. But the worse I felt while teaching, the more I realized I couldn’t even help it anymore.
Someone asked me what I would say to my son if he were in my situation, and the answer was obvious. I would have told him to stop. Although it was extremely rewarding to help my students, I eventually realized that I wasn’t showing up to my family the way I wanted to because the work was taking everything I had to give, including my own well-being.
It wasn’t easy leaving what I thought would be my life’s career, but my body is already thanking me for it. Although it’s scary to have to start my career again, I know I made the right decision.