Can i quit teaching

I was tenured, and the previous year I had received excellent evaluations! Every other music teacher I knew sang holiday songs and showed videos the day or two before winter break! I had a binder of all of the lessons I do in a year with all grade levels, typed! It was absurd. That was the absolute last LAST straw! I refused to do the ridiculous assignment, and put in my resignation.

I found a nannying job in April , broke my contract, and lost my teacher certificate. I love feeling like myself again! I love having time and energy to pursue my interests again. I love being happy, and being able to smile, to sleep, to have friends. And guess what? As a teacher, I was sick constantly.

I really think the stress and the depression was seriously impacting my health! My life is worth so much more than money or fear of being a failure. Take the risk, go for it! Take back your life. Thank you for sharing your perspective and experiences.

I too struggle with the expectations with lesson planning in art. I work at three schools, so this is an incredible amount of writing. Even though I touch base with these things in my lesson, they are ignored if it is not written in the plans.

Its incredibly stressful and I sometimes wake up at odd hours of the night in panic over these lesson plans! I have been contemplating leaving but I am not having the best of luck finding a new career without moving.

I am an art educator living in a small community. I am going to try to give it another 2 years for financial reasons. Hopefully it gets better. I also think of throwing in the towel and starting over somehow. Tears come to my eyes as I read this post. Teaching can be soi subjective. Your goal was to feel like your hard work matter and have a piece of mind.

I fel you came out on top! Love this article! I plan to read and listen to more of your ideas. Thanks for writing this. Thank you for these words. I just finished my second year of teaching and cannot for the life of me determine why anyone does this job more than two years. I have never been treated so poorly in my entire life.

But I just got nothing left. On paper, 7 more years for the pension is a no brainer. In reality, it would steal whatever is left of my brain. Your story is very similar to mine. I quit after 2 years for my peace and sanity due to a somewhat toxic environment. I went to grad school and finished. I want to impact children just not in the classroom. There are way too many demands and the curriculum is bogus.

Thank you for this post. My question is, is it better to quit now before evaluations start or take the bad eval and hold out till Christmas? Any advice? Thank you Angela for your article. I am a very expereinced and usually successful teacher but I am not happy there. I feel I am not teaching and I sometimes want to cry and leave the classroom.

My problem is that the staff has been very supportive and attentive. I feel that quitting would be abandoning them and I have a hard time with that.

Cecile, your story sounds a lot like mine. My students really like me, but they still talk over me and are disruptive and hard to manage. I also adore my coworkers and get along great with administration. I could possibly see myself going to another district, but I am curious to explore this other field while I have those connections.

I feel like I would be letting a lot of people down by leaving the school, though. I am in need of some advice. I am miserable as a first year teacher. I am in a private school teaching math classes in a th grade school. I have 6 classes total from age ranges of 10 I am dying. The school year has only gotten worse. The staff is unsupportive and gave a first year teacher ALL the classes with students at least 2 grades behind level. I want to quit. The main reason is my mental health.

I am not okay. I am in tears every night from frustration, wake up in the middle of the night with panic attacks and troubled breathing, and have constant headaches and migranes from stress. Would I be justified in leaving after the first semester? Freedom to take my life back. My family is on the fence about my decision. I cry when I think of staying here the whole year, let alone the semester. I remember my first year was also very difficult. On the positive side, there are much better schools out there.

Many teachers get there start by roughing it in the difficult schools If you do hope to stay with this profession, I think it is best to try to stick it out and just try and survive until the end of the year. Lower your expectations. As far as dealing with all the stress, perhaps a therapist could help give you the tools for ways to coup. Unfortunately some schools will let older teachers who have seniority choose which classes they want, which leaves teachers with the least experience with the toughest classes.

In my school, almost ALL the kids were two years behind. I only lasted six years because I lowered my expectations soo much, to lessen the workload on myself. Nobody cared what I was doing in my classroom, so I did the bare minimum. Take lots of sick days. If you have unruly kids, I recommend getting super mean.

They will usually listen to you better then. It sounds like you should quit, though. If you want to teach somewhere else, I would try to make it until the end of the semester if you can. Otherwise it might be really hard to find a job. If you make the case that you had no support with super needy classes, I think someone would hopefully give you a pass for quitting in the middle of the year, and still hire you.

I ended up quitting in April. It was a really tough decision, but I have no regrets whatsoever. Marisa, your letter makes me angry for you. Private schools are not always the best places for teachers or students! If you were in a public school, you would be given resources to help you. First year teachers in our state are given, by law, mentors in the school so that they can get the help they need.

In addition, they are observed- not evaluated- with the focus on providing constructive feedback. You are obviously not in a nurturing environment. What a shame; it sounds as if the school might lose a very good, conscientious teacher. I am so sorry for you. If you do leave, maybe you could voice your concerns to a school board.

Or maybe try that before you decide to leave; what could it hurt? Again, my condolences. This is not true of all public schools. I won a case against my principal for a bad rating that was proven to be biased..

What are the consequences of resigning during the school year? Do you have to give a 2 week notice? What do you say on your next interview to any job opportunity about resigning? What do you write on a cover letter to get a less paying job even when you might be over qualified for that job?

I am in a similar situation, panic attacks, depression, no time for my family, not sleeping or eating even on the weekends. All the best to you! I quit after the first semester of my first year. It was a terrible situation and I had no support. The principal told me that he would ruin my career. This meant he would cause me to lose my certification.

I hired a lawyer who sent a letter to the county. The letter explained the situation and why I quit. They left me alone.

I have taught off and on since then. I think teaching is like no other. In the best situation it is extremely draining. My family just moved to a new town and I started teaching in a small, new private school.

Most days I only get 30 minutes for lunch. I spend that time trying to do some planning and grading. Angela, I have read and reread this blog. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I love to teach and will go back in the classroom someday but the environment of this new school is not teaching…….. There is little joy in learning for myself and my students in that type of environment. I keep reassuring myself there may be someone out there who better suited or skilled to work in this environment and meet the needs of this students.

I needed to read that. I decided a week ago this was my last year. Financially, on the outside, probably not a good choice, but it is getting to hard for me. I even thought maybe just more years, but I need to move on. Thank you for sharing your story.

As a first year teacher in an charter school with no windows, I can definitely relate to your experience. My three months experience at the school has left me thinking everyday to quit. I hope the next school that I do work in revamp my love for teaching.

I was given no curriculum and told to teach whatever I want as long as I hit 9th grade English standards. Your exact approach will depend on some variables, but the basic steps are relatively uniform. Before you decide to quit a teaching job, you must determine that it is the best option for you. Consider asking for leave time if you believe that your situation may change. You may wish to ask your department head about the potential for gaining tenure or for receiving a pay increase. You might ask for a change in your class load or curriculum area.

If you are sure that you have exhausted other possibilities, proceed to the next step. Before you quit your teaching job, you need to know what your plan is for after you leave. Do you have a grasp on how you will handle financial obligations? If you are planning to work elsewhere, make sure you can find a job. Career counselors say you should have new employment before you leave a job. But you might be beyond this. You might be so depleted and too far gone for a short stay of rest to be enough.

What is your body saying? What are the people in your life telling you? LISTEN to these signs, because sometimes trusting these indicators can be much more reliable, than what our brain tells us. I know this to be true. Before you quit teaching really ponder on this. Have you stepped into the trap of negativity or have you pushed your body beyond its limits and need to call it a day. Maybe taking an extended holiday and rest will make all the difference for you or are you beyond this zone and need to have a complete break from teaching.

Trying to maintain a job where your happiness and health is suffering is never a good idea and is certainly not a fulfilling way to live your life. Are you able to work in teaching for the long haul? If your answer to this question is a resounding NO, then move to the next question. If you are a teacher who is interested in contributing to the Truth for Teachers website, please click here for more information.

By Lisa Edinger. By Angela Watson. Click above to copy the link. Home Articles How to know if you should quit teaching in Should I stay home with the kids, or save up for another year first?

Should I ask my principal about that open spot in another grade level? Should I apply for that position as an instructional coach or an administrator? Should I stick around to see what next school year brings, or is it time to find another career? Let go of the guilt around quitting so you can make a clear-headed decision. That includes: Access to a private community of teachers who are also dedicated to making a career transition.

Collaborate with other members and former teachers for continued motivation and support. Video modules to help walk you through all of the steps of choosing a new career path, writing your resume, networking, and more. A library of materials to save you time, including growing lists of educational companies that hire teachers, skills you can master to beef up your resume, and interviews with former teachers.

Motivational resources to help you push past your fears, unlock your potential, and achieve your goals. Want to keep up with the latests posts on my website?