Transition from teacher to new career

[Anonymous]

I teach ESOL and I agree that it is a tad bit less stressful than a classroom position. I don't have a homeroom so I don't have to deal with all of the homeroom busywork. I have plenty of busywork but it is usually at the beginning and end of the year rather than all year long. I work in a Title One school though so I am exhausted and it isn't even XMAS. Every year, it gets worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I feel lucky that my Mom persuaded me not to teach as she was a teacher herself and saw the writing on the wall. My teacher friends love the kids but with all the new testing requirements and data collection are really starting to be unhappy with their jobs. And that is so unfortunate.

As a mom of a Kindergarten child, I am so dismayed to read these comments. I observe a tremendous interest in testing, a dramatic increase in the academics and a loss of free time, recess, play. What can I do to tell APS School Board that I don't agree with the focus on testing, that I want a happy child, in a school with happy teachers, who loves to learn (and that includes play as a means to learn)? I feel so powerless.

[Anonymous]

Interesting to me because I am a SAHM currently PURSUING my Masters in Education so I can go back to work in the next 18 months as a teacher. The schedule is great for working parents I think, especially if I can teach in a county that is either the one we live in or one on the same calendar. I love the idea of still having summers with my kids because we do so much together during the summer and I would hate to lose that time with them by being in an office.

I do think it's possible for someone like to me to face less burn out because we have never known the "old" way before data collection and high stakes testing was a thing. That's the way we are learning teaching goes, you know? So for us, that's the only way we've known it to be, but I can see how if you taught for a long time before that became big, that shift could be so frustrating. My big goal as a teacher is to find ways to still teach kids above and beyond the SOL standards and still make it interesting and valuable to them beyond "here's what you need to know for the SOL."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting to me because I am a SAHM currently PURSUING my Masters in Education so I can go back to work in the next 18 months as a teacher. The schedule is great for working parents I think, especially if I can teach in a county that is either the one we live in or one on the same calendar. I love the idea of still having summers with my kids because we do so much together during the summer and I would hate to lose that time with them by being in an office.

I do think it's possible for someone like to me to face less burn out because we have never known the "old" way before data collection and high stakes testing was a thing. That's the way we are learning teaching goes, you know? So for us, that's the only way we've known it to be, but I can see how if you taught for a long time before that became big, that shift could be so frustrating. My big goal as a teacher is to find ways to still teach kids above and beyond the SOL standards and still make it interesting and valuable to them beyond "here's what you need to know for the SOL."

Well, yes and no. You have summer and school breaks off, that's true. You'll be around for snow days. But your kids will need before/after care if your spouse is not able to do drop off and pickup. You won't be able to go to your kids' in-school events. You won't be there to drop off your kids on the first day of school, or volunteer in the classroom. And being absent on short notice is TOUGH. You need a spouse who is willing to stay home when kids are sick, because it's not easy to call in when your kid throws up on the way out the door-- not easy to pull together a sub plan (and actually get a sub) 30 minutes before school starts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting to me because I am a SAHM currently PURSUING my Masters in Education so I can go back to work in the next 18 months as a teacher. The schedule is great for working parents I think, especially if I can teach in a county that is either the one we live in or one on the same calendar. I love the idea of still having summers with my kids because we do so much together during the summer and I would hate to lose that time with them by being in an office.

I do think it's possible for someone like to me to face less burn out because we have never known the "old" way before data collection and high stakes testing was a thing. That's the way we are learning teaching goes, you know? So for us, that's the only way we've known it to be, but I can see how if you taught for a long time before that became big, that shift could be so frustrating. My big goal as a teacher is to find ways to still teach kids above and beyond the SOL standards and still make it interesting and valuable to them beyond "here's what you need to know for the SOL."

Good luck! Hope it all works out well for you.

[Anonymous]

With the release of the PARCC scores it is looking pretty hopeless for the majority of schools (especially Title I schools). It might be time to move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting to me because I am a SAHM currently PURSUING my Masters in Education so I can go back to work in the next 18 months as a teacher. The schedule is great for working parents I think, especially if I can teach in a county that is either the one we live in or one on the same calendar. I love the idea of still having summers with my kids because we do so much together during the summer and I would hate to lose that time with them by being in an office.

I do think it's possible for someone like to me to face less burn out because we have never known the "old" way before data collection and high stakes testing was a thing. That's the way we are learning teaching goes, you know? So for us, that's the only way we've known it to be, but I can see how if you taught for a long time before that became big, that shift could be so frustrating. My big goal as a teacher is to find ways to still teach kids above and beyond the SOL standards and still make it interesting and valuable to them beyond "here's what you need to know for the SOL."

Well, yes and no. You have summer and school breaks off, that's true. You'll be around for snow days. But your kids will need before/after care if your spouse is not able to do drop off and pickup. You won't be able to go to your kids' in-school events. You won't be there to drop off your kids on the first day of school, or volunteer in the classroom. And being absent on short notice is TOUGH. You need a spouse who is willing to stay home when kids are sick, because it's not easy to call in when your kid throws up on the way out the door-- not easy to pull together a sub plan (and actually get a sub) 30 minutes before school starts.

Yes, I've considered that. But I think a lot of that is true for any parent who works. Most families with two working parents have kids in some type of after care. If you happen to have a job with lots of flexibility the things you mentioned can be less daunting but I don't know any working parent who hasn't expressed frustration at not being able to make it to the school events or having to dicker with their spouse over who gets to stay home for this sick/snow day. I admit it is incredibly convenient for the family as a whole to have a stay at home parent, but my youngest is now 2 and it has never been my plan to be a lifer as far as staying at home goes. I always wanted to go back to work, but teaching felt more satisfying and family-friendly than my previous career. I understand that there are trade offs to having both parents working but purely in terms of schedule and commitment, teaching is a bit more family-friendly than many other careers.

[Anonymous]

I taught for a few years, then went on to become a paralegal and then went to law school.

Years later, the skills I learned from teaching that I always highlight are organization, being adaptable, and public speaking. These skills are sought after in any workplace environment.

You may want to talk with a recruiter. The key is focusing on the job skills. Don't think about the fact that you were a teacher. Think about how you presented on numerous different subjects, how you had to adapt to your audience, how you had to think on your feet and change courses as needed, how you had to maintain structure and organization throughout the day, how you had to plan ahead, etc. These are definitely marketable skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught for 9 years and stayed home full time for 5. I just went back to work as a part time IA and it's working out really well. No pressure from lesson plans, grades, etc.

no money either. did you really think this was helpful?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught for a few years, then went on to become a paralegal and then went to law school.

Years later, the skills I learned from teaching that I always highlight are organization, being adaptable, and public speaking. These skills are sought after in any workplace environment.

You may want to talk with a recruiter. The key is focusing on the job skills. Don't think about the fact that you were a teacher. Think about how you presented on numerous different subjects, how you had to adapt to your audience, how you had to think on your feet and change courses as needed, how you had to maintain structure and organization throughout the day, how you had to plan ahead, etc. These are definitely marketable skills.

That's so funny because I did the exactly opposite. I was unsure about law school, so I got a job as a paralegal out of undergrad. I worked for two different firms and took bunch of temp jobs. I hated the culture. Teaching is my niche and nurtures a side of me that make me feel good about how I'm spending my life. It's not easy though. Working as a paralegal was much easier. Pay wasn't bad either.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure a lot of people will be following. Average "life-span" of a teacher is five years. That says way more about the system than the individual.

[Anonymous]

The ESOL teachers at my MCPS MS school are overwhelmed. They have home rooms, teach 5 classes, and have a caseload of students to monitor in non-ESOL classes and test.

I thought about joining the free ESOL/SPED M.Ed. Program but the ESOL teachers at my school dissuaded me based on the handwriting on the wall. Class sizes are swelling. More kids are coming who actually belong in METS due to disrupted schooling only there is no funding. Testing will continue to be openly culturally biased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure a lot of people will be following. Average "life-span" of a teacher is five years. That says way more about the system than the individual.

I have a mentor of sorts who has been in education for about 40 years, in literally every single role- special education teacher, typical classroom teacher, administrator, counselor. All grade levels as well. She doesn't think the current teaching climate is impossible to adapt to or work under- she thinks there's a mindset that people nowadays have where if a job is ever hard or unsatisfying or difficult, they'll just quit and move on to the next thing. Her position is that any job takes a good 3-6 years to really get your footing, begin to excel at and reap the rewards that you can see after putting in hard work. She doesn't think the current teaching climate is fully to blame for teachers dropping out after a couple years, she thinks it's this instant-gratification mindset that, and I hate to pile on to them, millennials have of "this isn't currently filling my bucket so it's time to move on to something else."

[Anonymous]

Educator here....I would move on to sales if you are burnt out with teaching.... This is my back-up plan if I can take it any more

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure a lot of people will be following. Average "life-span" of a teacher is five years. That says way more about the system than the individual.

I have a mentor of sorts who has been in education for about 40 years, in literally every single role- special education teacher, typical classroom teacher, administrator, counselor. All grade levels as well. She doesn't think the current teaching climate is impossible to adapt to or work under- she thinks there's a mindset that people nowadays have where if a job is ever hard or unsatisfying or difficult, they'll just quit and move on to the next thing. Her position is that any job takes a good 3-6 years to really get your footing, begin to excel at and reap the rewards that you can see after putting in hard work. She doesn't think the current teaching climate is fully to blame for teachers dropping out after a couple years, she thinks it's this instant-gratification mindset that, and I hate to pile on to them, millennials have of "this isn't currently filling my bucket so it's time to move on to something else."

When I was getting my teaching degree 15 years ago, we were also quoted the statistics that about 50% of teachers leave within the first five years. Burnout was common in this job well before the testing climate got way out of hand. High stakes testing was already around when I first started teaching (NCLB was already underway), but the "increased rigor" took the pressure to new levels. Regardless of that, many burn out in this job for a variety of reasons.