This one hits close because I'm a teacher. When I was a Waldorf teacher in the US, the experience was life-changing horrible, so much so, that I ended up writing a book about it. And I took a break, which involved an expensive MA in Elementary Education, which I did not finish because the dysfunction (again) frightened me and because I couldn't afford it.
Following that were a LOT of temp jobs and "What do I do with my life?" moments, before I ended up in Thailand taking a TESOL course. And now it's been 15 yrs of teaching English overseas.
Burnout, as you know, is the number one reasons why teachers quit. There's a HUGE crisis in education in the US. I'm very wary of the politics and drama in schools, having freshly left a 3rd grade teaching position that reaffirmed my fears and experience.
But the good thing is you're aware that you can quit again and that you don't have to love it 100%. That's been a big lesson this time around because as I caught myself whinging about this or that, I looked back at the many schools I worked at, and realized, hey, this one's OK. And sometimes that's alright because it allows you to do the things that you want. Good luck, Sarah, xo
Thanks Lani. I knew from reading some of your posts that you were teaching, but I wasn’t fully up to date with your background.
One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching is that there is a lot of great stuff going on, but you get totally swamped by admin and BS. Plus, it’s a job where you’re expected to have a desire to progress like become a manager. When I just wanted to say, can I just focus on doing a good job for a while?
I’m a little familiar with some of the things going on the US, partly from reading the news, but from chatting to my husband’s family who live there. The recent administration changes have led to chaos (especially around the government going into schools to remove students), and understandably, has led to heightened tensions. That’s a lot for students to deal with, and the teachers!
And yes, totally. Knowing that I don’t have to love my job has been the biggest realizations. It can just be what it is. I would love to be writing full-time! But I know that’s a pipe dream, and actually, having spent some time back in the classroom for a few months, I found that I did miss working with students. Their energy was infectious!
Thanks again for listening/reading, and for commenting here!
This one hits close because I'm a teacher. When I was a Waldorf teacher in the US, the experience was life-changing horrible, so much so, that I ended up writing a book about it. And I took a break, which involved an expensive MA in Elementary Education, which I did not finish because the dysfunction (again) frightened me and because I couldn't afford it.
Following that were a LOT of temp jobs and "What do I do with my life?" moments, before I ended up in Thailand taking a TESOL course. And now it's been 15 yrs of teaching English overseas.
Burnout, as you know, is the number one reasons why teachers quit. There's a HUGE crisis in education in the US. I'm very wary of the politics and drama in schools, having freshly left a 3rd grade teaching position that reaffirmed my fears and experience.
But the good thing is you're aware that you can quit again and that you don't have to love it 100%. That's been a big lesson this time around because as I caught myself whinging about this or that, I looked back at the many schools I worked at, and realized, hey, this one's OK. And sometimes that's alright because it allows you to do the things that you want. Good luck, Sarah, xo
Thanks Lani. I knew from reading some of your posts that you were teaching, but I wasn’t fully up to date with your background.
One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching is that there is a lot of great stuff going on, but you get totally swamped by admin and BS. Plus, it’s a job where you’re expected to have a desire to progress like become a manager. When I just wanted to say, can I just focus on doing a good job for a while?
I’m a little familiar with some of the things going on the US, partly from reading the news, but from chatting to my husband’s family who live there. The recent administration changes have led to chaos (especially around the government going into schools to remove students), and understandably, has led to heightened tensions. That’s a lot for students to deal with, and the teachers!
And yes, totally. Knowing that I don’t have to love my job has been the biggest realizations. It can just be what it is. I would love to be writing full-time! But I know that’s a pipe dream, and actually, having spent some time back in the classroom for a few months, I found that I did miss working with students. Their energy was infectious!
Thanks again for listening/reading, and for commenting here!