Re: i don't like teaching

If you got into teaching knowing you didn't want to do it for a
very long time, then your heart isn't in it and you shouldn't
be there. Teaching is a tough, tough gig, particularly these
days, with all the overly opinionated and loud know-it-alls out
there who wouldn't last 8 hours in front of a real, live
classroom audience.

I will tell you I had a horrible first 3 years of teaching. I
had a truly crappy principal who had no business running a
lemonade stand, let alone an entire school of helpless children
and wayward teachers (seriously, what was up with some of those
people??). I'd walk into my classroom every morning with my
mantra: "I hate this place, I hate this place, I hate this
place." Loved the kids, hated the job.

However, I'd taught under a really stupendous teacher during
student teaching, and at the end of our time together, her
parting words were: "Give it a year. You can do anything for 1
year. And then give it 1 more year, and during that 2nd year,
make your decision: is it them, or you? Is teaching just not
for you, or is it who you're working for or where you're at?
And then make some serious choices."

And that's what I did...by the middle of my 2nd year, I'd
decided: it's them, not me. And not only did I change schools,
I changed school districts (actually, I also changed states--US
education is so frantic and zig-zagged...some states are so
poopy, others less so). My new situation not only gave me a
really outstanding principal, with some truly wonderful
colleagues. You may need to try a different situation....

....however, again: you stated in your post you never intended
to do teaching forever. Which tells me you're not truly
committed to it; that's not a good place to be.

You're in a rough profession-it's not for the weak. Teachers
juggle 10 different balls on a daily basis, and we're regularly
under attack right now (at least, that's how I feel when I read
the newspaper and some notes from parents).

And you've also entered a profession that's not all that
stellar about supporting its novices, it's
apprentices-in-training. If you get a job in a school with a
culture that's all "I stay in my classroom and you stay in
yours," that's a bad place to be...my suspicions about the 5
year and less turnover rates are the politically-charged
atmosphere of teaching, and the poor quality of some schools'
culture.

So my advice to you is to really take in everything you're
dealing with currently: do you have a good leadership team? are
your coworkers helpful and supportive? do you think maybe a new
school or school district might give you a better experience?
is your heart really in this?

These are the big questions I asked myself when I was really
hating my career choice. My responses were: No, No, Yes, Yes.

If yours are No, No, No, No, then I'd suggest you take this
year to answer some of those questions, and then figure out
what you want to do: one more year in the education trenches,
or find a career that really makes you feel passion.

Good luck on your journey....

On 9/26/11, frustrated wrote:
> So I just started teaching this school year. To say, I hate
it is an understatement. The kids in my system are horrible.
The administration is not to much better. Everyday, I try to
walk in w/ a positive attitude and think that "today is going
to better." And its not just me, other teachers feel this way.
Additionally, two teachers have already quit. I really am
tempted to quit. Teaching is never something I wanted to do for
a long time. But, now I am beginning to feel that teaching is
not even something I want to do for a short time. My question
is what is some advice do you all have? And to be honest, I
don't really want to hear the "it'll get better." I just want
to know what do you all think about quitting.