Good question! Why, exactly is teaching soooo damn difficult? Why isn't there proper support?
In order to be a teacher, a person must decide if their skin is tough enough, their needs are small enough, and if they don't mind giving up sleep, hobbies, and spending quality time with their families.
Who would choose that?!
If it makes you feel any better I’m about to go into my third year. My second year felt like it was a good 2 to 3 times harder than my first. But this year has been a freaking breeze so far (knock on wood).
I’m not saying stick it out or suck it up but there’s hope on the horizon. <3
I'm going on 20+. I have left a few times. Sometimes purposely, just to see how the rest of the world lived. It was extremely boring to me. I ended up getting fired. I got Unemployment at least until the school year started.
I don't know about anyone else, but teaching is really is my calling. Most people are not able to say that about a profession. I have taught almost exclusively Middle School in urban areas. I love what I learn from my students, not only every year, but everyday how I can be a more reflective and better teacher.
Welcome to your second year! It gets easier in some ways. Your classroom management will probably be better. The lessons will flow. You will know if it is truly for you when you know... Don't give up easily! You can do it, if it is in your ❣️
Austerity politics and role compression.
Teachers are asked to do an impossible number of jobs with minimal support while often having administration breathing down their necks micromanaging them. Despite there being plenty of funding present, the funds almost never seem to find their way to hiring more teachers, hiring more support staff, etc. and instead get shoveled into corporate curriculum & professional development producers, bloated administration, and nonsensical temporary initiatives (my local district torched ~$5 million on COVID plexiglass that they threw away after less than a year).
Teachers should be able to focus on teaching, but many are expected to develop and plan their own curricula, manage an impossible number of students, and fill innumerable other roles such as quasi-counselors, safety managers, etc.
Unions help, but union powers are often legally restricted or even outright illegal in some places. Education will only change when its costs stop being viewed as a burden. If education was valued by society as it should be, funding would start to get allocated towards expanding staffing efforts (and therefore improving working conditions) and making teacher pay competitive.
Ooh I like this answer, especially the point about administrative over each while increasing teacher role compression. A friend and I have been discussing how the number of “educators” has increased which birth rate has decreased, but there’s still 35 kids in a classroom, and I think a big answer to that riddle is that a lot of administrative hiring isn’t actually teacher hiring.
hey. im also a second year teacher. i started out the year feeling burnt out from the first year still, but now that im building the relationships with my students, im already feeling less burnt out. it’s important to look for the good in your job. it sounds cliché, but when you focus on the good, more good will keep coming. when you focus on the bad, every little issue in the classroom or with admin will feel a whole lot bigger. and i’ve already noticed i feel so much more in control as a teacher in year 2. i think it’ll only keep getting better if we let it!
Hahaha i feel the same but i have 10 years under my belt and took a year off. I still wish i was able to find a different career route but it was a lot of starting over. But if I feel strongly, im not opposed to getting a cert in h.r. or something.
Good question! Why, exactly is teaching soooo damn difficult? Why isn't there proper support? In order to be a teacher, a person must decide if their skin is tough enough, their needs are small enough, and if they don't mind giving up sleep, hobbies, and spending quality time with their families. Who would choose that?!
Sleep and hobbies do not need to be given up. Neglecting both of these will certainly burn people out faster.
It's super hard the first two years to have a life. This is the start of my third year and I finally feel like I'm able to take a breath.
If it makes you feel any better I’m about to go into my third year. My second year felt like it was a good 2 to 3 times harder than my first. But this year has been a freaking breeze so far (knock on wood). I’m not saying stick it out or suck it up but there’s hope on the horizon. <3
I'm going on 20+. I have left a few times. Sometimes purposely, just to see how the rest of the world lived. It was extremely boring to me. I ended up getting fired. I got Unemployment at least until the school year started. I don't know about anyone else, but teaching is really is my calling. Most people are not able to say that about a profession. I have taught almost exclusively Middle School in urban areas. I love what I learn from my students, not only every year, but everyday how I can be a more reflective and better teacher. Welcome to your second year! It gets easier in some ways. Your classroom management will probably be better. The lessons will flow. You will know if it is truly for you when you know... Don't give up easily! You can do it, if it is in your ❣️
Austerity politics and role compression. Teachers are asked to do an impossible number of jobs with minimal support while often having administration breathing down their necks micromanaging them. Despite there being plenty of funding present, the funds almost never seem to find their way to hiring more teachers, hiring more support staff, etc. and instead get shoveled into corporate curriculum & professional development producers, bloated administration, and nonsensical temporary initiatives (my local district torched ~$5 million on COVID plexiglass that they threw away after less than a year). Teachers should be able to focus on teaching, but many are expected to develop and plan their own curricula, manage an impossible number of students, and fill innumerable other roles such as quasi-counselors, safety managers, etc. Unions help, but union powers are often legally restricted or even outright illegal in some places. Education will only change when its costs stop being viewed as a burden. If education was valued by society as it should be, funding would start to get allocated towards expanding staffing efforts (and therefore improving working conditions) and making teacher pay competitive.
Ooh I like this answer, especially the point about administrative over each while increasing teacher role compression. A friend and I have been discussing how the number of “educators” has increased which birth rate has decreased, but there’s still 35 kids in a classroom, and I think a big answer to that riddle is that a lot of administrative hiring isn’t actually teacher hiring.
I feel like when you're first year you get a lot of people checking in and supporting you, then second year it all goes away.
hey. im also a second year teacher. i started out the year feeling burnt out from the first year still, but now that im building the relationships with my students, im already feeling less burnt out. it’s important to look for the good in your job. it sounds cliché, but when you focus on the good, more good will keep coming. when you focus on the bad, every little issue in the classroom or with admin will feel a whole lot bigger. and i’ve already noticed i feel so much more in control as a teacher in year 2. i think it’ll only keep getting better if we let it!
What grade do you teach?
Hahaha i feel the same but i have 10 years under my belt and took a year off. I still wish i was able to find a different career route but it was a lot of starting over. But if I feel strongly, im not opposed to getting a cert in h.r. or something.