Help! Teaching. I hate my job

Zaph

Tincan123 wrote: »

I was hoping to hear from teachers thay may have changed career paths and if so, what did they do. I have tried to seek help. I have voiced my issues and I took the vet difficult step in telling other staff members how the job makes me feel. I was trying to connect with ex teachers. I will delete this as I feel people have thw wrong idea as to why I used a forum for help. Not encouragement but help

The problem is that nobody can tell you what to do. We don't know what you like or what you're good at. You teach art so presumably you have a talent there, so I could suggest that you become a graphic designer, an animator, join the artists selling their paintings on Merrion Square every weekend, etc., but I have no idea whether any of these interest you or are where your talents lie. Equally I could tell you you should go look for a job in your local McDonalds or Tesco for a complete change. So you see the problem the other posters on the thread have? That's why they're giving you the encouragement to actually take the plunge and do what Toto Wolfcastle said she did above - pack it in before it totally breaks you and then spend some time working out what you really want to do. Best of luck.

cupcake queen

Tincan123 wrote: »

Hi,
I am a post-primary teacher. I am teaching 5 years and I hate it. I get decent work from students and I achieve good grades but I find it draining. I get nervous before class and my stomach is constantly in knots. I feel oddly bullied in schools. I've yet to get a permanent job so i spend every Summer looking for work. I meet new staff and students every year. I'm fed up of doing the newbie donkey work in each school. I want to change professions so badly but I don't know what I could do. I teach art (and any other subject that I'm thrown) so I feel very pigeonholed. I would love a 9 to 5 job. I would love anything that will allow me to clock off. I've yet to feel that I have achieved in my career. Any good class can be crushed by the smallest of incidents. Can anyone suggest what profession I could look into? My personal life is suffering and I'll be very honest I think I am a bit depressed. I dream of being seriously ill so in don't have to face work. I normally thrive on being busy but sitting at my computer til 12 most nights is tough when you don't enjoy the work. I welcome suggestions.

Hi Tincan, I really feel for you. I am a secondary teacher too and it can be such a stressful job when you hold yourself to high standards, as most of us seem to do. Perhaps the school/setting that youre working in is making things worse. I taught in a really tough school a few years back and really did not enjoy the job at all. Now I have my cid (which was a long time coming) in a school that I love. The kids are just as tough sometimes but the support from management is great and there is such a difference in the job and in your relationship with the kids when you have been in the school even two years in a row. Its so sad that getting to this point is so difficult now for new teachers. Have you thought about further education or night classes? You might find you enjoy things more with students who are motivated and dont have behavioural issues. I agree that nothing is worth the stress of being in a job that affects your physical and mental health. If you feel depressed you might consider contacting Carecall. Google their site and number, it is a free, anonymous counselling service for teachers that you can do over the phone or in person if you prefer. Lastly, dont be too hard on yourself. I think a lot, a lot, of teachers feel overwhelmed. I know people cite the holidays and the contact hours as a great perk, but really I think most of us go around just wishing there were more hours in the day!

IrishZeus

Tincan123 wrote: »

I was hoping to hear from teachers thay may have changed career paths and if so, what did they do. I have tried to seek help. I have voiced my issues and I took the vet difficult step in telling other staff members how the job makes me feel. I was trying to connect with ex teachers. I will delete this as I feel people have thw wrong idea as to why I used a forum for help. Not encouragement but help

Op, ignore the naysayers who are focusing on slating you for having what they consider an easy job, even though I suspect they themselves have never taught. Whether its easy or not is not for me or anyone else to say - the only fact here is that you seem deeply unhappy in the role and need to do something to remedy that.

As you have said, it seems like it is time for you to move on and change career. Fully accepting that this is what you want to do will ease the pressure of going to work (or should do.) Realise an end is in sight and keep that in the back of your head - it will make it easier to get through tough days. I wouldn't advise walking out unless you have the means to do so comfortably. Take a few weeks and think through your options and make a sensible, reasoned decision on what to do next, and then start the leaving process. You've a long road ahead - a few weeks will seem like nothing when you look back in a few years time from a job you are happy in.

Ive been in this situation and was on the point of a breakdown and I walked out for the good of my own mental health. (Wasn't teaching - I was in sales and hated it.) I now run my own company and can honestly say that changing career paths was the best move I ever made.

Nobody on this forum can really advise you on what to do next as for all intents and purposes, you're a complete stranger. Next steps are your decision. All I would say is - dont be afraid to admit its not for you and dont be afraid to change. There is absolutely no shame in not liking what you are doing. None. Life is too short to be miserable because of a job.

Take your time and get yourself out when the time is right.

LegacyUser

How about working for yourself and running art classes for national school kids and/or adults? Might be less stressful, but still use your creative skills?!

dubgurl

How about doing a "Train the Trainer" course and then look for training jobs after that?

Mrs OBumble

OP, you say in the same breath that you want to do a 9-5 an clock out - and that you want a career.

Ain't gonna happen.

If you really want to be able to clock out at the end of the day and forget about work, then start applying for retail, call centre or product-builder jobs. Accept that in these jobs you will look fondly back on the level of independence you had in teaching: at the moment, you plan what you will say in each class. In these jobs, you almost always have to follow the script, and if you go off script, likely as not your team leader will find out about it and there'll be trouble. But at the end of your shift you clock out and go home.

Or if you really want a career, then you need to figure out what that might be. Accept that you won't be clocking off at 5pm

iLikeWaffles

Tincan123 wrote: »

Hi,
I am a post-primary teacher. I am teaching 5 years and I hate it. I get decent work from students and I achieve good grades but I find it draining. I get nervous before class and my stomach is constantly in knots. I feel oddly bullied in schools. I've yet to get a permanent job so i spend every Summer looking for work. I meet new staff and students every year. I'm fed up of doing the newbie donkey work in each school. I want to change professions so badly but I don't know what I could do. I teach art (and any other subject that I'm thrown) so I feel very pigeonholed. I would love a 9 to 5 job. I would love anything that will allow me to clock off. I've yet to feel that I have achieved in my career. Any good class can be crushed by the smallest of incidents. Can anyone suggest what profession I could look into? My personal life is suffering and I'll be very honest I think I am a bit depressed. I dream of being seriously ill so in don't have to face work. I normally thrive on being busy but sitting at my computer til 12 most nights is tough when you don't enjoy the work. I welcome suggestions.

It sounds like you are in need of revaluating your situation might I suggest this thread be moved to the teaching forums http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=621 where you will be able to get some sound advice from other teachers who have most likely been there where you currently are and stuck at it.

From an outside perspective what your describing is fear and anxiety before each class you can pin down what your fears are yourself and work towards controlling them and not having them control you. You say you feel bullied is that by mean teenagers with eradicate hormones.

I remember when I was in secondary and we got a new teacher for Irish everybody in the class went ape **** out of control and for about a week the teacher was nervous as hell teaching the class. That was until he figured us all out and we sort of seen him as cool when he decided not to teach a double Irish class and instead brought us all the gym for a 1 hour 5 a side match. My point is that a group of young adults will always stick together. If they feel they have an advantage over something that they do not understand nor think has any authority over them they will take advantage of the situation. If your not confident in teaching then your students are going to pick up on that take full advantage over you because of it and use it to control their environment.

I suggest you find who the ring leaders of any class are bring them out in the middle of a field with a shot gun and a bottle of gin and tell them what the speed of sound is and give them a 7 second head start.

If the kids think your cool then you must be cool! I have never been a teacher but I have been thought and from what I remember the best teachers I have had thought the class in a round about way of not actually seeming like they are teaching and instead making it seem like we were teaching them.

I'm sure 12 -15 year olds love to play Minecraft that has tones of art in it. the texture packs to re-skin it, although boxy, require a certain skill to draw. But that goes for any game now days.

Do you have any tattoos?

Ann22

Would it be possible for you to transfer to primary school teaching? It might be less daunting to manage a younger group. My friend studied in Maynooth and intended to teach English and history...qualified but just needed to do her hDip. She wasn't sure that was the right thing for her. She took a 10yr break working elsewhere then she completed an online course and is now teaching young kids.
I feel so sorry for you, you sound so downhearted. My son is teaching art and has some difficult days. His first teaching practice was in a very rough school. It was really hard for him. Thank God he's managing well at the moment. I hope things get better for you soon x

CloudCumulus

That's a tough situation.
I've been TEFL teaching only for the last few summers and it's so draining. And that was only six week stints!
The money was poor, you only got paid for classroom hours and because the school was so tight, they'd ask you to do evening and weekend activities. I'd be getting home at 10.30 and be exhausted the next morning.
Now i'm in an admin job in the university and it's totally different. It's only two months but I think it's the kind of work I'd love.
Try applying to the CS or banks/credit unions.
Join a recruitment agency that hire people for contract admin work. That may not be ideal in the long run but at least it'll give you a feel for the work and see if it's positively affecting your stress levels.
All the best.

_Brian

I think you should consider sticking it out until you get a permanent job.

From what I can read your biggest beef is that your being bounced about a lot at the moment and can't have any set of lesson plans in place.

I've no doubt if you could land a permanent job you'll be able to develop lesson plans that will only need tweaking with time rather than scrambling to have new plans all the time.

No matter what you think your not going to find a job with any better "9-5" lifestyle than teaching. If your the type to bring stuff home then every job will have stuff to bring home and you will do it.
I think you should think long and hard before giving up a career path where you have every summer off and wvery imaginable other holiday too. It's a completely different world when you've 20 days leave and that has to cover summer and Christmas. And your bringing stuff home and working till twelve every night.

I know teaching is a hard job, but no other job offers the family friendly holidays.

Tincan123

Ann22 wrote: »

Would it be possible for you to transfer to primary school teaching? It might be less daunting to manage a younger group. My friend studied in Maynooth and intended to teach English and history...qualified but just needed to do her hDip. She wasn't sure that was the right thing for her. She took a 10yr break working elsewhere then she completed an online course and is now teaching young kids.

I prefer the older groups so I'd feel primary school wouldn't work for me. Thanks for the advice. I need to consider my options. I may contact a career advisor and see what they'll suggest. I'm really at sea. My love of the subject is gone. I try my hardest as I want to ensure the students enjoy the subject and get a sense of achievement/value but my spark is gone

chka

From what you're saying, it appears you do really care about your current job but your only issue is the perceived bullying because one (or more) students said/did this or that. First of all, why do you think that everybody else loves their jobs? Secondly, why do you believe that nobody else is bullied at their workplace? You're thinking of leaving what you love/learned doing and you're going to join a completely unknown territory that could be much worse. As a teacher you have way too many advantages compared to other job verticals, like many days off, no direct boss that looks over your shoulder, etc.. and you complain because one of your students told you to f/off. Big deal... you put too much emphasis on that. You don't own the school or the students to care that much, so simply go there, do the job you're paid for and ignore everything else. Also, take a much more strict line with trouble-makers in the class. Did you ever kicked someone out of the class? You're their "boss" while in the classroom not the other way around. So the conclusion is: either quit your job, or quit complaining and do your job

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

OP, you say in the same breath that you want to do a 9-5 an clock out - and that you want a career.

Ain't gonna happen.

If you really want to be able to clock out at the end of the day and forget about work, then start applying for retail, call centre or product-builder jobs. Accept that in these jobs you will look fondly back on the level of independence you had in teaching: at the moment, you plan what you will say in each class. In these jobs, you almost always have to follow the script, and if you go off script, likely as not your team leader will find out about it and there'll be trouble. But at the end of your shift you clock out and go home.

Or if you really want a career, then you need to figure out what that might be. Accept that you won't be clocking off at 5pm

Please don't listen to advice like this OP. It seems to come from a refusal to accept that some people DO have it easier than teachers.

I work in the private sector and always have, I do perfectly well and have a lot of autonomy. When I go home, that's me done for the day (most successful people operate on this basis btw, or at least a lot of them do).

Don't let someone tell you that a 'regular' job is by definition incredibly hard. It is just a fact that in many office jobs you CAN clock off in a way that teachers can't. I know I can. I'm posting on boards at 10am, not many teachers doing that right now I imagine.

You need to figure out what job will suit you and plan how to make a move into it. You're an art teacher. Design? Dublin is still crying out for good designers (and has an over supply of bad ones!). Have you every looked into something like that? If you have a natural eye, then learning the ropes of photoshop etc is simple enough to do. Best of all design is an area in which your work speaks for itself, so you should be able to find a role - if you are good.

Siog-Alainn

Have you thought about going to a career adviser? I went to one when I was looking for work and found her really helpful.

Letree

If you are teaching art then could you do graphic design or something. Btw i clock in at 9 and out at 5 every day. I work in the public service.

I worked in the private sector before and i was in my car 30 seconds after finishing time every day.

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

I work in the private sector and always have, I do perfectly well and have a lot of autonomy. When I go home, that's me done for the day (most successful people operate on this basis btw, or at least a lot of them do).

Please do tell us what your career field is. I'm sure lots of people would like to know about a professional role that you can clock out of at the end of the day.

Letree

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Please do tell us what your career field is. I'm sure lots of people would like to know about a professional role that you can clock out of at the end of the day.

Nurse, physio, engineer, accountant are 4 professions I know people in who rarely stay late.

iLikeWaffles

Don't think its the point of clocking out. It's more to do with being able to clock off.

Tincan123

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

OP, you say in the same breath that you want to do a 9-5 an clock out - and that you want a career.

Ain't gonna happen.

If you really want to be able to clock out at the end of the day and forget about work, then start applying for retail, call centre or product-builder jobs. Accept that in these jobs you will look fondly back on the level of independence you had in teaching: at the moment, you plan what you will say in each class. In these jobs, you almost always have to follow the script, and if you go off script, likely as not your team leader will find out about it and there'll be trouble. But at the end of your shift you clock out and go home.

Or if you really want a career, then you need to figure out what that might be. Accept that you won't be clocking off at 5pm

I suppose I meant a mental clocking out. I know that careers are very demanding. I do have accountability to the management, dept head and parents. I just feel very overwhelmed and i never feel a sense of achievement or accomplishment. I have been thrown 10 classes of a subject that I am not qualified in or comfortable teaching which makes it harder. We do have to to the curriculum. It's my mental wellbeing in this job that's the issue. I know that a very assertive and string person would love my job. We get to interact and educate teens. It is amazing to see them grow and become adults but I can't take it. I can't take how I feel awful about my ability everyday. They love my artwork but I cannot become a strict authoritative person when it isn't natural to me. I can maintain control but I'm not able to maintain the strict veeneer.

Wanderer2010

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

OP, you say in the same breath that you want to do a 9-5 an clock out - and that you want a career.

Ain't gonna happen.

If you really want to be able to clock out at the end of the day and forget about work, then start applying for retail, call centre or product-builder jobs. Accept that in these jobs you will look fondly back on the level of independence you had in teaching: at the moment, you plan what you will say in each class. In these jobs, you almost always have to follow the script, and if you go off script, likely as not your team leader will find out about it and there'll be trouble. But at the end of your shift you clock out and go home.

Or if you really want a career, then you need to figure out what that might be. Accept that you won't be clocking off at 5pm

I disagree with this. What makes you think you cant have a career in a highly skilled industry AND clock out at 5pm? I have worked in 4 big firms (engineering) and none of them expected you to stay on past end of shift. And I enjoyed the work- you clocked in, did your best, then went home to your life at the end of the day. Not every skilled firm out there want you to give up your entire life.

Diziet

I also don't agree that it is essential to be at work for endless hours in order to have a successful career.
Sometimes it is necessary to stay late, but a lot of the time developing a pattern of staying late is a choice. I decided to develop a style of work where I go home at a sensible time, and a lot of my colleagues (including my boss) have the same idea.

All pretty senior professionals, BTW.

Mrs OBumble

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I disagree with this. What makes you think you cant have a career in a highly skilled industry AND clock out at 5pm? I have worked in 4 big firms (engineering) and none of them expected you to stay on past end of shift. And I enjoyed the work- you clocked in, did your best, then went home to your life at the end of the day. Not every skilled firm out there want you to give up your entire life.

So when did you do the professional development study needed to maintain your engineering registration?

If your companies allowed you to do it during work time - then that's great and I'm pleased for you.

But the majority of professional jobs aren't like that. Not if you want to get ahead in the profession and not just work at entry level.

LegacyUser

Tincan123 wrote: »

Hi,
I am a post-primary teacher. I am teaching 5 years and I hate it. I get decent work from students and I achieve good grades but I find it draining. I get nervous before class and my stomach is constantly in knots. I feel oddly bullied in schools. I've yet to get a permanent job so i spend every Summer looking for work. I meet new staff and students every year. I'm fed up of doing the newbie donkey work in each school. I want to change professions so badly but I don't know what I could do. I teach art (and any other subject that I'm thrown) so I feel very pigeonholed. I would love a 9 to 5 job. I would love anything that will allow me to clock off. I've yet to feel that I have achieved in my career. Any good class can be crushed by the smallest of incidents. Can anyone suggest what profession I could look into? My personal life is suffering and I'll be very honest I think I am a bit depressed. I dream of being seriously ill so in don't have to face work. I normally thrive on being busy but sitting at my computer til 12 most nights is tough when you don't enjoy the work. I welcome suggestions.

OP, this is me in a nutshell right now. Would love to know what you ended up deciding to do and how yoy have gotten on. Have you any regrets? Or did it get better? I have no passion for the job but you do need it in teaching to be motivated enough for the workload.

bobbysands81

audi12 wrote: »

Quit you need to show courage once you do it will work out.

Do not take this advice.

Never make a life changing decision from a position of weakness.

By your own description of what is happening in your life you have some of the characteristics of depression. You should make an appointment with your doctor to have a chat about how you’re feeling. If not, ring a Counsellor and look to meet with them for a chat. Do this today, make the change and start to feel better.

If you leave your job without finding out what the real problem is you might be without s job and in financial problems as well as being depressed.