The very first episode we produced remains one of our most popular. Why teachers quit should be something every would-be teacher should ponder before taking out loans to pay for college. You don’t want to be one of the 44% of newbies who quit within the first five years, because then what will you do with all that useless college loan debt you accrued?
A matter of sanity
We contacted a teacher friend of ours who had recently fled the classroom to preserve her sanity. She gave up the wear and tear of teaching for a position helping teachers avoid the stress that caused her to leave in the first place. We’ve known Carolyn since her first days in the profession. Now as the middle school curriculum math specialist for her district, she’s able to share her experiences with new teachers and offer them the kind of support all new teachers should have.
So why do teachers quit?
So today, we revisit the day-to-day issues teachers have to negotiate. Believe me, if it were just teaching our curriculum, there wouldn’t be the quitting issue, But teachers deal with so much more than delivering the curriculum. There are discipline issues, extra duties before and after school, lesson planning and grading that follow you home, parent phone calls, meetings… Those are just physical issues. Let’s not forget the emotional toll of caring for kids who come from all kinds of homes and deal with all kinds of unknowns. The teacher may be the only positive connection in a student’s life. This job has no quitting time.
We also give our two cents about what can be done to avoid the problems in the first place. Unfortunately, credentialing programs don’t really do the best job of preparing virgin teachers for the classroom. You can listen to our other podcast on that topic here.
If you’re thinking of becoming a teacher, this episode is required listening. Teaching is the toughest job you’ll ever love. I know that’s pretty cliche, but it’s true. It’s really THE most important job on the planet
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