Couldn't Handle Teaching

I first got into teaching thinking it would be easy, with decent pay, and great vacation days. I lasted 1.5 years at my first job before getting fired. That shook my confidence, and I could not hold down another teaching job after that. I would have terrible anxiety, cry, and honestly be afraid of the misbehaving kids. Now, I have no idea what to do with my life. I do not have any other skills. Any advice?

Do you have any other interests? Maybe take a course at college, get some new qualifications in a different field?

what went so terribly wrong? by not being able to hold down teaching jobs afterwards do you mean you got fired several times, or that you left? i'm sure you could work on it to get back to teaching without feeling such dread?

I've had teachers in the family, and let me tell you the job has changed A LOT. That being said, if you have writing skills have you thought about PR work or communications. Work at a university of college?

What did you teach?

what grade are you teaching? Have you considered changing age groups?

Teaching is really hard. Like the others asked, can you switch something? age groups? subject? different type of school? I recently went to a career workshop and the counselor told us an example (true story) of a teacher who was fired from a school because her style did not mesh well with the school. She then really thought hard about her goals and what she wanted to get out of teaching, so she applied to a much different type of school, and loves it there and is thriving now. I know that you can have your confidence shaken after losing a job, but it means that there is a better match for you out there.

Teaching is a very difficult job.

Have you spoken with a career counselor?

what grade are you teaching? Have you considered changing age groups?

I was teaching 6/7 grade.. I have thought about going younger...it might help.

Teaching is a very difficult job.

 

Have you spoken with a career counselor?

No, where do you find one?

No, where do you find one?

I believe you can find one at the university where you studied..

I would suggest you go a lot younger. 12 and 13 year old kids can be difficult for a seasoned teacher.

Also there are a lot of online schools popping up that use teachers.

Don't give up just yet until you exhaust all your options.

Lost

Where did you attend school that you found teaching to be your calling? Are there any positions available in those areas? And or can you seek out a mentor/support system/general information and advice from particular teachers who have inspired you?

Good luck! Good teachers are among the most important gems we have.

Perhaps you could teach English abroad to adults. Teaching adults is very different to teaching kids. Group sizes are much smaller.

And not just English. Especially if you have a teaching degree, there are many, many jobs where you can teach abroad.

I have one friend who taught for a while, hated it, quit and went travelling, got back into teaching while in Japan, then ended up teaching again when she went home. Perhaps a change of scenery will give you a reboot.

Best of luck!

Perhaps you could teach English abroad to adults. Teaching adults is very different to teaching kids. Group sizes are much smaller.

 

And not just English. Especially if you have a teaching degree, there are many, many jobs where you can teach abroad.

 

I have one friend who taught for a while, hated it, quit and went travelling, got back into teaching while in Japan, then ended up teaching again when she went home. Perhaps a change of scenery will give you a reboot.

 

Best of luck!

What a good suggestion.

Oh dear, I have heard too many of the stories regarding teaching. Many have suggested that you go younger. I suggest you go high school. This is my 21st year teaching high school biology and a inner-city high school. I thought seven years at one high school in this particular district and since 2004 I have been at another high school in the same district. I transferred because it was my daughters home school and it was the school closest to our home. I have taught all levels of biology and even physical science which is kind of design for ninth graders not yet ready for biology. I have taught regular which includes all levels of special ed even those that can't even write their name, delinquents, gangbangera, mentally unstable students, sections of science for students who are not fluent in English,… The discipline in the on level classe is pretty bad. The campus must have a strong administrative team to support their teachers. My daughter is 27 years old and now in her third year of teaching. Her first two years she taught ninth-grade biology just like mama. She is in her third year and has transferred to a suburban school teaching eighth grade science. She really wants to go back to teaching high school. Teaching is not for everyone. The profession has changed so much since I started in 1997. It used to be me and the administration against the kids. Now it is me and my students against the asinine administration dumps useless bureaucratic paperwork that takes away time from the actual job description. I didn't realize it years ago when I was assigned to teach the honors biology children and the advanced placement biology class. I was upset, because despite the much higher quality of students in those classes, it is so much more stress inducing especially the advanced placement biology. Last Mester I had several mental breakdowns not because of my students because instructional time had been cut significantly and on top of that a lot more paperwork and documentation from meetings or Now required. I consider myself blessed and fortunate that even in my worst classes… Classes were kids were bold enough to light up marijuana and I had to call security to have the removed that actually happened twice. Classes we have allowed student to go to the restroom and as a result he lit a fire in the trash which resulted in a evacuation. I am now teaching all honors classes which is something, believe it or not I thought against for years because I loved my regular biology classes. Basic level stuff very easily teach. Discipline was much worse than those classEs but I developed a very good relationship with most of my students whether they are Louis Canamak lower cheating come from the family with the lack of education etc. I felt so successful as the end of the school years to see how much they had grown in their test scores under my tutelage. Now in teaching honors freshman biology and the advanced placement biology the stress level has skyrocketed and not in a good way. I have had to see a doctor and go every month. I And 10 to start yoga very very soon. I hate when my students are not successful mostly for them and not for me this year I feel like I have done do a great job in justification because we went to a different schedule which cut our class time and I don't get to see them Daly anymore. What is your certification are you eligible to try school I would never be able to do understand. Good luck on whatever decision you make. Teachers… Effective teachers are a blessing to the children

my mother taught both elementary and intermediate. neither was fun. more like please god give me the self-control to not strangle them. adults she felt weren't as stressful to teach. i have mentored intermediate students, and experienced not a single problem. however. i think regardless of whether you'd switch to a "variety on the theme" job, the way in which you were let go from teaching jobs you couldn't hold down would bear utmost significance in your chance to land any teaching job. if you meant you frequently got fired (assuming, since you conveniently didn't answer), then it's not looking good until you can prove to your future employers you've done away with the reasons several employers had to resort to the last option of handling the situations- letting you go. if you left the jobs due to not feeling up to them, they'll likewise need convincing you've gained whatever skills you felt you lacked so badly previously, as well as persistence and reliability.

i would hire a professional to coach me how to present myself to future employers in ways that won't end up with me evaluated as chronically unfit for educational work. depending on what the cause of being let go the first time was, i'd take classes geared toward overcoming such a deficiency.

Teaching is sadly the most under appreciated job. Yea you get summer off, but you are working weekends during the school year; or depending on your school district, you are doing WORKSHOPS throughout the summer. You are spending your own personal money to build and maintain your own classroom. Class sizes are increasing which makes classroom management almost damn near impossible. The office politics in schools is really bad.

I was teaching 6/7 grade.. I have thought about going younger...it might help.

Middle school is the TOUGHEST age level to teach. It's why most teachers either prefer high school or elementary level. I taught 8th grade for three years and had enough. High school was 10x better. So please don't beat yourself up over it- you took on the hardest grade level to teach.

I went back to school for my masters in special education because I also had trouble holding down a teaching job. I was easily disposable as an English teacher. As a person with ADHD, I felt my calling was in special Ed. You have to be a VERY special and patient person to do special education because of the high burnout rate, BUT there are so many jobs out there in mental health that there is job stability in it.

I did some volunteering/interning at mental health facilities that I was offered a job with a local mental health agency thanks to graduate school. I work with clients with disabilities and teach them independent living and career skills, and LOVE it. No more grading, no more dealing with 35 students in a classroom. It's awesome. If you like teaching and making a difference for people with disabilities, I strongly suggest the field. It pays the same as a teacher's salary.

No offense Zuri, but do you mind using paragraphs? Because holy S*# that's a lot of reading.