Wanting to Quit Teaching
Yes, you heard that right. In fact, I have almost left teaching two times. The first time was because I was working at a school for Youth in Custody and just had a hard time dealing with the emotional baggage I brought home from school.
The second time I almost quit teaching, it was because I was exhausted. I was working until 5:00 every night – staying 2.5 hours after school had ended and I often had to get to school earlier than contract time just so that I could get everything done.
It got so far as salary negotiations with a company that wrote training curriculum for private companies. But guess what I found out – they wouldn’t match my hourly rate, I didn’t have 12 weeks off every year (if you count summers, holidays, and if I took all my sick and personal days), and I would have had to pay for my own health insurance.
It was then and there that I decided I was leaving at contract time, even if it killed me. I couldn’t change a lot of things about my job – we all have certain duties and requirements placed on us. But I could change my actions.
Why I Didn't Quit Teaching
When I look back at that time, it wasn’t teaching that made me want to quit – it was everything else.
Those moments from bell to bell with me and my students were golden. I am one of those teachers who loves the teaching part of teaching. I love the learning, the struggle. I love the back and forth with students – even the sassiness of teenagers – I live for it. I smiled and laughed so much during that time.
So it wasn’t teaching that I had a hard time with.
It was the grading and the copies and the emails and the meetings.
I did an exercise where I wrote down all the things about being a teacher I couldn’t change, then all the things I had influence on, and all the things that were in my control. It’s called the sphere of influence. Have you heard of it? Check it out here.
Everything that was out of my control, I couldn’t do anything about. So, I decided to stop worrying about it. No really.
The assembly getting out 20 minutes late causing my daily plans to implode – what are you going to do about it? No really – what could I do about it? March down to the stage and demand they stop. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. But I could change my lesson. I could extend a day. I could take out an assignment. I could give the affected period a free assignment and move on with life.
That became my motto – if I can’t change it, then I won’t get worked up over it.
This freed up the emotion space I needed to focus on what I could change.
What I Changed so that Leaving at Contract Time Wasn't a Dream
1. Boundaries Baby
That’s right – set some boundaries. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you don’t have to be everything and give everything to teaching.
Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be a good teacher. I’m not saying that you just put your feed on the desk and show movies everyday. But what I am saying is that you can and should say no.
Here are some boundaries I set:
I get my lunch.
I don’t have students in my room. Students don’t makeup tests. Students don’t get help. I don’t answer emails. I don’t run down to the office. Lunch was my time. I needed the break. We all need the break.
I also didn’t go to the faculty room.
You see – I’m an emotional sponge and an introvert. The social-ness of the break room was too much for me. After being around 200+ kids everyday, I needed the time to rest and relax. I would eat lunch in my room with my Teacher BFF. And I didn’t eat at my desk.
I stopped grading at home.
What is the worst thing that would happen if I didn’t get something graded the same day or the next? Guess what – students don’t care. Their parents might care, but students don’t.
For the first time in my career I actually sat and watched my favorite shows without essays on my lap or assignments getting entered into the grade book. I quickly found out that some of my favorite shows weren’t as good once I could actually just sit and watch them.
I only saw or worked with students during contract hours.
Yup. I did that. My contract at the time was from 7:00 – 3:00. So if a student needed ot makeup a test – I was there at 7 am and I would stay until 3 pm. That’s it.
Sometimes it took students several days to finish a test. That’s fine. My classes were 90 minutes long, so when you missed a day, you missed a lot. I would just give students one page at a time, kept their test in a folder, and when they had a chance they could come work on it.
I’ll never forget staying until 4:00 once – just me and a student in my room. Not a good idea! Not only was I donating my time, but that is kinda an iffy situation. All my neighbor teachers had left and it just isn’t a safe thing to be alone with a student in your room like that.
2. I used my prep time to its fullest.
I won’t go into too much depth here because you can read that blog post here. Let’s just say I became an efficiency machine!
3. I found a person to collaborate with.
I’ve been lucky that at 2 of my 3 schools I’ve worked in, I have found a collaboration partner. What a relief to only plan half of everything you need for a class. No really. It takes trust, but it is so worth it.
It doesn’t mean you can’t adapt things to your own needs and purposes, but what it does mean is that you aren’t starting from scratch every time.
What Happened and How Soon Did I See a Change?
I remember the day when school ended and I had nothing to do. No really – nothing. I was finished planning until the end of the year. Everything was graded. Copies were made. It was eerie.
I almost left teaching in March of 2015. That was when I started making changes. They were small at first and I just started changing things one at a time.
February of 2016 – that was when I had nothing left to do. So, it was about a year to make and implement all the changes.
But in that time I also planned curriculum far in advance, learned a new standards-based grading system and implemented it (which caused me to change every rubric and assignment I had previously used), and started teaching AP Lang. So not bad in my opinion. Not bad.
They say “Small changes make the biggest differences” and it is 100% true.
The biggest small change I made was changing my mindset. If I had never felt like I deserved to be leaving at contract time, I wouldn’t have been able to make any of those changes. Leaving at contract time shouldn’t be a privilege for teachers, it should be a given.
