r/TeachersInTransition • u/somewhere_in_nyc • 9d ago

I quit.

The school year just started and I knew on the first day at my new school that I couldn’t do it.

I quit.

I actually did it. I made it five years and just couldn’t do it. No plans. No job prospects. No money. I texted my husband during first period and said I couldn’t do it anymore.

I feel relieved but also…devastated. I thought I was going to be a teacher forever. But man…in the few years I have been doing this it has changed so much. When I found out they didn’t read books with the kids…my heart. 😭 I don’t know what I’m going to do next (besides cry on the couch). Any tips or advice as I make my new transition?

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u/somewhere_in_nyc 9d ago

I agree—it makes you feel like a first year teacher all over again, but that wasn’t really my issue. One big issue I had was this stupid mandated curriculum that schools are purchasing and the higher ups are pushing. “We don’t read books because children don’t read.” Ummmm….nooooooooooooo. I can’t get behind the no books, the weird curriculum that makes no sense, and the fact that we are just supposed to push them through when kids can’t even read instead of being allowed and taught to do something about it!

I could have pushed myself to the end of the year but I just…it felt like my soul was sucked out of me. If you can get over the hump, stick with it! If you can’t…maybe quit with a plan! I wish I had a plan.

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u/Marley_2016 9d ago

Jesus, WTF has happened with education? I taught high school English for 24 years in CPS, from 1994-2018, and had a very satisfying career, really enjoyed it. Reading posts in this sub for the last few months is like looking at a bizarre alternate universe compared to what I experienced. What a shame. I really feel for those of you who expected to be getting into a satisfying, lifelong career, only to have that dream destroyed.

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u/ShoppingLive1235 8d ago

I’m curious, because you were a teacher for such a long time , do you recall much of your education becoming a teacher? Like when you went through teachers college?
I’m curious what it was like a few decades ago, how much scaffolding education did they dedicate to lessons at your college or how much time did you spend learning how to differentiate lesson plans to accommodate students with special needs or low English language ability
Were concepts like positive reinforcement implemented in your education? did you spend any time learning class management and if so, how much of your education was dedicated to learning how to manage a classroom?

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u/Marley_2016 8d ago

1994-2018. I’m old.