I could have lived with this1500 a year would still have been a huge help to mebut they were not giving us credit for time served under the pay freeze. I ran down the hall to tell a coworker that my product had sold, wondered if I would come across as full of myself or greedy, thought better of it, and then ran back to my own classroom to celebrate privately. Ive made this comment on the podcast multiple times in reference to what most of us thought when we went into the field of education. How to Know If You Should Quit Teaching - Teach 4 the Heart And while this can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it, the world of education has enlarged itself over and over again producing so many unique job opportunities for teachers. And now? By the end of my worst (and final) year as a teacher, it had become routine for me to break down in tears on my way to school. Even if my fears are irrational, having a backup plan seems like a good idea. In other industries and positions, people change careers an average of 12 to 15 times in their lifetime. It didnt take me long to realize that quitting teaching was the best thing I ever did. My classroom management improved. If I want to go back to teaching, I can. Luckily for me, I was "non-renewed" at my old school and ended up finding another job in a completely new district. I had several phone calls with colleagues. I ended up working a couple of hours a week doing his eBay orders of collectibles. For whatever reason, many of us feel as though were bragging if we mention our strengths. There were many parents who just couldnt take seeing their children perform less then adequately. I couldnt believe it even as I stared at the notification on my phone. I knew it had to . My TPT income was growing at a much, much faster rate than that. We hadnt planned this outwe simply felt the Lord impressing on our hearts that we needed to pull our kids from the public school system to homeschool them. Every year, I thought about quitting. While teaching can be an incredibly rewarding profession, all of these demands made it difficult to be present at home. You always have to remember that different companies have different budgets, so even after doing your research, its not a one-size-fits-all answer. But for me, personally, it is not a forever career, and Im ready for the next phase of my life. Even as a new parent, I knew that I was going to parent my children to understand how to use a growth mindset to be the best that they can be. I gave my community eight years, and I did my best. e-mail; 36. shares. This caused me to have a bit of a crisis. At that moment, any ideas I had ever had about pursuing teaching further was put to rest. Quitting teaching isn't as easy as refreshing your But a group of parents used a combination of large donations, email campaigns, and bombarding school board meetings to get the district to reopen. Immediately, I jumped on to Teachers Pay Teachers and paid the $60 for the premium membership. One place didnt hire me because I was a teacherthe manager told me there was no way I had the time to teach and do a part-time job. There were no more pay increases for graduate credits; you had to obtain the full masters degree to get the next education-based pay level. Ive received a raise every year, much larger than any teacher salary step. Yet, the more I thought about leaving teaching, the more teacher guilt I felt. I started applying for part-time jobs. I didnt love my job, but I thought that I could grow to love it. I was worried that after I left teaching, I would miss having the summers and holidays off. The key is knowing when to pack your bags. Yet, within weeks of announcing my new position, I had a few text messages from teachers that I used to work with asking for advice. I did the math to figure out my hourly earnings and was utterly dumbfounded. I might not grow my retirement much over the next year, but I think long term Ill be able to contribute more. I could spend all day writing about all of the negative aspects of teaching that led to my decision. They took our amazing health insurance away this year and gave us one of the nations worst ranking healthcare providers in its place. I plan on looking into the Affordable Care Act marketplace when the time comes to see if I can get coverage for those three months, even if it might be more expensive than I would like. It was the best thing I ever did and now I have the life I should have had. Think about how many hours you spend working in a week. Awareness of how truly irreplaceable I am to my family. I know that some Teachers Pay Teachers panickedsuddenly teachers didnt need their printable worksheets anymore. My insurance benefits will last through August. Id be lying if I said I didnt have reservations or fears about quitting my job. Yet, teachers carry the burden of shame and guilt the moment they think of leaving the classroom. I was proud of myself and happy to not let down my parents. I Just Quit Teaching, Here's Why Others Will Too - Medium Fast forward a few years and I discovered a love for scrapbooking. As I said, I was hired during the first year of a district-wide pay freeze. Its best to start by researching and understanding the average salary for the position in your area. Sarah Robinson, 50, from Birmingham, used to enjoy working as a supplier development engineer in the automotive industry, before she handed in her notice in early 2021. When youre on salary and expected to work long hours, it doesnt add up. Its been the primary motivator for my Teachers Pay Teachers business, in fact. I felt stuck, which led me to feel uninspired. introduced me to the concept of a growth mindset, 175 Positive Affirmations to Start Your Day Off Right, 75 Inspiring Quotes on Gratitude by Famous Personalities, 115 Inspirational You Are Amazing Quotes To Empower, 175 Best Motivational Live Your Best Life Quotes, that they are smart if they get questions right, failure means they are bad at the subject, taking risks means you could end up looking stupid, the parent believes that the child is a genius without flaws, they will make up excuses and place blame elsewhere when their child doesnt perform, Student performs poorly (or does not get perfect), Parent demands meeting with the teacher and administration, Student and parent blame teacher for poor performance. Plus, 9 things we need if the U.S. ever wants to see another globally-competitive generation. Now that Im on the other side of my decision, I know that quitting teaching in the traditional classroom was the best thing for me. I had made money while teaching. Right now, I cant look at the numbers and honestly say that my Teachers Pay Teachers business will completely replace my teachers salary next year. Im 100% positive because I now have the. There is no career like this one. I made the decision when I was 19. I wanted to put it all out on the table, in case it helps anyone else. While I was comfortable teaching early childhood and elementary-aged children, staying in my comfort zone wasnt what God designed me to do. Our students are coming to school with more and more problems, and the bar for achievement is continually being raised. I personally have not quit mid-year but I know people who have and my district has not actually gone after anyone's license yet, but they always threaten to. This came over my Pinterest recommendations and caught my eye. At this point, between the extra teaching demands of the panic, the anxiety of not knowing what teaching was even going to look like, and feeling so completely disregarded by my district, I wept on my balcony. To my surprise, the educational companies Ive worked for mimic a teachers schedule. Signup for my newsletter The Lounge and be the first to hear about new teaching resources, blog posts, and oh, so much more! Capacity to lean into my strengths and strengthen my areas of weakness. Before that summary is the long-winded tale of how I went from graduating college to quitting my career. When I spoke at schools or conferences for work, teachers would come up afterward and ask me for career advice. Many high-risk teachers only agreed to return because we were virtual. Without further education, I couldnt really switch roles in education or pursue the career path further. Why Leaving Teaching One Year Ago Was the Best Decision Not everyone has a spouse or a spouse whose job will provide such benefits. Take that . During my time on the committee, I conducted research into how to use a growth mindset to transform student learning. (We both know you work way more.) I had no idea how any of this worked when I started to transition from teaching. However, because I was confident in why I was quitting teaching, that why kept me grounded even when I questioned my decision. Thats your time. In Texas you are risking your teaching license being suspended. (Honestly, just talking about this is making my heart rate increase rapidly!!) Im already planning on making some resources for my current colleagues over the summer that Ill also sell. After all, it was my dream teaching position. It became clear that the path I had mapped out for myself was NOT the best path for my life. I shared in my stories th." Remember, every experience shapes who we are and who we become. I've always wanted to travel the world, but I've never had the means to do so. After graduation, many of my peers struggled to land their first teaching contract, but I had done it. Lastly, if I quit teaching, Ill have opportunities for other things in my life. If Im ever looking for work in the future, I know it will be 500X easier than it was before I began networking! I was all-in. And heres what Ive learned. I told Blake that no matter what, I was quitting teaching this year. Its actually something Ive been working toward for a long time. So the most important part of my plan for quitting teaching is to continue expanding my Teachers Pay Teachers business. Start building that network! Absolutely not!! Student entitlement is one of the major issues teachers experience these days that makes them want to quit teaching. However, I made my decision to allow me to grow in the right place. These were parents who were at home telling their children how smart they are and expecting them to get into the most prestigious schools. My teaching take-home is about $2000 a month, which means my business will need to generate about $48,000 a year to match that after taxes and expenses. My schoolwhich sat in the middle of the riotswas damaged. I left my position as an Educational Consultant for a position as an Instructional Designer and viewed it as growth, not failure. She didnt understand that I needed the part-time job because I taught. The worry and anxiety about my students and the school politics were soaking up the rest of my emotional energy. At this point, I was working a full-time and a part-time job, plus a summer job, and it still wasnt filling in the gaps. because we continue to tweak things. During my fifth year of teaching, I made two big decisions that would dramatically change my situation: The latter was mostly on a whim. The first job I had after leaving teaching gave me an annual salary of 25,000. For years, the idea of quitting felt like deciding to amputate a limb that had started to necrotise. Life is short. I didnt set a date for when I would be quitting teaching. However, as I thought about quitting teaching and relying solely on TpT, I did start to panic a little bit.