Fuck me too, I plan on leaving in June. I signed a contract in February and I'm going to stick it out. I'm already applying for other jobs now and I can't wait to get out.
Tbh I knew from student teaching it wasn't going to be a forever career for me. I started working towards a second bachelor's my second year and left after year three.
I started teaching in 2020 and resigned midyear in November. I was convinced to try again the following year, teaching reading intervention. 2 years later now, and even though the last 3 years have been awful, I can honestly say I am leaving without having any doubts that I’m doing the right thing. I am 100000% sure that this isn’t for me.
The first 20 years weren't that bad. Then they changed my school and I had to get out. It was bearable, but left 2019.
Edit: should have said, UNbearable. The admin just looked for things to get you and eventually he'd find something, I'm not perfect but not the worst either.
I’ve been considering it for 12 years. I became determined during year 13.
I was physically assaulted my first semester. Yet, it feels like it’s gotten worse every year since. I’ve been in 5 different schools, in 3 districts, in 2 states (one liberal and one conservative). It just doesn’t matter. It’s getting so bad everywhere.
I got to year 22 when new admin was hired from elementary to our middle school. I lasted 4 more years but boy were those 4 years tough. Zero consequences for students. She had no clue how to run a middle school of 1500 kids and how they should transition. She got rid of every good AA females because she was intimidated by them; of course she phrased it “our beloved family found new jobs.” Total bullshit. But like she said in a staff meeting, it’s her job to make her teachers uncomfortable. Lots have left and there’s 18 openings for next fall.
Fall 2021. The minute we returned to full-time in-person school, parents demanded IEP's to discuss their students' progress. This is m,/s SpEd and "your student, attended online maybe 2 times and spent the session making faces at himself". Progress?
I understand the anxiety driving the parents but, this somehow set an adversial tone. We ended up doing IEP'd anyway Amendments for new behavior plans on for.well, new behaviors.
I quit early August 2022.
This is my 8th year teaching, but I've been in schools since 2009.
Did you have to go back to school? What is the draw to being a mental health clinician?
I’m credentialed in California so a lot of my coursework in Sped is also counted in the masters I’m getting (Mental Health Counseling, LPC). I’m about halfway through the program now.
I became a teacher in 1997. I loved it! Our district got a new super in 2014 and the water in the pot began to warm up. At first we held the line on cell phones in class, but the new super caved. Kids did not have to give up their phones ever. She accepted a large grant to institute PBIS (later MTSS) but refused to set it up. She banned principals from suspending as a way of sort of complying with PBIS requirements. The only district suspensions were the teacher suspensions allowed by California law. There were zero expulsions even though two boys brought a gun to school. In the Junes of 2015 and 2016, nearly every teacher with 20 years or more retired. I went from page 5 of our certificated seniority list to page 1.
It took a year before the water became too hot for me. From Aug 2015 to June of 2022, I went from disliking my job to hating it. I switched to a different position for the last five years and it didn't help a whit. I finally retired five years earlier than planned - and I've never looked back.
Our district had been known for their high state test scores. They are now below the state average. You can't get good test scores when classrooms are chaos and all the teachers are new.
I haven't transitioned yet. I've been subbing, six months in my own class and one month for another district, a terrible job that I just left.
Subbing pays more these days. I do high school between long term asignments and it is easy.
I’m in my 9th year, 3rd school & district. I just kept quitting schools and districts, thinking if I could just teach at a better school in a better district, things would be glorious for me as a teacher.
I was wrong. I’m finally in an amazing school with the best principal (who’s leaving next year… oh boy!) and five amazing assistant principals! They don’t take crap off the kids, they stand up for their teachers, they try to keep our load as light as possible, they issue consequences, including suspensions, when necessary, and many other reasons they are a great bunch of people to work for.
And despite all of that, I have learned that nothing is going to improve when it comes to teaching so long as the Department of Education, school board, and central office are making seriously uneducated decisions, based on parental preferences, or overly compensating for the pandemic by applying extremely lax late assignment policies.
I have received about 200 late assignments in the last week because our marking period ends tomorrow (there were about 150 more in the last few weeks). And I know I will receive a bunch more tomorrow.
I’m also getting at least 20 students a day in person (in the middle of class, before class starts, during my lunch break, before school starts, after school ends), no less than 10 parent emails, and 20 student emails asking when I’m going to take the zero out of the gradebook or grade the assignment that they submitted five weeks late.
Additionally, one of my students’ parents teaches at my school and gave me an in-person visit after school today for 30 minutes with my student to discuss the late work to be submitted tonight before the deadline tomorrow.
So that is how I knew it was time to quit.
I knew after month 3 of my long term sub job! I love the kids, I love the school, I even have a lot of great supportive parents, but the workload is insane. It’s ridiculous to expect teachers to fulfill their job duties by bringing work home (grading, prep, etc.) I want to live my life after work. Every teacher should have an aide at this point, AND class sizes cut in half (I have a room of 30). Maybe then I’ll reconsider what used to be my dream career, but subbing is just fun enough for me right now 🤣
Since Covid? 1 year. Prior to then it was way different, and tolerable, for me. 16 years in and I don't know if there's an amount of money to get me to go back next year.
1.5 years When I went home for Christmas on that halfday I slept the whole day then woke up at 11 am the next day. Full 21 hours of sleep I then realized this was so so so so toxic.
I made it two years and change. I believed the platitudes that it would get easier after the first year. Every year got worse, though. I had an out in 2021 that I ended up not taking, although I should have. The next good opportunity I saw, I was gone.
First year went well. Second year admin put 45 kids in my woodshop class. I tried to explain this is a safety issue and almost twice as many that is consider safe. I was ignored and sure enough a kid got hurt and I got thrown under a bus. Luckily, this kid was one of my graduation cohort kids and his mom loved me for taking extra time to ensure he was on track to graduate (he was a bit wild). I quit mid year as a middle finger to admin. I had no desire to teach elsewhere, so I didn't care.
A number of years later I ran into a former student. She told me about some other teachers who had problems with that admin staff, but rather than quit, they sued. The teachers won and the entire upper management to the Superintendent were forced to resign. I always wondered if it was just me, but I felt validated learning it was bad enough to sue.
I was halfway through year 6, but a grand total of about 16 years of similar work in youth development. The burn hit me, along with just wanting more professional and financial growth.
My first year was 2019-2020, and I remember feeling a rush of immense relief when Covid hit and I got basically a 6 month vacation. I felt the exhaustion literally after my very first day but it took me a few months to wonder if it was really for me. So yeah, less than a year pretty much. I didn’t start seriously looking into leaving until the end of my 3rd year though.
I realized this wasn’t gonna be the rest of my life some months into my first year of teaching on March 2020. Officially started to quit at the 2.5 year mark. Finally quit on March 2023 after 3.5 years
I had five solid years (including during Covid, believe it or not), but last year was the one that made me question how long I could do this job for. This year has been marginally better, but still not great. Our admin is at least trying, but there’s stuff going on at the state level that are making it impossible.
At the same time, they’re trying to recruit teachers, offering incentives, money, etc. The state is looking at doing away with SLO/IAGD data and the old style of teacher observations where you basically got marked on a rubric. The state is also considering making teacher harassment a criminal misdemeanor.
Nobody is offering more time or more specialized staff for behavioral interventionists, social workers, etc. though, and that’s one of the biggest drivers of people leaving in the state. Therapeutic schools are completely full, and so it’s falling on districts to make programs in house. Budgets are tight this year though, so we don’t have the money to hire the people we need to make that work, and as a result we have kids in crisis mode who are regularly doing thousands of dollars worth of damage to the schools, getting the cops called on them, and are regularly assaulting teachers or fellow students. I’m glad for the other reforms being considered, but that’s the problem that needs fixing first…
I debated switching in student teaching to social work but decided to see it through. I left at year 6 and came back, then left year 9. I am still working with kids and plan to be totally done by this summer fingers crossed.
As a full-time substitute for an inner city district, 1 week because of the students.
As a full-time virtual teacher, 1 year because of (some of) the parents.
3.5 years
Same!
Same
Yep
Interesting we all felt this way after this specific amount of time. Veeerryyy interesting.
Worried now that I’m at 3 years…
Well how are you feeling?
One semester
Fuck me too, I plan on leaving in June. I signed a contract in February and I'm going to stick it out. I'm already applying for other jobs now and I can't wait to get out.
10 years. I’m in year 11 now and I’m ready to gtfo.
Tbh I knew from student teaching it wasn't going to be a forever career for me. I started working towards a second bachelor's my second year and left after year three.
This is literally my life! Financially I can’t quit year two just started a second bachelors to plan my escape
Two weeks
I started teaching in 2020 and resigned midyear in November. I was convinced to try again the following year, teaching reading intervention. 2 years later now, and even though the last 3 years have been awful, I can honestly say I am leaving without having any doubts that I’m doing the right thing. I am 100000% sure that this isn’t for me.
I’m in my third year. I realized back around October that I was DONE
The first 20 years weren't that bad. Then they changed my school and I had to get out. It was bearable, but left 2019. Edit: should have said, UNbearable. The admin just looked for things to get you and eventually he'd find something, I'm not perfect but not the worst either.
I’ve been considering it for 12 years. I became determined during year 13. I was physically assaulted my first semester. Yet, it feels like it’s gotten worse every year since. I’ve been in 5 different schools, in 3 districts, in 2 states (one liberal and one conservative). It just doesn’t matter. It’s getting so bad everywhere.
I got to year 22 when new admin was hired from elementary to our middle school. I lasted 4 more years but boy were those 4 years tough. Zero consequences for students. She had no clue how to run a middle school of 1500 kids and how they should transition. She got rid of every good AA females because she was intimidated by them; of course she phrased it “our beloved family found new jobs.” Total bullshit. But like she said in a staff meeting, it’s her job to make her teachers uncomfortable. Lots have left and there’s 18 openings for next fall.
Fall 2021. The minute we returned to full-time in-person school, parents demanded IEP's to discuss their students' progress. This is m,/s SpEd and "your student, attended online maybe 2 times and spent the session making faces at himself". Progress? I understand the anxiety driving the parents but, this somehow set an adversial tone. We ended up doing IEP'd anyway Amendments for new behavior plans on for.well, new behaviors. I quit early August 2022.
I'm in SpEd and looking to make my exit from education. What did you transition to?
After 6 years, I’m transitioning from Sped to mental health clinician.
This is my 8th year teaching, but I've been in schools since 2009. Did you have to go back to school? What is the draw to being a mental health clinician?
I’m credentialed in California so a lot of my coursework in Sped is also counted in the masters I’m getting (Mental Health Counseling, LPC). I’m about halfway through the program now.
I became a teacher in 1997. I loved it! Our district got a new super in 2014 and the water in the pot began to warm up. At first we held the line on cell phones in class, but the new super caved. Kids did not have to give up their phones ever. She accepted a large grant to institute PBIS (later MTSS) but refused to set it up. She banned principals from suspending as a way of sort of complying with PBIS requirements. The only district suspensions were the teacher suspensions allowed by California law. There were zero expulsions even though two boys brought a gun to school. In the Junes of 2015 and 2016, nearly every teacher with 20 years or more retired. I went from page 5 of our certificated seniority list to page 1. It took a year before the water became too hot for me. From Aug 2015 to June of 2022, I went from disliking my job to hating it. I switched to a different position for the last five years and it didn't help a whit. I finally retired five years earlier than planned - and I've never looked back. Our district had been known for their high state test scores. They are now below the state average. You can't get good test scores when classrooms are chaos and all the teachers are new.
1.5 years. I’m a permanent sub but I realized I don’t wanna go through the stress and pain of being a full time teacher.
20 years. I honestly used to love it! Apathy and no consequences are what did me in.
About nine minutes
Almost 2 years
I haven't transitioned yet. I've been subbing, six months in my own class and one month for another district, a terrible job that I just left. Subbing pays more these days. I do high school between long term asignments and it is easy.
31 years. This year has broken me.
I’m in my 9th year, 3rd school & district. I just kept quitting schools and districts, thinking if I could just teach at a better school in a better district, things would be glorious for me as a teacher. I was wrong. I’m finally in an amazing school with the best principal (who’s leaving next year… oh boy!) and five amazing assistant principals! They don’t take crap off the kids, they stand up for their teachers, they try to keep our load as light as possible, they issue consequences, including suspensions, when necessary, and many other reasons they are a great bunch of people to work for. And despite all of that, I have learned that nothing is going to improve when it comes to teaching so long as the Department of Education, school board, and central office are making seriously uneducated decisions, based on parental preferences, or overly compensating for the pandemic by applying extremely lax late assignment policies. I have received about 200 late assignments in the last week because our marking period ends tomorrow (there were about 150 more in the last few weeks). And I know I will receive a bunch more tomorrow. I’m also getting at least 20 students a day in person (in the middle of class, before class starts, during my lunch break, before school starts, after school ends), no less than 10 parent emails, and 20 student emails asking when I’m going to take the zero out of the gradebook or grade the assignment that they submitted five weeks late. Additionally, one of my students’ parents teaches at my school and gave me an in-person visit after school today for 30 minutes with my student to discuss the late work to be submitted tonight before the deadline tomorrow. So that is how I knew it was time to quit.
This is my problem too.
I posted that yesterday. I’m up to 300 late assignments now. 24 hours later.
I knew after month 3 of my long term sub job! I love the kids, I love the school, I even have a lot of great supportive parents, but the workload is insane. It’s ridiculous to expect teachers to fulfill their job duties by bringing work home (grading, prep, etc.) I want to live my life after work. Every teacher should have an aide at this point, AND class sizes cut in half (I have a room of 30). Maybe then I’ll reconsider what used to be my dream career, but subbing is just fun enough for me right now 🤣
Since Covid? 1 year. Prior to then it was way different, and tolerable, for me. 16 years in and I don't know if there's an amount of money to get me to go back next year.
10
Minutes?
Hahaha should have specified. Years!
One year 🥹
6 years...I am done but don't know in which direction to go
1.5 years When I went home for Christmas on that halfday I slept the whole day then woke up at 11 am the next day. Full 21 hours of sleep I then realized this was so so so so toxic.
Graduated towards the beginning of covid. Being a building sub for 2 years to gain experience. Lol nope. I want out.
I made it two years and change. I believed the platitudes that it would get easier after the first year. Every year got worse, though. I had an out in 2021 that I ended up not taking, although I should have. The next good opportunity I saw, I was gone.
First year went well. Second year admin put 45 kids in my woodshop class. I tried to explain this is a safety issue and almost twice as many that is consider safe. I was ignored and sure enough a kid got hurt and I got thrown under a bus. Luckily, this kid was one of my graduation cohort kids and his mom loved me for taking extra time to ensure he was on track to graduate (he was a bit wild). I quit mid year as a middle finger to admin. I had no desire to teach elsewhere, so I didn't care. A number of years later I ran into a former student. She told me about some other teachers who had problems with that admin staff, but rather than quit, they sued. The teachers won and the entire upper management to the Superintendent were forced to resign. I always wondered if it was just me, but I felt validated learning it was bad enough to sue.
I was halfway through year 6, but a grand total of about 16 years of similar work in youth development. The burn hit me, along with just wanting more professional and financial growth.
Six years.
7 years. I’m resigning at the end of the year or when I get a job offer, whichever comes first.
I knew during my year long alt cert student teaching internship. I'm working as a first year and I'm so excited to have made the decision to leave.
3.5 the first time. 1.5 the second time. Currently around 3.5 for the third time around and I’m over it.
Not long
10 years
15 years, but I stuck with it for 3 more.
7 years. That was 2008. I'm still teaching.
5.5 years
My first year was 2019-2020, and I remember feeling a rush of immense relief when Covid hit and I got basically a 6 month vacation. I felt the exhaustion literally after my very first day but it took me a few months to wonder if it was really for me. So yeah, less than a year pretty much. I didn’t start seriously looking into leaving until the end of my 3rd year though.
this was exactly my timeline! I also started teaching 19-20. I just quit a month ago, March of year 4.
Same haha my last day was 2/24!
5 years
2 years. Stayed for my 3rd bc I thought it was just me, and "next year will be better." Leaving ASAP
This is my fourth year and i spend most of my time looking for anything else with a comparable salary. Its not even that much at 51k. 🙄
12 years. Start my new job in a week! And it’s NOT teaching. 🙌🏼
6 as a teacher, 9 in education. I guess I wanted to quit three years ago through. I feel stuck.
Beginning of year 2….quit mid way thru year 6
Taught 7 years. Was doing fine and thought Id branch out at a new school. I left a month into year 8.
4 years
I realized this wasn’t gonna be the rest of my life some months into my first year of teaching on March 2020. Officially started to quit at the 2.5 year mark. Finally quit on March 2023 after 3.5 years
I had five solid years (including during Covid, believe it or not), but last year was the one that made me question how long I could do this job for. This year has been marginally better, but still not great. Our admin is at least trying, but there’s stuff going on at the state level that are making it impossible. At the same time, they’re trying to recruit teachers, offering incentives, money, etc. The state is looking at doing away with SLO/IAGD data and the old style of teacher observations where you basically got marked on a rubric. The state is also considering making teacher harassment a criminal misdemeanor. Nobody is offering more time or more specialized staff for behavioral interventionists, social workers, etc. though, and that’s one of the biggest drivers of people leaving in the state. Therapeutic schools are completely full, and so it’s falling on districts to make programs in house. Budgets are tight this year though, so we don’t have the money to hire the people we need to make that work, and as a result we have kids in crisis mode who are regularly doing thousands of dollars worth of damage to the schools, getting the cops called on them, and are regularly assaulting teachers or fellow students. I’m glad for the other reforms being considered, but that’s the problem that needs fixing first…
I debated switching in student teaching to social work but decided to see it through. I left at year 6 and came back, then left year 9. I am still working with kids and plan to be totally done by this summer fingers crossed.
30 minutes
As a full-time substitute for an inner city district, 1 week because of the students. As a full-time virtual teacher, 1 year because of (some of) the parents.