The Teacher Burnout Podcast

Should You Leave Teaching?
[00:00:00] In today's episode, I'm going to help you decide, should you quit teaching? That's all coming up next, right here on the teacher burnout podcast.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to the Teacher Burnout Podcast, where we explore the challenges of burnout for teachers and share practical strategies to support teacher well being. I'm your host, Barb Flowers. If you're a teacher looking for ways to prevent burnout or an educational leader searching for strategies to support your team, this podcast is for you.
Let's dive in.
Welcome back to the podcast today. We're going to be talking about the question that some educators have, which is, should I quit teaching? I talked to many teachers who feel overwhelmed, stressed out and like teaching consumes her life. However, there are many teachers who still love the profession. Others don't feel like they can continue.
They're just so overwhelmed and stressed that they feel like they can't live this way forever. It's hard to decide. [00:01:00] If leaving teaching is right for you. And it's such a big decision because you may feel judged by others for leaving the profession for one, I think there is a stigma when people leave the profession. It used to be that everybody who went to school to be a teacher was a teacher until they retired.
And they had 30, 35 years into teaching. And now it seems like if people want to leave the profession, it's looked down on like, I can't believe you're leaving teaching. When really it's okay. People leave jobs all the time. So I think it's common in education to feel. Uncomfortable. And I think this is something that really needs to change is it's okay to go to school and be a teacher for five years and do something else or be a teacher for 10 years.
But I think it's so common that people feel judged when they decide to leave the profession. Also, you might feel like you failed as a teacher. We put so much of our identity in our jobs as educators, that if you decide you're done teaching. Then you feel like a failure? [00:02:00] Like, oh, I, I couldn't handle it or I was burnt out, so I had to quit.
And you just feel like you gave up on your kids, you gave up on your colleagues. And you feel like a failure. Also some people think, what else could I do? I've been in education, my whole career. You know, my degree is so specific. What else could I do with that? And it's the. Uncertainty of not knowing what's out there or, not having that same schedule in the same job and all the certainty that we have with teaching and what that job looks like.
You may have a lot of time if you're in public education and the state retirement system, which, I'm in Ohio and we have a really good state retirement system and we have a union in our school and it can be hard to leave.
That's a very hard thing to leave because especially if you've been teaching for 20, 25 years. You know, you don't want to leave because of your state retirement.
Also teachers have strong bonds with colleagues, students, and families. That it can be really scary to even leave their school. [00:03:00] So let alone leaving the profession, but leaving teaching it can mean that you're leaving behind a supportive community and relationships that have taken you years to build. Also, depending on the situation leaving teaching can lead to financial uncertainty.
In teaching your job's pretty secure unless you're a brand new teacher. People have tenure, you know what you're going to make. You have a contract, you usually know what your raise is going to be. There's a lot of financial certainty in teaching. Leaving that behind can be really difficult. Also, there's a big emotional investment that we give when we teach and when we're in education.
So some teachers feel invested in their school and their students, and it's hard to leave. So there's many reasons that it could be a hard decision for you to leave teaching.
But today I'm going to give you three things to consider when deciding if you should leave teaching. So the first thing I want you to consider is would changing grade levels or schools help. So before you think. Should I [00:04:00] be a teacher, maybe what you need to do is change grade levels or change school districts, talk to other teachers and see what their experiences are in other school districts.
I know I love having those conversations and finding out just how different it is. I've been in three different districts and I've had very different experiences. So I think, , a change of scenery being with different people, having different colleagues, maybe you need different administrators, whatever that is. I would consider if you're really not liking where you are to think about changing grade levels or think about changing schools. Sometimes I've talked to a lot of teachers who, They don't want to teach the grade level that they have children.
And even if their children don't go to that school. So for example, if you have middle schoolers and you're a middle school teacher at that point in your life, you might not want to teach middle school. So you might have to, you know, do a different grade level, or maybe you have little kids.
Maybe you have kids that are kindergarteners and first graders at home. So being a kindergarten teacher all day [00:05:00] and giving directions and telling kids to do things a million times. Is not a great thing to do when you go home and do the same thing. So really reflect on where you are in your life. And what changes could happen, maybe, you just need a different role in the school, you know, is there something you could go back to school for?
So really reflect on your current situation, reflect on what is challenging you and whether it is something that you have control of and could change to address the situation. The second thing I want you to consider, are there factors you can control? Are you wanting to leave teaching?
Maybe because you're feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, stressed, but it's all based on factors that you could control. Have you ever tried setting boundaries? You know, have you set boundaries with your parents? With your colleagues with your administration, because maybe that's what you need to do. Maybe you just need to be clear about your boundaries and set those.
And once you do. You'll feel better in your position. If you go back to episodes, [00:06:00] 5 30, 7 and 39, I talk about setting boundaries. I'll put those episodes in the show notes as well. But just setting limits on your work, prioritizing the things that you need to get done and getting support from colleagues, having conversations with your administrators about what's going on and why you feel like you should leave teaching in the first place. Also consider whether there's just ways to streamline your workload or make task more efficient.
Like what are some things that you can do to make things easier? What systems can you put into place so that you're not as stressed? I always think of a friend I have, who was a middle school English teacher. And she would spend hours grading. And I would tell her all the time that is not sustainable.
You cannot grade like that. So if it's a factor like that, like you can't do the position because. You can't handle all the grading you need to do. That's something you can control. That's something that you need to decide to change. So just reflect on your work environment and consider whether there are changes that you can make to create a more [00:07:00] positive and supportive atmosphere for yourself.
Because if there are things you could do, then that can be really helpful. And then you're good to stay in your job and where you're at, but really advocating for your needs with your administrator. Maybe it's deciding you need to learn some new teaching. Strategies.
So you get more professional development. You find other ways that you can continue growing. That'll make you excited about your job again. And the third thing I want you to consider, are there alternative career paths within education or related fields that you would consider? So, is there something that you really are interested in? And you feel like you have the skills. For that career path and it aligns with what your strengths and values are. If you already have an idea of what that would be, if you're not in teaching, then maybe it is time to research that and start thinking about that job. If that idea of a new career excites you, it might be worth exploring further. If you're, however, if you're passionate about teaching and you can't even [00:08:00] envision yourself and another career, then I would go back and focus on finding ways to make your current teaching role more fulfilling or try another school district.
You have to really think about, does it excite you to do something else? Also, if you go online, there are so many jobs with different curriculum companies and things that you can do as a teacher, that weren't opportunities that we had in the past. . I just think there's so many more opportunities now for people in education that are remote. That are different than just being in the classroom.
So if you are feeling like you should leave teaching, I really encourage you to decide and explore those options. I also wanted to share today my experience.
This is my last year in my role as an elementary principal. I have been a principal at my school for six years before that I was the assistant principal for two years. And I made the decision this year to leave my position.
I wanted to go through these considerations and what I did and how I thought about it to know I was ready. To take [00:09:00] the next step to leave. If we go back to my first consideration, would changing grade levels or schools help?
Well, in my situation, I knew that wouldn't help. I love my school. I love the teachers I work with. I have great administration that I work with. I knew that just going and being a principal at a different district. Was not going to make me happy because I just had this feeling inside of me.
Like something was missing. I love my job. I want to be really clear. I do love my job as a principal. But I just felt like there was something more I could be doing. And I knew that it wasn't about the district I'm in. I knew it wasn't about the teachers I work with or the kids. I couldn't ask for a better school district to work with.
With that, I knew my first consideration of changing schools would not help me. Then I thought about, are there factors that I can control? Am I feeling burnt out and overwhelmed in needing to set boundaries. And I knew that wasn't a factor either because I'm good at those things.
I set boundaries. I take care of [00:10:00] myself. I have a superintendent. Who's great about making sure that. He supports home and family life. I was not overworking. And, in this position where I felt overwhelmed and I couldn't do it anymore. So that wasn't a factor either. But then when I started to think, are there other alternative career paths within education or related fields that you would consider? There absolutely was. I became certified as a life coach. And I just became so passionate about helping people. Change their life.
, and specifically I love to help teachers and principals because I've been there. I've been in the position where I've been overwhelmed, I've been burnt out. You know, I have been hard on myself. I've dealt with a lot of self doubt and confidence issues and I've overcame all these things, working with a life coach. That I realized this alternative career path really made me excited. And I went through all of the things that I talked about in the beginning that were problems.
It's scary to leave your retirement. It's scary to leave the school that you know, [00:11:00] and the colleagues you love and this community that, you have that certainty. But at the end of the day, what I did is I had to consider what was going to make me happy in the longterm. I had this wonderful support system, these great people. But at the end of the day, it's about me finding purpose and fulfillment in my life. And knowing that I'm making a difference in the best way that I can. And, I hope that I made. , a huge difference where I was principal.
And during that time, I hope that I still am. But it really comes down to what you're passionate about and what is going to fulfill you. Now who knows. I might leave for a year and decide that I can't do it and I go back. That's the other thing I think that you need to consider when you're considering leaving is maybe it's something that you just try for a year. You know, it doesn't have to be set in stone.
You could just try something different. And if you miss teaching go back. So I think that we put all this pressure on ourselves to. Either stay or go. And we're not sure [00:12:00] what to do when we create some mind drama around it, because it is a big decision. But at the end of the day, if you decide to leave, there are teaching jobs all over.
You could get another job the following year. I just want you to keep that in mind, because you want to make sure that you are doing things that fulfill your own purpose and make you happy. 'cause your kids, your colleagues, everybody you work with and serve. They know when you're not at your best.
They know. When you're feeling like you're not making a difference. They know when you're not engaged with what you're doing. And so I just encourage you that. If you're really truly deciding if you should leave teaching due to burnout or any other factor, I want you to go through these considerations.
Also. I wanted to share. That.
if you'd like to reflect in depth more and explore your options further. If you click the link in my show notes, I'm going to share my decision-making guide for leaving teaching this guide has an assessment. That will help you determine what areas are causing you to want to leave teaching. [00:13:00]
So based on your answers, I give you suggestions. So it's broken into two different parts. One are based on things that are external and one are based on things that are internal and together, you decide based on those questions and reflecting. What should you, do?
You know what seems to be the best decision for you? I hope if you are struggling with this decision, I also want to encourage you. You could always reach out to me. I do free one-on-one consults and I'd love the opportunity to talk through with you. In depth, what you're going through and how you can make this decision.
Grab my decision-making guide by clicking the link in the show notes. If you love the show. If you're listing on apple, scroll down in your app and leave a review. And keep in mind, you have the power to shape your life. According to the mindset you choose.
I hope you have a great week and I'll see you back here next time.
Outro [00:14:00] Music