How much pressure can a person take from their job before it really starts to get to them? I am a teacher...?

Question

I am a 2nd semester teacher, and I really do not like my job. The workload is ENORMOUS. Literally, the only thing I have time for is school work. I do not participate in any of the hobbies that I used to enjoy because I no longer have time for them. I do nothing but eat, drink, and breathe school. It is SOO draining. For example, I worked away my entire weekend & still did not get everything completed. Today, I stayed at work until 7:00 attempting to get my report cards finished - not even close! It is now nearly midnight, and I still have to type report card comments for over half my students, plus create a math quiz, plus figure out what I am going to do for social studies tomorrow because I did not have the energy to stay even LATER at school getting the materials ready for what I previously had planned. I feel like I am missing out on things and am resentful towards people who actually get to enjoy thier life. I am considering going back to school to become a librarian...

I am finding myself crying every day now because I just do not want to do one more ounce of work. It is all I do. I get depressed because I find myself STILL working when others are sleeping or enjoying their time off of work. For example, everyone in y household has since gone to bed, and I am still up slaving away at the computer. I just feellike giving up sometimes. I dread going to school. I do not look forward to anything because all I see is the workload for the next week & the next week looming ahead. I feel like teachers are abused by the expectations and demands that are put on them. My question is - how much can someone take? Has anyone else experienced something like this?

Answer 1

And yet, despite the fact that so many teachers share the exact same experience you just wrote here, there are people who want to blame mass literacy problems on teachers--the ones who are actually doing the most work to make a crumbling education system work.

Just know you have my respect.

Answer 2

I'm in my second year of teaching, and it's a lot easier than my first. Do you have a mentor teacher? If not, find someone in the building that you can talk to about all of this. Just being able to get it off your chest with someone who can relate will lessen the burden. Also, talk to teachers that teach the same subject/grade as you do. They can probably share lessons with you so that you don't have to spend as much time planning. Another time saver that I found is having the kids check their own work sometimes. It won't always work and there's not always enough time, but those little things can go a long way. Or find a reliable, trustworthy student to help you check papers. That way you only have to score them and enter grades. The workload will always be enormous, but there are little tricks you find along the way to make it more bearable. Perhaps teaching isn't for you, though. If so, good luck as a librarian. Try and stick it out a little longer, though, and ask around for timesaving tips. Everyone has them, and some will work for you. Good luck!

Answer 3

I am not a teacher but I do know where you are coming from. They are cutting cost and demanding more. It is the new fad now days. Greed is the way of life it seems. When I hired in where I am now I was working 12 hour days 5 days and 10 hours on sat and 8 hours on sunday. This went on for a good two years. Then the work load slowed a little and just worked 58 hours a week for a few years. I finaly got in a better job and was putting in 40 hour work weeks and things was going great till we were bought out 5 years ago. They have fired so many people and demanding so much more from everyone and no over time to do it in. If they think I am going to miss one minute of my vacation time or work on their stuff on my time they are crazy. Maybe after they get finished milking us, someone else will buy us and life will get back to normal. It is bad never knowing if you are going to get fired the next day because they can get some half your age to work for half the pay and willing to work at home for free.

Like what you are doing..

My advise is to find a better place to work.

Answer 4

I felt like this myself, but I was in a different profession. My best friend also had this happen. You must find another job. You need to find something that makes you happy and is rewarding. Living like this can cause serious health problems, my friend and I are living examples. She had heart and blood pressure problems because of the job. Before you quit your job, ask someone if you can get an assistant, or a volunteer to help you with your work load. If they can't help, it is time to look somewhere else. I can tell you that I'm lots happier now.

Answer 5

I was a teacher for over 20 years, and now am a substitute teacher in a large, metropolitan school system. When I began my teaching career in the late 60's, teaching was a genuine pleasure for me. I was rewarded with students who wanted to achieve success and parents who were supportive of schools and teachers.

Unfortunately, society no longer supports the efforts of the public schools or their children. We are a "throw-a-way" society. Parents are absorbed with their own agenda, leaving their children to fend for themselves, and expecting the public school system to provide not only an education, but a nurturing family for their children. Government regulations have also demanded that the public education system become accountable for every child. The No Child Left Behind Act is one of the most detrimental governmental laws ever "dumped" upon the public school system and teachers.

Once upon a time, teaching was a joy, and American society respected teachers. Today, teachers are considered lowly baby sitters, expected by parents to pamper their "babies". State Education Departments expect the same, rarely supporting their teachers.

My sister is a high school librarian with a Master's degree in Library Science and Media Technology. She tells me, classroom teachers, family, alumni, and everyone she talks to, that she has the easiest job in school. Based on this information, I suggest you become a librarian.

Answer 6

My daughter is in her first year of teaching... and she is the principal on top of the whole teaching thing... she too is feeling drained and tired and overworked. My advice to her and you is that you just have to wade through this first year. You did not make a bad career choice... you are just finding out what "not" to do next year!!! Relax a bit - maybe assign less homework and make the kids do their work in the classroom... maybe you can have them grade each other's work, record it right then and there... or maybe you don't have to grade and record ALL of the homework, just give them credit for doing it and record quizzes and tests. Find a teacher-mentor that has experience... he or she will help you see that what you are going through is going to get better... You can also find websites that help teachers organize and prepare lesson plans...(see below). Another suggestion would be to get your home as organized as possible... the more control you have over your physical environment, the easier the stress is to handle... It WILL get better. I promise! Don't give up. We need good teachers in our education system.

Answer 7

Sounds like you have it pretty hard. I do recommend going back to school to find a job that pays the same with less work, or pays more with less hours. Either way, your not happy with your job, Since we spend a lot of our time working then we should be happy with it or it will continue. So, maybe a career change would be good. I friggin hate my job also, but won't working here too much longer. Hang in there.

Answer 8

Maybe this job is really not for you? I felt myself like that for a couple of months, but then I got involved and now I do everything easily and quickly (I even have enough time for my private life and for my hobbies). My fellow works at school for the kids with mental deviations and works much harder, when I look at her I get inspired. Some think when becoming a teacher that it's great (communicating with kids, guiding them etc.), but it's a hard job, not everyone is suitable for it.

Answer 9

Keep your head up, and don't give up!!!!!!! We parents NEED dedicated teachers like you! Start networking with other teachers at your school and at other schools within your district. Maybe you can share assignments or rotate the work load. Ask your principle for an assistant if not then a student teacher anything to lighten your load. PLEASE PLEASE hang in there, its obvious that you truly love children and enjoy what you do. Choose you battles wisely, do what's important first the rest can wait. Live your LIFE because LIFE is to short. Hang in the there, future doctors, nurses, lawyers, dentists and C.E.O's are depending on you!!! Good luck

Answer 10

It relies upon on what option you opt to workout. There are the web content that permit you to place up resumes mutually with monster, profession builder, and then organization information superhighway web content that provide help to carry on with on line. Your appropriate guess could be to seek for a role honest sometime interior the subsequent couple of months to ensue in Atlanta and attend. whilst agencies come to a role honest they contain positions to fill so which you will in simple terms approximately consistently walk away with an grant. The greater interviews you have the capacity to land mutually as there the greater effectual the possibilities you will choose and you will have all of those agencies at your disposal in one spot. Or as a final motel you need to apply a role placement organization, yet that should come out of your pocket over the 1st 3 hundred and sixty 5 days of employment. telephone interviews are a case by utilising case foundation finding on your 'greater healthful' and 'skills'. As to whilst, NOW. You never know what could pop up and how keen somebody would be to artwork with you.