Mum had been a brilliant teacher at Camden School for Girls (where I also went in the 1970s), and even though the idea of teaching had always seemed horrible to me (too much work, too little money . When it comes to what I love, my family comes first and foremost. It was the best thing I ever did and now I have the life I should have had. I was very comfortable with my paycheck and teaching kids through third grade, but I was going to be pulling my boys out starting in third grade and fifth grade. The only other issue with quitting teaching is insurance. And that includes you! This next section is just a quick outline of my quitting teaching plan. There are various ways to support education, kids, and teachers in your life after teaching. Take that . Would you make more money per hour in a different position? I absolutely loved teaching; in fact, spoiler alertI am working with kids this . Now before I go any farther here, I want you to hear what I am about to say. This is the most important lesson I learned after I left teaching. All of my hard work trying to teach students to find growth in struggle was constantly being undermined by their parents. I could barely picture what life after teaching would look like. If you ever choose to return after quitting teaching, you have the ability to do so without any black marks on your record. 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. However, I have saved a personal emergency fund for myself for six months. It felt like an uphill battle, and there was no way for me to win. 1. Obviously, I didnt run. I learned that I could do whatever I wanted if I was willing to put in the effort and climb the learning curve. It's an unusual circumstance, no doubt, but the transition for teachers was particularly tough. My partner noticed the changes over the five years. because we continue to tweak things. Since leaving the classroom, Ive found that learning new things has revealed hidden strengths I didnt even know I had! But a group of parents used a combination of large donations, email campaigns, and bombarding school board meetings to get the district to reopen. Remember, you are vital to your family and your friends, but you are just another employee at your job. Worse, my district hired me during the first year of a district-wide pay freeze, after Act 10 (leaving unions in Wisconsin with little power), and with no chance of ever receiving tenure or a bump in benefits.