5 Questions to Consider Before Leaving Teaching
I often receive messages from teachers agonizing about whether to leave teaching. I always feel a bit conflicted responding— on the one hand, I don’t want to encourage anyone to leave teaching because I truly believe it to be an incredibly important job, but on the other, I feel a bit hypocritical telling others to stay when I myself left. Ultimately, I can’t tell you whether to leave teaching or not, and neither can anyone else. But I can suggest suggest some questions to reflect on before you make your decision.
Are your issues with teaching specific to your school?
Think about your major reasons for wanting to leave. Are they true of all schools, or just some? For example, if you are working at a charter school with long hours, low pay, and unreasonable demands, as was the case for me for my first two years of teaching, I’d certainly recommend working at a traditional public school before giving up on the profession. If you’ve only taught at one school, it might just not be a good fit for you. On the other hand, if the things you struggle with are universal to teaching, such as classroom management and interacting with coworkers, switching schools likely won’t help.
Are you taking your self-care seriously?
Teachers have an extremely high risk of burn out. If you’re not making self-care a priority, try doing so before quitting. It’s unlikely that your school will ever stop asking more of you— it’s up to you to set boundaries and prioritize your wellbeing. In fact, I wrote a whole book on the subject! Check out The Teacher’s Guide to Self-Care if you’re ready to start taking better care of yourself.
How easy would it be for your to re-enter teaching if you change your mind?
I left teaching knowing I could get a job again at any time. Sadly, Chicago Public Schools has a pretty extreme shortage of special education teachers. I knew that any time I wanted to go back, including midyear, there would be tons of schools happy to have me. In contrast, my general education colleagues were very hesitant to even try to switch schools within CPS, because for general education teachers with relatively high salaries due to many years of teaching, it can be difficult to get re-hired due to the way schools are funded here in Chicago. That doesn’t mean you can never leave teaching, but it’s certainly something to consider. It’s a lot easier to make the leap if you know you can get a job again right away.
Do you know what you want to do instead?
Teaching is incredibly hard to do longterm. If you have another passion you want to pursue, there’s nothing wrong with that. If you want to move to another position within education, like consulting or administration, there’s nothing wrong with that either! If you know what you want to do and have a clear path towards your goal, don’t let the guilt or shame of leaving teaching stop you. While teaching is an incredibly valuable and meaningful profession, we don’t all have to be teachers for our whole lives.
Is this the best choice for me and my family?
This is one question I don’t think gets considered enough! So many of us became teachers because we wanted to do some good in the world, and that’s amazing. But guess what? You are still allowed to make the choice that is best for YOU. You (and your family) matter just as much as your students. If you leave teaching, you can still make a difference in the world if you make an effort to do so.
Teaching can feel like so much more than a job. For many of us, it’s a significant part of our identity, which can make the decision to leave all the more difficult. Whichever path you choose, I support you and know you’ll keep making the world a better place.
If you think you’re ready to make a change, check out Teacher Career Coach. I decided to become an affiliate for their course because I get asked so often for advice about transitioning out of teaching. You can even take a free quiz to see what career outside the classroom might be right for you.
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