That Time I Was Going to Quit Teaching

I was in my fourth year of teaching having moved from the country to the city.

The move to Sydney was what I thought I wanted. My friends from university had all moved to Sydney and I was suffering a severe case of FOMO. There was nothing happening in the country and I could feel myself becoming frustrated and bored.

I had decided that I would move to Sydney and live the life of a 23 year old. I looked forward to after work drinks, concerts, going to the beach and having more than three stores to buy outfits from. It was an exciting move and an exciting time.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the culture shock I experienced in my work. I started work at a school in the inner city. Our playground was a car-park and well, city kids are very different to country kids. Within the first few weeks I discovered that ‘You’ll be right, dust yourself off’ doesn’t fly the way it did with the country kids and sure enough I got in trouble for being dismissive when a child had fallen over and skinned their knee.

Yep, I wasn’t in Kansas anymore Toto!

It wasn’t just the change in students (and parents) that I struggled with, it was everything. I had felt confident teaching in the country and was at a school that valued my input. The new school I was in was vastly different. The only things similar were the age group of the students and the curriculum.

I was miserable, I hated it, I recognised I made a mistake and just like that I got it in my mind that I should quit teaching.

Truth be known, there was nothing wrong with the school. It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

But no one could tell that to 23 year old Anne-Marie could they?

I convinced myself that I was done with teaching, I was about to become a statistic and I was going to leave teaching within my first five years. I started applying for jobs outside of teaching which was very humbling and I even went for some interviews. I was offered a job in a marketing company for half the pay I was making as a teacher and was about to take it when I had the realisation of no.

No.

Not today. Not this way. Don’t quit. Find a different solution.

I went for a walk and considered what the other way would be. Move back to the country? No way! One thing I was sure of was that I was staying in the city. Change careers completely? There was something that was just making me pause on this one.

Then I made the decision.

I’d give myself one more year, in a different school and if I felt the same at the end of the year I would definitely quit. It might sound like I was putting off the decision but I just needed to see whether it was a case of quitting teaching or quitting the current school.

I saw out the year at the school I was at and got a job at a school a little further away from the city. I had considered what troubled me about the city school I was in and what I missed about the country school. I missed seeing some form of nature and I missed the community feel of the country school. The city school where I was working was probably too much of a jump from what I was used to. I found a small school, at a beach side suburb and decided this would be my deciding year.

That little school near the beach ended up being the most incredible, nurturing, inspiring and beautiful community you could have asked for. By the end of that year I was in love with teaching again. I had taken on an acting assistant principal role and I had a principal who believed in me, who inspired me and who truly was the making of me as a professional.

And here I am nearly 30 years later - surprise! I didn’t quit after all!

If you are someone who is finding school a challenge or really struggling with the ‘should I stay or should I go?’ give yourself a year and a new place. It might not be teaching, it might be the school. It might not be teaching, it might be the year level. It might not be teaching, it might be time to try relief or a year teaching overseas or an acting role in a different department.

You never know what might be around the corner, what school is waiting for you, what students are needing you and what your future might hold.

Don’t quit just yet.