If you are a teacher, I want to start by affirming you. You do not hear these facts enough:
- You are caring.
- You are kind.
- You are patient.
- You are compassionate.
- You are smart.
- You are creative.
- You are a problem solver.
- You are a leader.
You entered this profession with a purpose and a passion. If you didn’t – you would not still be here. Hell – you would not be reading this text. Teachers that are in this profession for the wrong reasons don’t last. The kids will drive you out! Teens and kids smell fear and inauthenticity and they will drive a teacher with the wrong motives to the madhouse. You – you have endured. You have made it through the highs and the lows. If you are tired, frustrated, exhausted, or overwhelmed – you are not alone. Teachers all over the world are feeling these emotions. Your emotions – your feelings do not change the fact that you are a damn good teacher. You are. Say it to yourself. Affirm yourself. Then we can move forward to start figuring out why damn good teachers all over the world are wanting to give up.
If you walk into any teacher staff room, you will hear teachers calculating their early retirement dates. They are counting down to the holidays. They are not living and celebrating their current lives. They are wishing away years of their lives calculating how and planning how they can leave a profession that they passionately entered. For example, I know one math teacher that is counting down his retirement date, and he has it figured out down to the hours. He has way too many years ahead of him (at least 10) for this mindset to take hold of his daily life. And, he is a damn good teacher. Why are we hungry for a life beyond teaching, when many of us spent years dreaming, planning, and working diligently to get into this profession?
There was a huge shift during and after the covid-19 pandemic years. There are many factors that have altered the new and current experiences of teachers. I am going to tackle this topic from my own journey. Your journey may be similar. It may be different. The ideas and conclusions that I present are personal. This has been my journey, my soul searching, my observations in this new life, post-pandemic.
I propose that a great deal of anxiety and dissatisfaction that we are observing is rooted in a knowledge that we want more out of life. I think teachers are in touch with the avant-garde – we see new generations of students every year. I think teachers who are mid-career are observing and feeling this shift or longing stronger than others. With 10 more teaching years to go and 20 years under my belt, I’ve been around long enough to know the system and how things should work; yet, I still have too many years ahead to turn a blind eye and countdown to my retirement days. I want to thrive in my daily life now. I don’t want to survive until I escape the system. In addition, I have worked too hard to achieve the fulfillment of my dreams to let a system or administrators take my career away from me early. I am a damn good teacher. Why would I want to explore another career as I round the corner to the finish line? Welcome to my journey.
I have discovered that I want to thrive in the now. This discovery has rooted from tears, heartache and pain. It was not an easy path. Your journey will be personal to you. I hope that this blog can help you find healing and let you know that you are not walking this path alone. My experiences have led me to devour audiobooks, podcasts, and scholarly articles. These posts have been created through my personal lens as an educator, as I sifted through books, emotions and therapy sessions. I hope that these thoughts foster and awaken clarity as you continue to walk your own path.
Post covid teaching: 