i am new to this forum and would like some positive help. i am going to just put my thoughts out there for you and they may become jumbled. please forgive me!! i know that there are some posts like this one and i have read them, but none of them are really just like me. i may ramble and this will probably get long, but please bear with me!
i am a first year teacher in alabama and after spending four years in school, i've realized that this is just not for me. i really noticed that it was not what i wanted during my student teaching last year, but i was too close to finishing my degree to stop then! i went ahead and tried it out this year, and i've just not enjoyed it. i'm at a great school, with great administration and faculty. i couldn't ask for a better place to work. that being said, it's just not for me. everyone says that teachers work nine months out of the year, with summers off and lots of vacations. in alabama now, we're down to two months off and we go for different training sessions all throughout our summer vacation. i am in my classroom by 6:45 each morning and do not leave until after 3:00... several hours after 3:00 most days. i don't get paid competitively, compared to other professions with a bachelor's degree, and there's really no way for me to move up. i have no interest in being in administration, a librarian, or a counselor (and the pay is not much better for them). many think that based on the time we work, that we are paid fairly. we are not. no one but a teacher realizes how much out-of-pocket money is spent on school because there simply is not any in the budget at school. i have to spend my allocated instructional money on copies each month, so there is none left to spend on fun things for my classroom, or even necessary things. i have spent a small fortune on paper, printer ink, bulletin boards, spare pencils, markers, colored pencils, index cards, and the list goes on and on.
i have had a child try to punch me this year (great school system and the administration handled it perfectly-still, it happened), parents who accused me of "giving" their child a bad grade (grades are earned-not given), and parents who enable their child's disrespectful behavior (by doing their discipline work for them). people are irrational about their children. i knew this going in. i teach 139 5th graders and i will fight for them against the other teachers (and extremely rude lunchroom ladies) when they get in trouble for things they didn't do... i do understand to some point, even though i don't have kids of my own, but these people are ridiculous. i don't mean to be rude, but i am good at my job. i don't like it, but i am the only positive influence that many of these kids have, so i make it a point to be good. it's my first year and i undoubtedly can become much better, but i do a good job. the kids like me, and the administration likes me. i have gotten great reports from all of my observations both from my principal and from our superintendent during walk-throughs.
i know all about the retirement and the insurance too. it's not free, i pay in monthly for all of it.
i was torn between becoming a nurse or a teacher in high school, and now i'm wishing that i'd chosen nursing. there are so many options with nursing that i don't have in teaching. i realize that no job will ever be perfect-everything will have its downfalls. i am too young (22) to be stuck in a career that i hate for 25 years. i am married, but have no children and am not looking to have any for several more years. by then, i hope to be settled in a career! i plan to start taking classes this summer towards my rn and continue them through the next year. already having a degree will make it much faster for me to go through and finish up.
i guess i am asking for a push and some good advice. i have weighed the benefits that i get teaching, but for me, they are just not enough. i "nursed" both of my grandparents though a multitude of things when they were alive. i administered iv antibiotics for my grandmother, gave shots, medications, nebulizer treatments, cleaned and wrapped wounds, removed stitches and staples, and that's just to name a few things. i realize that this was my family who i care about, but enjoyed it. i really feel like i would enjoy it immensely. i could be an advocate for people that hurt, be constantly challenged and learning. with teaching, i go though much new training, but i still teach the same ol' things. it gets old. the medical world is changing constantly. i'm really excited about this. i feel a little bit like i'm throwing away something that i worked four years for, but i'm not. the degree is still mine, it won't go away. please give me some positive advice.
