In my issue of NEAToday, it states that nearly half of all new teachers leave teaching within five years. I find this unreal. They state the reason being poor working conditions, large class sizes, inadequate resources, the list goes on. I started teaching because I love children and this is a way to help them be the best they can. I knew coming in that things were not wonderful and equal but I'm still here. What are the feelings of those with just a few years experience?


Maria Caldwell

Well I felt that way my first year of teaching. I was was so stressful and hard. I think maybe because i wasnt used to it or had a routine. I even went so far to take accounting classes so I could quit in a few years. Little did I know that once I gave it time, I got better at it. I got in a routine and felt i could be good at what i did. I learned a lot. I think young teachers come in expecting to change the world. Its not that easy. (What makes me the maddest--is to hear people say how easy it is.)

I taught school for 8 years and then left to work for the Eckerd Drug Corporation for four and half years. I had taught high school English and Theatre Arts for 5 years and Elementary Creative Dramatics for three years. I left looking for a better life. The job with Eckerd was an immediate 14% increase in pay. I was single at the time and traveling was OK with me. School was hard work and it never ended. You always had work to do when you got home----no matter how tired you were. As a single the pay made it difficult for me to even think about owning a home, which I desparately wanted. The Eckerd job was challenging and allowed me to leave the job---at work. So why am I teaching again? Well, like all of you---I wanted a job where I knew I would make a difference in the world. I wanted to be part of something positive. When I got married, I no longer wanted to travel---and when I had Kirby,--- my first love---teaching just came back to the surface. I knew I could not go back to high school--I was just not cut out for it anymore--my skin wasn't thick enough. So I went back to elementary---and I believe this is what I'm meant to do with my life.

I graduated with a 4.0 in high school and college. I am a second year teacher with a class of 27 students. Two of my students have been suspended multiple times this year for fighting with each other and me. I have five on medication, 3 EC, and 3 ESL students. I have less than 2 hours planning time at school per week. (I do have an assistant for the morning, this is a God-send) I am trying to go to graduate school(to get a raise) and pay my bills. I am not embarassed to say that I make around $1500 per month, and that 1/3 is paid monthly to my rent. I have large credit card bills and two car loans as well.(some bad choices on my part I will admit). The only thing keeping me in this profession is the will to do it. I can definitely see why many teachers leave the field. Especially in North Carolina with the benefits and salaries that we receive.

Nancy,
I loved your last sentence when you wrote to open your heart and children will teach you what matters most. I can appy this to my son and it makes every day brighter. As for my first year of teaching, I grew up and understood what it meant to be a teacher. I taught 29 kinders and my assistant whom had been in kindergarten 27 years, was my survival kit. I learned and experimented and explored with them. After teaching 5 years I was reaching a burnout stage. I then had my first child and stayed home for two years. This certainly did help my train of thought. The break away from public school was nice but I did have someone that occupied most all of my time and effort. I have returned to education and I feel this is where I am meant to be for now. Who knows what the future will bring.

I agree with all of you and found it very encouraging to hear your comments. I sometimes wonder why I am in the classroom but then I'm always drawn back to the fact that I love the kids so much and couldn't imagine what I would do NOT teaching. My husband gets so mad at me for going to Walmart or the grocery store at least twice a week because I have to buy something for my kids at school. It's amazing what I spend on my classroom. I had always said I was going to save every receipt and see at the end of the year what I spent on my classroom and this year I did. I spent a little over nine hundred dollars toward my kids or my classroom this past year! I know that I didn't have to spend all of that but I did because I want to do the best for my students. People who are not in education (or elementary schools) don't realize how much teachers really put back into the classroom from their own pockets! I think lots of new teachers get into this profession and feel the pinch of this burden.

Shannon