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Making those hard choices about retiring from teaching when stress starts to affect health.
Filed Under Dealing With Stress, SOS for Teachers, The way I see it
Last Tuesday morning was the first day of class of the new semester, and I was more than a bit apprehensive. Would my new classes this semester be as challenging as the ones I had the previous three semesters? I certainly hoped not. I love teaching but there is a limit, and I felt as if I might have reached it. Last year was the first time my doctor told me he was concerned about my blood pressure. It was a bit high. Small wonder I told him.
The stress of my job was starting to affect my health. That was quite a blow. I loved teaching. I didn’t want to hear that teaching was starting to affect my health. I had always promised myself that if and when my job started to affect my health, I would make some hard choices. I didn’t want my job to make me ill. I didn’t want to be like some of my colleagues who went into retirement ill. I promised myself that I would retire before I reached my” best before date”. My experience in the classroom this last 1 1/2 had me wondering if I had approached that best before date.
I decided that if my classes in the new semester proved to be as difficult as the ones in the previous three semesters, I would retire and ride off into the sunset. I could hear Happy Trails playing in the background whenever I thought about it. Much to my delight, after the first week of classes this year, all my classes seem to have students without any major behaviour issues. You may think that one week is hardly long enough to determine the nature of my classes. Believe me, it isn’t. I haven’t had to call home or refer any students to the office yet because of inappropriate behaviour. Believe it or not, in the past I’ve had to call home after only three days because some students would just not settle in. They were so disruptive and so disrespectful. Thankfully I got wonderful support from all the parents I called, and we worked together as a team to encourage students to make better choices for better outcomes. Those troublesome, troubling or troubled students continued to be a challenge as they learned to choose to be respectful.
I’m actually looking forward to teaching content in my classes this semester instead of having to teach students how to respect one another and me and that if they want better outcomes then they have to make better choices. I too have to remember if I want better outcomes (continued good health), I may have to make better choices as well. I hope that choice isn’t retirement. I love teaching too much, but I love good health even more.
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When your health is involved you have to take care of yourself first. If it comes that you will retire teaching will loose a good teacher, but I have a feeling that you will not retire from education and will be heard from quite often.
I have an old saying when something stops being fun or interesting or affects my health it is time to move on.
Be well and do what is right for you. You have earned the right to make your own decision for your reasons.
I wish you nothing but the best.
Harold
Harold Shaw´s last [type] ..I WAS OVER-AMBITIOUS
I had the same decision to make this year. It was really hard. Last year felt like it nearly did me in. But so far this year is going much better, and so I’m hopeful.
But still, I find I have to make better choices about what I take on. Like if a student wants to talk to me about a book, I shouldn’t say… Oh… I’ll go out and read that and we’ll talk about it on Friday. I have to be wiser about how far to extend myself.