Three Beliefs Keeping You Trapped in the Classroom

Aside from the potential guilt, there are some hefty beliefs that keep teachers stuck in the classroom long after they probably should have left.

WHICH OF THESE RESONATE FOR YOU?

In the early days we were so excited to share our love of our subject, spend our days paid to have fun and didn’t begrudge the unsociable hours marking; we might have even felt a little smug about our non-office job.

But with this honeymoon period came the eagerness to prove, to offer before asked, to prepare for every eventuality, to give 150% and then have nowhere to go… we started to notice the signs of stress as we took on more responsibility.

Perhaps seeing friends a little less, feeling more aches than before, noticing irritability, sensitivity, the mental and physical exhaustion of pushing through one too many times.

At this point I’m sure we’ve all searched for “jobs after teaching” and been faced with the usual list of “Tutor, Education Officer or Activity Organiser”... but what if (as much as you love them) you think you’ve had enough of working with children?!

Putting aside the potential guilt associated with this feeling, there are some hefty beliefs that keep teachers stuck in the classroom long after they probably should have left.

Let’s see which of these three common beliefs might be whispering in your ear...

"It’s all I've ever known"

Most of us have gone from school, to university, to school again.

Whether we’ll admit it or not, we quite like the timetable, the variety of the day and it’s interactions, and stationery. We all love brightly-coloured, randomly acquired, stationery. 😊 But the shine soon wears off, albeit after a decade or two, and the idea of a vocation starts to feel more like a sentence.

Many teachers come to me after 15-20 years in the classroom, feeling they can’t sustain the daily pace till retirement. This idea that this is all they’ve known, keeps them feeling they can’t do anything else for fear of being laughed out of an interview.

I completely get it - but you know what? This is the anxiety talking.

This is the institutionalisation of being told you’re not really “good enough” and should compare yourself to others to improve. Yes you’ve been a teacher for a long time but people change careers.

All. The. Time.

So why does it feel particularly hard as a teacher? I think this speaks to the feeling of being “just a teacher”. Be it the media, parents or friends, many of us carry the weight of the belief that anyone can teach (even though we know that’s utter rubbish) and an unspoken sense that others are thinking, “well you’ve signed up for this, you should probably be grateful and crack on”.

Compared to other industries though, people do transition to new sectors - they find work after redundancy. They do it by scrutinising their transferable skills and learning how to reposition them and present themselves as the ideal candidate.

You can do the same once you start slowly shaking off your identity as a teacher and start seeing this career as having given you a lot of core competencies many employers desperately need.

“I don't know what I'm qualified for..."

Continuing on this theme, understanding what roles you’re qualified to do outside of the classroom can feel incredibly daunting. There may be a sense that, from within our school bubble looking out, people in other sectors are the grown ups, living in the “real world”.

We need to look at your skills and experience away from school.

✅ Are you an effective communicator?

✅ Can you adapt your presentation skills depending on your audience’s needs?

✅ Can you audit data and identify areas for development?

✅ Can you plan interventions and evaluate the impact of these?

You have so many transferable skills that employers want... if you know how to present them. Start by thinking about core competencies - communication, project management, problem solving, team work etc. Collate examples of how you have felt confident in these in the past - just bullet point evidence. You’ll soon start to see just how many key skills you have.

I invite you to also start thinking about what that prospective employer will be getting - years of training, continuing professional development, resilience. You are valuable.

Yes you may see jobs with qualifications and skills you don’t have, but you’re a LEARNER! How can you fill these gaps. Check out www.futurelearn.com for free courses you can do over a weekend from project management to data analysis.

"I’m not sure what else is out there".

When we start looking at jobs we might play it safe and look for education companies. No doubt these will easily recognise your experience and can utilise your skills quickly.

Other industries may post person specifications which include experiences we’ve not heard of before and this can make us shut down, retreating to lick our comparisonitus wounds.

When you start experimenting with different search terms and perhaps even make the most of your network, more opportunities might be forthcoming. I find words such as “project, curriculum, training, trainer, resource, remote, support, writer, developer, officer” all pull up some interesting positions. The charity sector is great to look at and sites such as www.charityjob.co.uk are good to check each week.

Networking is also such a powerful tool. Some recruiters claim that up to 70% of jobs are secured via networking rather than traditional advertising. LinkedIn is amazing for connecting with people in industries you are looking to get into - so many people out there would be more than happy to talk to you about what skills they’d appreciate and ideas of additional training you might need. Dusting off your LinkedIn profile is also a good move.

Get it ready, even if you’ve not handed in your notice yet.

I also suggest listening to other ex-teachers’ journeys to give you the inspiration and motivation you need. Check out the interviews on the Adventures After Teaching podcast.

If these beliefs are sounding familiar and I’ve persuaded you to challenge them, you might like to explore the support on offer in the Adventures After Teaching Academy.

I’ve been where you are and I now help teachers build successful lives away from the classroom. Whether it’s moving into a government role or a charity job, writing curriculum or transitioning to training and development roles, I will show you how to position your teaching skills persuasively.

Don’t just take my word for it, come and see what teachers have been saying about this support.

Whether you end up staying in teaching, or decide to leave, I hope this blog has given you some inspiration and hopefully a little more confidence around your ability to make a change.

If you KNOW, this time next year you want to be somewhere else, start taking small steps towards your next adventure.

Anything is possible. I invite you to start exploring what is.