The Case for Making a Change

Three years ago, I started my new career as a teacher. I was to teach middle school social studies; history, geography, economics, etc. Two months into my second year teaching middle school, I was so burnt out and discouraged that I was entertaining the idea of leaving mid-year to do something completely different from teaching. The major cause of this being that I didn’t feel supported by the administration in my teaching, and in navigating behavioral issues.

Luckily, I stuck it out to the end of the year and continued to improve my teaching, but in that time, I was also becoming more and more depressed. My Fiancé, now Wife, later told me that I was coming home angry and frustrated almost daily; it really showed in my health just how much the environment was affecting me. There were several times that my Fiancé asked if I was happy teaching, and I would say yes, I'm just not loving the students I'm working with. After one such discussion, I decided that I should seriously consider a different school, and try high school, since that was the level I had done my Student Teaching with.

Now, one of the motivations for sticking with the particular school that I was at, was due to a particular benefit; student loan forgiveness. If an educator works for five years in a Title 1 school, schools that serve low income populations, the Federal Government forgives a substantial amount of that debt. This is a pretty awesome deal, and there are a lot of teachers who take advantage of it, and it is certainly worth considering if you are a teacher paying off student loans. I was particularly motivated by my mortgage—and freeing up money from student loans would be a lifesaver.

Eventually I did get a new teaching job, and it happened to be at a prestigious Catholic high school. With this new opportunity though, I had to consider a few things; one was that I would be paid less than what I was at my current school; two, I would no longer be eligible for the Title 1 loan forgiveness. I knew I wanted to take this new job, I really did, but I did want to consider how that might affect things. I discussed the options with my Fiancé and my parents for multiple perspectives. And what I ultimately decided to do was take the high school job. Yes, there would be some setbacks, but in the end, I would be in a much better environment and my mental health would improve. A year later, and this is definitely so. I was far happier—I was coming home tired, but happy.

This applies to many situations in life; jobs, relationships, where you live. It all has an impact on you and the people you love. Sometimes a change in your environment is all you need to make a difference in your own life. Weigh your options, and if it is worth it, take the plunge into something new!