Teaching, the "I Quit" Profession

Why is it that roughly 50% of new teachers quit within the 1st five years of being in the profession? Lawyers, doctors, firefighters, etc., etc., don't quit. The preparation for other professions can be more accurately prepared for than teaching. While variables exist in all professions, the variety of student behaviors in pre-college classrooms is so great that being truly ready to handle all that can occur is virtually impossible. When teachers quit it isn't the money or the conditions, it is the overwhelming sense of not being able to manage the classroom. The discipline issue is the number one reason that teachers quit. It doesn't have to be that way.

The most important element of classroom management is to realize it is all about self management. The only behavior we have control over is our own. We cannot control others. Our own behavior causes the behavior of others. Calm gets calm, agitated gets more agitation, shout and they'll shout back. Think about this. Apply it in other areas of your life. You'll like the results. Tomorrow, I'll tell a true classroom story to help you see what I mean.

Stef