On paper, teaching seems like the perfect job. Summers off, a workday
that ends at 3 p.m., time off when the students are off — and the daily
opportunity to work with children all day long. What more could one
possibly want? As with life, things are not always what they seem.
Teaching is hard. Parenting is generally deemed the hardest job in the
world — but teaching runs a close second. Teachers continue to leave the
profession in droves because all of those “on paper” benefits aren’t
the reality. Many teachers must work over the summer to supplement their
low salaries. Teachers work many hours after the last bell rings — and
often keep working when kids have the day off. It’s no wonder that those
educators dropping out include experienced teachers as well as new ones
who discover that career is not sustainable for their lives. But there
are other problems for teachers too, causing so many to leave what the
public often assumes to be a dream job.