Educators' Lounge - Place to chit and chat

I play a wide piano repertoire: anything from Mozart and Beethoven, to Chopin and Tchaikovsky, to Ryuichi Sakamoto, Joe Hisaishi and Yiruma. @Appleblossom

I'm also a violinist and play: Vivaldi, Kreisler and Faure.

My school is in a low SES area, too. I feel at home there because it is the suburb where I grew up, so basically the students are my community. I bump into them at the local shopping centre, which was weird at first, but I've gotten used to that, now. My Mum also works locally; she has for the last 36 years, in the same job. It doesn't bother her. And her clients are mostly adults, who are more likely to approach her than my teenage students. Now that I'm no longer a 'snob' to my own community, I'm embracing the similarities in upbringing and culture that I have with my students and school community. In fact, it feels very real, when I shop at the stores where my students work. Their maturity at work can be quite impressive; I get to see a different side to them.

@BPDSurvivor @tyme @mr-robot-75 @Shaz51

Beautiful piano repertoire @Spirit_Healer

I am playing Bach, Haydn, Brahms, Ravel, Purcell, Allegri plus lots more atm…. Then there is recorder and singing.

My son is playing Schubert atm down the other end of the hall.

Yes, good music is not only for the well to do. We had a piano before a fridge and dining table.
Normalising all those day to day activities like shopping is great for kids. Ah my teacher is human too!

Great that you can relate to your students.

Hi @Spirit_Healer ,

It was great to read your post above because I could relate to so much of it.

I am at the point where I want to walk out of the place I am now. I spoke to the prin on Tuesday about how I was feeling and that I felt it was time to move on. She was very supportive.

Backstory: What led to desire to leave was that I was told my portfolio would change. I was not given choice nor warned beforehand. I just had the principal and 2 directors call me into the office and tell me that that was what they’d agreed on. I don’t feel I can fulfil the role of the new portfolio in the way they want because I just don’t have the passion for it anymore. I asked for additional time to think about it but they said they were ‘directing’ me.

i found this so unfair. I think i was in a state of shock at the suddenness of it all that that evening I told everyone I was resigning. And I really was.

people were very very supportive. I lost sleep over it and really struggled. To the point that I felt sick. I took a day off work and when I went to the doctor, she said I needed at least another day. So two days at home… and guess what? I felt so sad at home. I felt depressed and lost. I went back to work today, and I felt so good.

So my dilemma: despite telling everyone I’m leaving, do I now not leave?

Another thing that is pulling on my heart strings is that a lot of people are getting affected because I said I was leaving. They are discouraged and don’t want to continue in their roles because they feel ‘neglected’. Some are applying out already. And there are heaps of jobs available around here.

What do I do? @Appleblossom @Spirit_Healer @tyme @mr-robot-75 @Shaz51

That post above was for you too @skttrbrain - maybe you can add some insight

And look. I love a lot of the people I work with there, but the leadership structure is insane.

We have one principal, 3 directors, 10 assistant principals, 11 learning specialists/leading teachers and 100+ teachers and 30 education support staff.

i get along with everyone except 2 directors who are running the show…

@skttrbrain @Appleblossom @Spirit_Healer @tyme @mr-robot-75 @Shaz51 @Snowie

Happy Weekend, @BPDSurvivor !

My advice would be to sit on it for at least a few days.

Then make a pros and cons list for your position, and another for your school.

Remember there are layers to your current predicament, and hence there are different degress to which you could 'get out'.

1. You could take some leave without pay, to consider your future with some distance from your work.

2. If a doctor is willing to agree with you about the stress/overwhelm that you have been feeling, sick leave may also be an option.

3. You could step down from your Inclusion portfolio and go back to a full-time teaching load.

4. You could move to another school - in an Inclusion role.

5. You could move to another school and undertake a full-time teaching load.

6. You could leave the profession - I see this as the last resort. Then you will need to consider what work you do instead. Make a pros and cons list for this alternative career/job/position that you are considering. And compare it to your Inclusion role and school pros and cons list.

What alternative are you considering in the case that you leave teaching?

I had two alternatives: one in working for a web-based education app/program and the other in an allied health career. Once I learnt from my friend about how allied health is bottom rung in the hospital hierarchy, I've almost dismissed this idea now. The web-based program job sounds like it has better conditions than my classroom teaching job, but as another friend made me realise, I was looking at the position through rose-coloured glasses. In fact, the grass is not always greener on the other side. It is a corporate job with Key Performance Indicators to meet and digital databases to learn to use. So overall, teaching is still the path of least resistance for me. And being in my current mental health episode, I need familiarity, job security and minimal change.

@Appleblossom @tyme @Shaz51

@BPDSurvivor You have the right to your feelings.

It sounds like very poor leadership. Too much top down.

I have noticed an emerging style of management that is extremely bossy and controlling. Seems like they are generating poor morale among staff.

What shines through your post is that you love your job and care about the people you work with. Can your union be of any support?

I can’t tell you what to do but fully understand the need for passion in many teaching roles. Not sure of all the issues but is there any way you can negotiate…. Even though they say they are directing…

Good teachers are valuable and they are mad to be too cavalier in their decision making.

Good luck

Thanks @Appleblossom and @Spirit_Healer ,

I agree to what you are both saying.

In all my years teaching, I’ve only taken 2 wks off and that was because each wk was because I had covid. I’ve banked up so much leave that I could take half a year off - I just feel bad for taking leave when I’m not ‘sick’.

And yes, I love being with the kids, the families and the teachers. I’ve seen so many of them from when they first started school to their graduation. And I’ve had their siblings too. It’s very precious that I can witness this.

So yeah, I really don’t know yet. My contract for this leadership role ends at the end of this year. Do I just stick it out?

I’m wait and see.

Hello @BPDSurvivor @Appleblossom @tyme !

I've been off work sick since mid-November. My principal has asked to meet with me, before I return to work.

I'm nervously anticipating what he might bring up in regards to my return-to-work.

Have any of you (or any other educators) any experience you might be able to share with me, regarding what I might need to discuss, or share, during such a conversation?

My situation is complicated by the fact that my teacher registration has conditions, requiring a medical report twice a year, due to me disclosing my illness in the past.

I hope both the teacher registration and my conversation with my principal will go smoothly!

Oh! I didn't realise teacher registration requires medical if you've disclosed a medical condition. That's helpful to know. @Spirit_Healer

I wonder if other boards require yearly registration.

All the best with it though. I look forward to hearing how it goes for you.