Teacher wants to leave midyear: Is it the right move?

Q: I’m a teacher who admittedly should have started looking for a new job in another field a couple years ago. Now it’s December and I’m so fried. I want to quit midyear. I’m contractually obligated to work through June, so leaving will get me blackballed from the county where I work and all the neighboring counties. If it wasn’t for that, I probably would have left back in October. Honestly, I don’t care what I do instead. I’m so sick of all of the BS that goes along with teaching, and it’s sucking all the joy from my life. I’m doing so much, and I’m expected to put up with kids kicking me yet experiencing zero consequences. And I’m supposed to follow all commands unquestioningly, including fudging grades to push struggling kids through. I could go on, but it’s a tired story and my complaints are unoriginal. I don’t think my experience is all that different from what many others are experiencing. It seems, however, that my colleagues are weathering the ups and downs better than I am. They complain and grumble about not making it to retirement, but they’re not down in the dumps like me. Yes, they also question the ethics of some of the district’s mandates, but they just kind of get on with it. Meanwhile, I feel like I can’t get out of bed in the morning. I just don’t want to go to work and I’m so, so tired. I dread work. It’s not that I hate my students, it’s that I kind of feel nothing, and that’s not fair to them. I’m in no danger of getting fired, unfortunately. I dot my i’s and cross my t’s, and by some miracle I manage to meet all my responsibilities, but I don’t take any joy or pleasure in my work. The student “wins” don’t give me the highs I felt when I started teaching eight years ago. The “losses” don’t impact me much either, though, which I guess is the weird upside. I feel like quitting is probably in the best interest of my school and my students. Maybe they’ll end up with a teacher who brings some excitement to the table. How can I know if I should burn my bridges and walk midyear?  

A: You mention that you no longer take pleasure in things that once brought you joy and that you feel chronically flat and tired. These can be symptoms of depression, so the first thing I would do is make an appointment with a trained mental health professional. You can either meet with someone privately or go through your school district if there’s an employee assistance program. In the meantime, don’t make any decisions that could have long-term repercussions. That doesn’t mean you proceed with business as usual, though. You may be eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act). Buy yourself time and get appropriate support to increase the odds that you’ll make a good, clear-headed decision.