Why I Walked Away From Teaching, Confessions of an Introvert
By: N.J. Edwards
Tags: Work, Life Lessons, Mental Health, Teaching, Education

I loved teaching. I loved standing up in front of classes of often-intimidating children and testing myself in some of the most challenging circumstances. I loved that look on a student’s face when you finally got through to them. When my subject was no longer boring. When that lesson was more than just ‘alright sir’.

I loved the different personalities and characteristics. I loved not being stuck behind a desk as much as when I had an office job. I loved getting out of the classroom on field trips.

If I’m honest, I loved being the ultimate number one authority in the room. That surprisingly, most of the time, they did what I told them to do.

I knew fairly quickly into my third year of teaching I couldn’t do it anymore.

I no longer teach. Here’s why.

Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay

Teaching is a challenging and demanding career. It’s one of many criminally underfunded and yes, underpaid, professions. Still, I had definitely faced higher levels of stress in previous careers.

I had worked 24/7 shift patterns, given presentations to rooms full of 100 people, met impossible deadlines, been unfairly overlooked for promotion, whistle-blown, had to discretely tell a member of my team to improve their personal hygiene. I could go on.

So what was it about teaching which made me walk away?

Could it be because I am naturally an introvert?

An introvert is often thought of as a quiet, reserved, and thoughtful individual. They don’t seek out special attention or social engagements, as these events can leave introverts feeling exhausted and drained. Healthline.com

Too much noise and constant interactions can overwhelm me. Being around large groups of people for too long can be draining. Possibly not an ideal fit for the chaos of the school environment.

Image by athree23 from Pixabay

It’s more complex than that.

I don’t think you have to be extroverted to be a teacher, but in many schools it certainty helps.

It also fails to explain the thousands of introverted teachers out there getting on just fine. I actually enjoy public speaking. Yes, I still get nervous beforehand, but I enjoy it, it makes me feel alive.

Being an introverted teacher could also have its benefits. Such as being able to better read quieter students and, using enhanced observation skills, build a clearer picture of what is going on in the room. Possibly my introversion made me a better listener.

Undoubtedly it’s useful for students to have teachers with as many different traits and characteristics as they do.

Photo by Alexander Catedral on Reshot

I am still, however, an introvert. Other people sap my energy. Soon as you lose the energy battle in the classroom, your level of control suffers, the standard of teaching slips.

Teaching requires acting skills — playing different characters for different classes. As a teacher, I could assume different roles to my natural introverted self.

It’s the aspects of teaching you can’t control which get on top of you. The icebreaker heavy constant professional development sessions for example. Meetings with disruptive students and their parents/carers. Phone calls home.

It’s relentless, it never stops.