Comments on: What to do the day after you leave teaching…

By: newteacher

newteacher — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:22:23 +0000

I have to blog for my college graduate class. Did you retire? I know a teacher who retired and was loving it, until her husband got laid off. I know a teacher who won’t retire because she said she would be too bored. What made you retire?

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:30:56 +0000

I left after 27 years, and you articulated my feelings SO well! Thank you for making me feel better. I didn’t think it would happen, but I AM living “happily ever after” since leaving the classroom. I wish that for you too.

By: ISTP Dad : Leaving Teaching — Two New Stories I Found

ISTP Dad : Leaving Teaching — Two New Stories I Found — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:25:42 +0000

[...] Ms. Frizzle left after 6 years at the same school. Try to write a long-overdue blog post about the end of the school year, but fail. The emotions are too complex. The parts about the kids and the work itself and whether you made the right decision and why come out sounding hackneyed. The parts about why you are leaving are too bitter at worst and too confused at best. You haven’t separated out your own personal shortcomings from those of the system or of the school, so leave it. It’s not something to write about yet. Worry about not being able to keep your promise to the kids to come back and coach robotics next year, because of the souring of one particular relationship that might lead to a complete separation from the life of the school you helped found. Six years ended with a cold goodbye and a handshake. Know that the kids have had promises broken before. You aren’t the first and won’t be the last. Reflect that the schools themselves are a broken promise to these kids, even the better schools. [...]

By: SalemTeacher

SalemTeacher — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:08:57 +0000

Wow! I didn’t think anyone felt the same way I did about leaving, which makes me feel a little less lonely about leaving school too.

Good luck and enjoy wandering!

By: CaliforniaTeacherGuy

CaliforniaTeacherGuy — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:32:57 +0000

Will you still be “Ms. Frizzle”?

By: yomister

yomister — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:06:59 +0000

Wonderful post. I, too, have scheduled time to once again wander green landscapes.

After a mere four years, I’m leaving the classroom. Off to work for an education non-profit organization. My passion for education hasn’t dwindled in the least, just my stamina.

Best wishes. You’re blog inspired my teaching practice and fortified my beliefs about education.

Enjoy the strolls.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:26:41 +0000

well, this is a great post, jumbled and emotional just like your/our minds.

By: charterteacher

charterteacher — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:28:42 +0000

Is there a place on here where you give an overview of your situation as a teacher? I teach in a Chicago charter school and coincidentally just posted my own “summer psyche” entry, although I’m actually primed for the trenches next Fall. I’ve been teaching five years, and this last one was the first time I really felt like I knew what I was doing, not just bailing water. I also had a very similar feeling of hollowness at graduation this year.

What are you going to do next? What happened to make you quit? Take a look at the most recent post on my page, written literally twenty minutes after you write this.

By: Nancy Cavillones

Nancy Cavillones — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:21:05 +0000

Great post. You said a lot of things I wish I’d been able to articulate when I wrote my own blog post about leaving. I’m soooooo excited for you!

By: Jeri

Jeri — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:20:47 +0000

Walking through green landscapes — thanks for that phrase and image. What lovely writing. I wish you so, so well in your new stage and am certain that your impact will continue to be positive. I hope you will find good friends there in the new place, who will help you stay motivated to make good changes for kids.

Will we see/read about China or Thailand as we did about Turkey and India? I hope so!