What I wish I knew as a first year teacher

It’s my seventh year as a teacher. Statistically, I know I’ve made it past a critical point: the five year mark. There are many different numbers out there worldwide about how many teachers leave the profession, but the consensus seems to be that those who leave do so within the first five years of teaching.

Here in Sweden, where I live and teach, more than half of the teachers working in schools today have considered leaving the profession. I’d be lying if I said I have never considered pursuing another career.

What exhausts me is the amount of administrative work I need to do. The meetings. The hall duty. The constantly growing groups of students. The tiresome weekly schedule. Administration springing new trendy things to do when all we teachers are trying to do is get through this term and deal with the aftermath of a COVID school year.

But the thing is, I actually do love being a teacher. I enjoy building relationships with my students and their parents. I get excited fostering their passions and showing them that love of learning pays off. To quit teaching would be a great loss, but to stay without setting clear boundaries would mean losing my peace of mind and my health.

I know many teachers join the profession for the same reasons as me. I know that we are passionate professionals. I know…