12 Hard Truths About Why Teachers are Quitting

Wondering why teachers are quitting the profession? You’re in the right place.

Based on recent statistics, around 10% of teachers in the United States leave the profession each year. In Canada, almost over a third of new teachers quit within the first five years of their careers.

It takes years to qualify to become a school teacher, so why do so many teachers want to pull the plug on a career they worked so hard for?

I was a classroom teacher in Canada for 10 years before deciding to leave the profession just last year. Having experienced the school system from the inside, I know what stressors teachers are facing in Canada and worldwide, and why we are having a harder time retaining teachers.

Teachers are leaving the profession for a many reasons, such as:

• workplace stress, and burnout
• the reality of the job not living up to expectations
• being pulled toward a different career

Having lived and worked as a full-time school teacher, I’m going to highlight the reasons why teachers are quitting (in the US, Canada, and worldwide), from a teacher’s perspective.

So, let’s jump in – the real and honest reasons teachers are walking away from their careers.

Reasons Why Teachers Are Quitting

1. The reality not fitting the dream

Often, the reason teachers lose interest in their careers is a matter of the dream not fitting with reality.

Most of us went through the school system and experienced the classroom learning environment from a student perspective. For many of us, this is what sparked the idea in most of us to become teachers someday.

We want to be just like that one teacher who inspired us when we were young; to motivate students and change lives for the better.

For many of us though, it doesn’t feel like we’re able to do that. The classroom environment is different from what it was like when we were students. We don’t have the same energy or autonomy that our teachers did. We’re playing a completely different ballgame.

2. Mental exhaustion

Teaching is a demanding job that requires you to be ‘on’ all day. In Canada for example, a teacher spends a total of:

• 5 hours of instructional time per day; whether it in front of the class, supervising and monitoring during work periods, or working in small groups
• Plus, additional time for planning, marking, and printing

In addition to these demands, you also need to make sure you’re on top of:

• Managing any conflicts or behavioural issues that arise – including fights, cell phone use, disrespect, talking back, vandalism and more
• Communication with parents and admin
• Collaboration with colleagues
• Trying to motivate students who any intrinsic motivation whatsoever

This meant a minimum 10-hour workday, which is challenging when you have a young family. There’s a reason why teachers struggle with work-life balance.

Being an introvert made all of these tasks even more tiring. I dreamed of having a career that didn’t leave me so drained by the end of the day, so that I could have energy for my own kids after work. That was when I started looking into alternative careers.

Pro Tip: The amount of time each teacher works daily varies greatly, depending on how long they’ve been teaching, how familiar they are with their grade/subject and how many resources they already have. However, the days can be quite long

3. Challenge in securing a full-time position

I have seen many teachers burn out, not only because of the job itself but also because of how long they have to wait to get a full-time position.

This is especially an issue in Canada; where teaching is still a competitive field in the most densely populated areas, such as Toronto and Vancouver.

Some people substitute teach for years before landing a permanent position. Not only is supply teaching challenging in many ways, but the pay is unstable and they don’t have benefits or a pension to secure them long-term.

4. Changing careers is common

One thing to keep in mind when analyzing the reasons why teachers quit is that it’s not uncommon for people to change careers in general.

In the US, it has been found that almost half of the workforce wants to change careers.

People like to hold teachers to a higher standard than other careers. To become a teacher, they must be passionate about education and helping kids, right?

However, given that it’s not uncommon for people to change careers, there’s no reason why teachers should be an exception.

5. Interest in a different career

Not everyone figures out what they want to do for the rest of their life at 20. Sometimes it simply takes us longer to find out how we really want to spend our time.

It’s been estimated that about 21% of people are motivated to leave their careers because of an interest in something else.

Sometimes it’s because of low satisfaction in the career they’re in, but oftentimes, there is something else people want to do instead.

I spent time working towards various side hustles as a teacher, and I found that I enjoyed the nature of those jobs better than my 9-5.

6. Student (and parent) behaviour

This list of reasons why teachers are leaving wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the declining behaviour in the classroom.

Any teacher will tell you that the classroom today does not look the same way it did when we were in school.

The reasons for worsening behaviour are:

• a change in societal views and parenting trends
• technology addictions, smartphones in the classroom, lack of attention span
• lack of resources, funding and support to handle learning needs
• lack of support from the administration, parents and the public in enforcing rules

A key thing to understand is that the expectations of teachers have only risen over time, while the expectations of students have done the opposite – declined.

This leads to teachers being unable to set expectations or enforce rules. In some cases, behaviour management is a bigger part of the job than actual teaching.

I’ve been in some classrooms where I felt I couldn’t teach at all because of all the distractions, behaviour problems, and fires to put out. This is overwhelming for new teachers who were expecting to do more teaching than refereeing.

Pro Tip: In addition, teachers don’t have a lot of protection from things like violence in the classroom or teacher bullying. All students have a legal right to education (which sounds right on paper) but in practice, this doesn’t work unless it’s implemented with support.

Unfortunately, parents haven’t been much help in this regard. Challenging parents is another stressors of the teaching profession, and sadly, it’s not unheard of for parents to misbehave themselves – become rude, aggressive or even bully the teacher.

7. Ineffective school leadership

As a student growing up, I saw the school principals as mainly being in the background. It wasn’t until I became a teacher that I realized how important an effective principal is.

The truth is, a principal can have a huge impact on a teacher’s career. Most teachers I know who enjoy their jobs mention a supportive principal or mentor teacher they had when they were just getting started.

If you have a principal with poor leadership skills, who has a ‘tough on teachers, easy on kids’ approach, it can create a toxic working environment where the world is expected of you, while everyone else (admin, kids and parents) don’t meet you half way. It’s a demoralizing and exhausting reality to face.

8. The pay

Teacher pay, is sadly, lower than it should be in many countries throughout the world.

Some countries with the best education systems (like Finland) are known for respecting teachers like doctors, but this isn’t the case in most English-speaking countries.

While teachers are paid decently in many parts of Canada, UK and even some US states, the pay is still notoriously low in many areas. Pay in private schools is often lower than in the public sector.

Some teachers, when looking at the crazy hours they’re putting in and how much it cuts into their personal lives, realize that what they’re making isn’t enough.

9. Health concerns

Teachers who struggle with health issues (physical or mental) struggle quite a bit with the careers these days, because of how demanding the job is.

If you suffer from chronic stress, pain, or autoimmune diseases, then teaching is a challenging career to navigate.

While there are several accommodations and medical leaves available for health challenges, living with a mental or physical health condition makes a career as a teacher somewhat unsustainable.

I struggled with anxiety as a teacher (which I likely had my whole life but was exacerbated by work challenges.) Part of the reason I quit teaching was to care for myself adequately so that I could care for my family and enjoy my life more.

10. Not being able to teach the desired subject or grade

Teaching is a varied job, where every year looks different from the last. Some positions are more competitive than others because people who are in them tend to want to stay there.

The principal usually has decision-making power over who is assigned to which grade or subject, and often, they take the teachers’ desires into account.

However, there are many factors to consider, and sometimes it turns out that you don’t get to teach the grade or subject you want. In fact, some people are never able to get to where they want.

11. Inflexible schedule

‘Summers off’ sounds better than it really is. While summers off seem like a sweet deal, you have to remember that teachers are bound to that schedule from the time they are hired until their retirement years.

In addition, most teachers I know spend their summer researching, planning and preparing for the year ahead. (And keep in mind, they’re not paid for this.)

In addition, during the school year, it’s very hard for teachers to get time off for:

• attending a destination wedding (outside of the school vacation times)
• taking a day off to help a friend move, or in a hobby or leisure activity
• a mental health day
• attend field trips or school concerts during the day for their own kids

In addition to the time-off schedule being very strict, the school day in itself is quite strict when you’re a teacher.

You can’t use the washroom when you want, drink too much water, or take a personal phone call at any time. Even just taking a short breather when you need to isn’t possible – you need to wait for the recess bell to ring.

How to Solve the Issue of Teachers Leaving the Profession

I may be a dreamer, but I like to imagine that things will improve one day with the classroom learning environment. I want both teachers and students to want to be there, and for school to become a better place from the one I left.

Here is what I think will need to happen to reduce the number of teachers who quit the profession:

• Professionalize the career even more. Teachers should be highly qualified, but also, respected like professionals and paid accordingly
• More funding to support students with special needs, even if it means 1-2 EAs (educational assistants) in every classroom
• Strong school leadership who knows how to empower teachers
• Hold students more accountable for poor behaviour choices. This protects the integrity and morale of the learning environment, and it protects teacher and student mental health
• Many professional development opportunities, so that teachers can keep up with the latest updates and trends.
• Provide time for teachers to collaborate as a team and learn from each other, as well as school staff morale boosting activities
• More autonomy and professional judgement

Teachers Quitting FAQ

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about reasons for teachers leaving the profession

Why are Canadian teachers quitting?

As a Canadian teacher, I can tell you that teachers are quitting due to overwhelm, stress and burnout. Teaching is a demanding career that you need to be ‘all in’ for in order to do well it. If you can’t put in 110% at all times, then it’s very hard to navigate.

How stressful is teaching?

How stressful someone finds teaching will depend on their own personality, strengths and limitations. Overall yes, it is a high-stress and demanding career that is very hard to fake.

Final Thoughts on Why Teachers Are Quitting

I hope that this article has presented the views that you hadn’t yet considered on why so many teachers are leaving the profession. There are so many pros and cons to teaching, but some teachers find that the cons can start to outweigh the pros.

If you’re a teacher wondering whether you should quit, feel free to take our Should I Quit Teaching quiz.