why i stopped teaching former attorney

by Prof. Lisa Kihn DDS 4 min read

What happened to me when I quit teaching?

I believe teachers have the knowledge and ability to conquer the world, one child, at a time. I'll show you just what I mean in this post. Here are the 15 things that happened to me when I quit teaching. 1. I quit teaching in the classroom, but I still get to teach students from all over the world.

Are teachers attacked on all sides of the profession?

But in terms of prestige, teachers are attacked on all sides regardless of demographics. We've even created positions where teachers are expected to leave the classroom if they wish to "move up" in the profession. It's a self-absorbed, ego-driven, adult-centered system of educational governance.

What happens when the teaching profession loses respect?

When the teaching profession loses respect, or ceases to become a profession, children pay the price. I'll borrow the Howard Gardner definition of a professional, which is as good as any:

Do you begrudge teachers for being TFA?

I don't begrudge TFA, since it helps many children escape poverty, but its existence magnifies a view of teachers as interchangeable parts, as cogs in our machine.

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Why do lawyers stop practicing?

Even worse than the long hours, in many cases, is the lack of control over your work and your schedule as an attorney. When you're subject to the whims of the court, the partners or other senior lawyers you work for, and client demands, the lack of control can become highly frustrating. This is why many lawyers leave.

Are lawyers overworked?

Excessive hours The 2018 Legal Trends Report surveyed lawyers to find out about their working hours, and found that 75% of lawyers frequently outside of regular business hours. The report also found that lawyers work, on average, 140 unplanned hours a year—which works out to about 3.5 weeks a year of unplanned work.

What to do when you hate being an attorney?

If you still think you hate practicing law, here are some other options to consider: Politics or a government job (those federal government jobs are fantastic!! Even the non-lawyer jobs pay well over what most lawyers make!) Working at a law school (as their faculty – i.e. “Academic Success Director” or a professor).

How many lawyers are successful?

According to the American Bar Association, about 36% of all attorneys say they are very successful, and about half indicate they are successful.

Are attorneys happy?

Lawyers are one of the least happy careers in the United States. At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, lawyers rate their career happiness 2.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 7% of careers.

Why do people leave law firms?

You could call it a culmination of following the herd mentality, work-life imbalance, the stress of the job, dissatisfaction and the fact that a lot of the lawyers who end up working at law firms do it to gain the financial stability to move on to their passions. Of course, with enough savings in their bank accounts.

Is being an attorney stressful?

Lawyers face multiple stressors every day. In addition to the pressure of helping clients through important or difficult legal matters, they also have to stay on top of an ever-changing industry and manage heavy workloads.

What do you do if you hate law school?

What To Do if You Hate Law SchoolAnalyze your situation. First things first, you need to think hard about whether you fundamentally hate law school or if you're just overwhelmed. ... Tackle your problems. ... Don't hide your problems. ... Prioritize your to-do list.

Is it fun being a lawyer?

Being a lawyer can be very fun and very rewarding. But as the other posts have indicated it requires a lot of work, time, money, and attention to detail. As with most challenging things in life it can be well worth it. You indicated that your parents want you to be a lawyer.

What type of lawyer makes the most money?

Some of the highest-paid lawyers are:Medical Lawyers – Average $138,431. Medical lawyers make one of the highest median wages in the legal field. ... Intellectual Property Attorneys – Average $128,913. ... Trial Attorneys – Average $97,158. ... Tax Attorneys – Average $101,204. ... Corporate Lawyers – $116,361.

What are the disadvantages of being a lawyer?

11 drawbacks of being a lawyerHigh-stress situations. When you're in this profession, it's important to meet deadlines and the demands of your clients. ... Long hours. ... Expensive education. ... Not as many client opportunities. ... Client's aren't spending as much. ... Threat of outsourced legal work. ... Negative stigma. ... Difficult clients.More items...

Is being a lawyer worth it in 2022?

Being a lawyer is a better job than being a speech-language pathologist but not quite as good as being a statistician. That's the conclusion of U.S. News & World Report, which rated working as a lawyer the ninth best job on its list of 100 Best Jobs of 2022.

What is the most common complaint against lawyers?

Perhaps the most common kinds of complaints against lawyers involve delay or neglect. This doesn't mean that occasionally you've had to wait for a phone call to be returned. It means there has been a pattern of the lawyer's failing to respond or to take action over a period of months.

What is it called when a lawyer doesn't do his job?

Legal malpractice is a type of negligence in which a lawyer does harm to his or her client. Typically, this concerns lawyers acting in their own interests, lawyers breaching their contract with the client, and, one of the most common cases of legal malpractice, is when lawyers fail to act on time for clients.

Is being an attorney hard?

Becoming a lawyer in California is one of the most difficult, and most rewarding, career choices you can make. California is notoriously one of the most difficult bars to obtain membership in, and the steps necessary to do so include earning multiple college degrees, taking entrance examinations, and submitting ...

What should you not say to a lawyer?

9 Taboo Sayings You Should Never Tell Your LawyerI forgot I had an appointment. ... I didn't bring the documents related to my case. ... I have already done some of the work for you. ... My case will be easy money for you. ... I have already spoken with 5 other lawyers. ... Other lawyers don't have my best interests at heart.More items...•

What do teachers want?

What teachers want is so fundamentally basic to professional life. All people want to not only do what they love, but to be respected for it. We shouldn't be negotiating for a 1 percent pay raise; we should be negotiating for enough money to take a vacation, to lease a car, to start a family. We should be negotiating for enough to attract top talent, and for raises to be given to the best, not the oldest. And we should be negotiating for structural changes that will allow top teachers to be recognized and given leadership positions while remaining in the classroom for their entire careers.

Where can you see the rage of teachers?

So the rage of teachers is building. You can see it in the impending strike in Chicago. You can see it in the protests in Wisconsin. Teachers are slowly realizing that we hold the power.

1. I quit teaching in the classroom, but I still get to teach students from all over the world

I've always wanted to travel the world, but I've never had the means to do so. You see, I'm a small-town girl with a big heart for adventure. As a teacher, I was confined to my four walls every single day. I never came home and complained about my students.

2. When I quit my teaching job, I became a better person

I hate to say I was depressed. I wasn't. I just wasn't happy. I wasn't filling my cup with gratitude and happiness. I'd listen to people complain about the life they lived over and over again, and by people, I mean fellow teachers. Not all of them, just some of them. Those few sucked the life out of me.

3. I started living to teach instead of teaching to live

I quit teaching, but now what? That phrase became easier than I ever though possible. Just because I quit teaching didn't mean that I had to in fact, stop doing what I loved. Unfortunately, I’d gotten to the point where I'd wake up every morning and go through my routine like I was teaching just to service.

4. I began impacting teachers all over the world

I finally had time to dive into my YouTube channel. It's a place where I help teachers with things such as comic relief, teacher organization trends, awesome Amazon finds, and more. I created a Facebook group just for teachers. More importantly, I began planning my new job around my blog.

5. I began to live the life I loved by sharing jobs for teachers who quit teaching

This may be the most important one factor of all since I quit teaching. I began to live the life I loved every single day. Did I want to take my dogs to the park for a long hike? Did I want to go to work until lunch and cook a big dinner for my family? Well, whatever I wanted to do…..I did. I mean, I do.

7. I became one heck of a wife when I decided to leave the classroom

You see, I'm married to a high school principal. We lived a busy life. He'd work at school all day, and I'd work at school all day. When we got home, the LAST thing I wanted to do was to hear about school and vice versa. Now we listen to each other and our relationship is even stronger than it was before.

8. I could do all the things as an online teacher

Let’s face it – teaching is exhausting work. I gave my all day in and day out, but it took a toll. Suddenly, I had mounds of energy and an amazing, positive outlook on life. I found I could do all the things I had been dreaming about for a long time.

How long do secondary teachers have their kids?

Secondary teachers in particular only have their kids for 45 mins a day, maybe an hour and a half if it’s block schedule. There’s only so much you can do during that time.

Do you get summer off when you start teaching?

A lot of new teachers get sold on this. When you’re starting, there’s that idea that, “at least I get summers off.” But, in truth, you don’t. You either spend them planning so you’re not drowning throughout the entire next year, or you’re picking up a side hustle: summer school, teaching at a local college, hospitality, anything you can do to squirrel a few nuts away for the winter.

Do teachers have an off switch?

Teachers need to grade, go to meetings, and do plenty of paperwork (more on this later). They don’t have an off switch. Teachers are always on. Always going. One of my good friends (a mentor and previous co-teacher) equated it to being a trial lawyer. Except…without the pay or prestige.

What I Loved About Teaching

I was lucky to work with hundreds of brilliant, fun, and kind students. Of course, there were students that didn’t click with me or didn’t want to be in lessons, but generally, I had the best students and parents. Maybe it’s a bassoon thing, or maybe I really lucked out, but my students were absolutely fantastic and we had so much fun!

Why I Left Private Music Teaching

Burnout is described as a “syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, with symptoms including feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, feelings negative towards one’s career, or reduced professional productivity.”

I will continue to update bluemoonbassoon.com from time to time and my books are available on Amazon, so stop by anytime!

I believe that private lesson teaching can become a sustainable, vibrant career for those who choose it. With better communication and collaboration between teachers, band directors, college programs, and music parents we can forge a path that encourages innovation and efficiency and rewards expertise in this field.

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