A teacher's midlife crisis

    After having put years into the classroom I believe I’m experiencing some kind of occupational stress and losing my identity as a teacher. Having grown up in a country where you are valued for what you are and what you achieve makes it extremely difficult for me to work in a school system which does not reward teaching quality and offers teachers no opportunity for advancement.

   How are teachers with broad perspectives, engaged in challenging new initiatives and responsible for their own professional development rewarded if not only with words? When will school systems value  teachers who go beyond their required duties or extend their knowledge and expertise?

   Teachers who display greater commitment do not get higher salaries or extra days off, they do not have earlier retirement options nor do they have opportunities to get grants or to have a school transfer more easily.

   Teaching entails commitment and commitment entails personal cost and personal investment. Commitment and innovation lead to school development more than reforms do.