Written by: Ragini Hildreth Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Returning to teaching after a career break can be simultaneously exciting, stressful, and challenging.
Whether the gap in service was due to raising a family, ill health, or having had a sabbatical, teachers experience similar emotions as they face the changes caused by making a career comeback.
There are changes in, routines, roles, and responsibilities, and making changes always involves a measure of pain. How the pain manifests varies according to each person’s circumstance.
Even in the happiest of changes, there is the pain of loss. Loss of familiar activities; loss of time and loss of the known.
Each career comeback has specific challenges and re-entering the work environment can highlight our insecurities.
“When returning to work after having children my perspective of work had changed. I still wanted to achieve and develop as a teacher but had lost some of my confidence and motivation. MPT
Clients have found the following three keys beneficial as they navigate returning to work.
Key 1 – Reframe your thoughts.
Be intentional about how you perceive returning to school. There is a vast difference between believing you are going back to what was and seeing this phase of your career as starting a new chapter.
Acknowledge that change has happened even if you don’t want it. It’s natural to want the old and to reminisce about how it used to be.
One client found it hard to see someone else in her former role. Feeling as if she didn’t have a place, she replaced these thoughts with the truth that she could bring a wealth of experience to the Leadership team. As a result, she started a new initiative that strengthened links between the school and families.
By focusing on consistently reframing her thoughts, she moved from feeling demotivated to creating a new role that complemented the needs of the school.
Top Tip – Build a bank of truth about yourself. Keep a journal or record each negative thought that you reframe. Read or listen to the positives consistently.
Key 2 – Acknowledge your emotions
The feelings when stepping into the buzz of school life after a break can range from comforting to exhilarating.
Some of the negative emotions teachers face when rejoining the workforce are:
Guilt
Shame
Fear
Anxiety
Grief
Mothers have shared stories of feeling guilty about not being there for their children and not doing enough at work. Mum guilt or work guilt, they felt like they were spinning plates as their responsibilities and priorities shifted.
Personally, when I started to work again after a long illness, I experienced shame as I encountered other people’s opinions regarding how quickly I should have recovered.
Some people fear that they might be stepping onto a relentless treadmill again and some have anxiety caused by a loss of confidence. Some felt grief over losing a job title, identity or status and had never realized that they needed to grieve.
The variety of emotions is wide, but acknowledging that that is how you feel is a simple key to helping you in your career comeback.
Top Tip – Set regular time to share your feelings with someone you trust.
Key 3 – Boost your confidence
The early days in a career comeback can be exhausting and demoralizing.
Listening to other teachers feeling confident and excited to be making changes to children’s lives whilst I usually felt overwhelmed and worn out I realized I needed to change my direction and approach to teaching. MPT
A loss of confidence and self-doubt can be improved by focusing on an exercise similar to reframing your thoughts.
During a career break, it is easy to forget your successes. This exercise reminds you of your many achievements. Simply spending some time writing down every success you have had will create a bank of truth about you.
It could be learning a craft, winning a colouring competition as a child, learning a new recipe, an academic achievement, maintaining a friendship, or learning to swim or drive. It could be something a pupil or colleague has said about how you made a difference in their life.
No matter how small or at what age you succeeded at something, reading or listening to all your successes will increase your confidence in this new phase of life.
Top Tip – If you have difficulty recognizing your achievements, start with writing down two successes each time.
Key 4 – Celebrate your uniqueness
As I am writing these keys, I remember one teacher. She had had a career break of several years to raise her children. Now working part-time, she felt inadequate and impotent as she compared herself to her colleagues. She perceived them as being powerful contributors to the school and their pupils. She felt that she had little to offer.
Ultimately, she didn’t want to be in school.
During our coaching sessions, it soon emerged that she was a gifted athlete who had won many competitions. She had been inspirational in previous teaching and leadership roles. As a mother and wife, she enriched her family. She had traveled the globe and experienced a life of adventure. And so on… And so on…
She had forgotten.
She didn’t recognize that her unique skill set and all her life experiences are what children need their teachers to embody.
As we worked together, she reconnected with her experience and expertise and continued to build her confidence. When we focused on her professional goals she started to visualize new outcomes and regain her love of teaching.
Top Tip – Add to your list and grow your collection of unique success stories.
Key 5 – Be kind to yourself
People re-enter the teaching profession for different reasons. Change is always challenging and can feel overwhelming.
Give yourself time to adjust to the new pace of life, especially after illness. Rebuilding strengths and stamina happens over time, so plan to have space to rest.
And finally, recognize and reward yourself for each small step you take as you make a career comeback. By celebrating small wins.
Our overall well-being and happiness increase as we acknowledge that we have progressed towards a goal.
We have improved focus and motivation
We develop confidence and positive habits as we choose to celebrate small achievements.
Top Tip – If you are reluctant to acknowledge small wins, simply because they seem too small and insignificant, re-read this quote:
“String together enough steps – even turtle steps – and you’ll eventually make it to the top of Everest.” – Martha Beck
Finally, to learn more about how I help teachers visit my website or connect on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, I look forward to meeting you.
Ragini Hildreth, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Ragini Hildreth is a passionate educator. A specialist in primary education, she has been an Assistant Headteacher, Governor, curriculum leader, coach, and mentor to newly qualified teachers and emerging leaders. However, there were times when she didn’t know if she could continue teaching because she was burning out. That’s why she is on a mission to empower the next generation of teachers to flourish.
