Published: September 4, 1996

Burnout

Robin Turgeon is toying with the idea of physical therapy. She thinks it might be the cure for what ails her. Unfortunately, what ails Turgeon is teaching--27 years as a New York City junior high school science teacher. And so, after taking early retirement last year, Turgeon is now out of the classroom and considering a new career in physical therapy.

For Turgeon (who, like several of the other teachers in this story, asked that we not use her real name), the decision to leave teaching did not come easily or suddenly. Nor did it stem from any single problem or issue. Rather, Turgeon's departure was the culmination of several years of steadily growing frustration.

It came to a head with a transfer to a new school, where hard-to-control special education students were mainstreamed into her regular classes. She felt isolated and powerless to determine what and how she taught. There were more frequent class periods--even the bell schedule was different. It was at that school that she earned the first and only unsatisfactory rating in all her...