Does having a family change the way you see teaching?

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I recently read an article on The Guardian – Secret Teacher (https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/mar/14/secret-teacher-demotion-work-life-balance) about a couple who have taken demotions, walking away from TLR’s and back into the classroom as main scale teachers.  They have done this in order to have more time with each other and as a family.

This then got me thinking about my own experiences as a class teacher and were they similar?

I am currently in my third year of teaching. I have completed all three years in the same school, mainly due to the support of the head teacher and my head of department.

During my NQT year my girlfriend and I were working all hours, I would often be in school for 07:30 in the morning, leave at 16:00 so I could beat the rush hour traffic, I would then do another three to four hours of work at home, as well as a full day over the weekend. I was sharing resources, getting excellent feedback from colleagues, senior leaders and my mentor.

Then two weeks into my RQT year our first child was born. Everything in our lives changed, everything came second to me spending time with my son and girlfriend. I was still working of an evening when my son was in bed but due to fatigue from interrupted sleep it was only an hour or two. I was still sharing resources, getting good lesson observations and giving everything I had to my year eleven students and everyone else in the school. However, working as I did the previous year was not sustainable with a young family. At the end of my RQT year I spoke to my head teacher and head of department about moving schools to try and cut back on the hours I spend travelling a week, trying to “free up” time.
I still have the same mentality this year as my RQT, however now we have the added pressure of my girlfriend completing her PGCE and childcare to work around. My girlfriend is even considering going part-time when she starts teaching in order to allow us time as a family to enjoy the weekends as she is concerned about the potential workload.  

I'm still giving everything I have to the students and school but I am determined that I will spend as much quality time with my young family as possible. I sometimes feel guilty leaving before 4, and only planning to do another hour, when I see colleagues who are spending all their time in school, often till 6pm and still working a full day over the weekend.

After three years of teaching I would now like to push on and maybe move into a role of responsibility. My worry is, will I have time? Will the pressure be too much? Will my teaching suffer? Will I be able to meet the demands which come with more responsibility? And most importantly, will my family time suffer?

I have just accepted a new position, still as a class teacher, but at a school much closer to home. I wonder if there will still be the same feelings of guilt and not doing enough?

Has anybody else walked away from a TLR or SLT and why?

Does being good at one thing jeopardise being good at the other?

Is having responsibility and teaching sustainable along with quality family time?

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