How to get over the "fear" of changing jobs?

[beautyinprogress]

Those of you who read my journal have a little bit of an idea about my background as a teacher, but for those of you who don't let me sum up

I decided in middle school that I was going to be an English teacher. I loved to read and write and use my imagination to explore, and so when college came around I enrolled in Rhode Island College in Providence, RI and majored in Secondary Education grades 6-12 with a concentration in Literature. I loved my courses, and was ready to come out and change the world....However, my college dumped a ton of English and Social Studies teachers into the market and I spent a year subbing and looking for a job. On a whim I posted my info. on teachinflorida.com and ended up here 7 yrs ago teaching in a Charter High School. At the end of that year I resigned and moved on to a public middle school. Now I am still at my middle school, but my ability to do my job is getting progressively worse. No Child Left Behind is crippling the education system. In an effort to make our kids looks good on "paper" I am forced to do the following:

1. Allow extra time on assignments despite the fact that there is a clear due date.
2. Sit in conferences and be berated by parents for insisting that work is done right. Giving an A for effort is not in my philosophy.
3. My principal requests that we give a 50 and not a zero even if no work is ever turned in.
4. Absences/tardies are rampant in my school district and I have to chase down kids for work.
5. Yesterday I got called into the office and had to give a run down off the accommodations/interventions that I have given to a failing student who is just not producing anything...
6. Sit in faculty meetings that place all responsibility on me for student achievement on state tests...

This was my dream and I have been doing this for 7 yrs and it has become my security blanket in this economy. I have made excuses year after year like , it will get better, I don't have the savings to change jobs, I don't have family in the state, so how do I make a change, w/o going into debt, what else will I do with myself,...

So I'm asking you ladies...How do I get over my fear of making a change? People do it everyday right? Why can't I let go and move on to something more fulfilling and rewarding? Like college admissions/advising or personal training? ...

Thoughts, feelings, kicks in the ass greatly appreciated...

[alygrrl]

I hear ya, Jen.
I am in the same boat...I hate my job, yet I go there day after day.
I need a change but I think it is fear of the unknown that is holding me back...so good question...how does one make that giant leap?

[Nic902]

I can relate Jen
After 10 years at I job I LOVED, I spent a year at a job I hated cause I was terrified of leaving, but after getting let go I felt a sense of relief to be able to move on...Life is too short to be unhappy and I made a promise that I would NEVER work at a place that made me miserable. That was over 6mo ago and I have yet to find something. Now, I have a whole new bunch of fears to deal with

I wish I had an answer for you, but I dont...Just want you to know that you're not alone and I feel for ya