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I just sent this off to the union. I know I’m not the only one feeling this way, but seeing another brilliant colleague walk away from teaching altogether this year has been the final straw.
Dear INTO,
I am writing to you not just as a member, but as a teacher who is witnessing the systematic collapse of our profession. We are well beyond the point of "struggling"—we are breaking.
This year, I’ve had to watch a valued colleague make the devastating decision to leave the profession entirely. This wasn't a choice made lightly; it was a forced exit caused by an unsustainable workload and a total lack of meaningful support. The toll on his mental health became too much to bear, and frankly, many more of us are right behind him.
How many more good teachers do we have to lose before the union takes a stand that actually matches the severity of this crisis?
I urge the INTO to stop the incrementalism and take a stronger, more decisive position. We cannot continue to watch our peers burn out and disappear while the erosion of our working conditions is met with anything less than total urgency.
Yours sincerely,
A deeply frustrated teacher
For those of you in the same boat—are you seeing this in your staffrooms too? It feels like we’re shouting into a void while the workload just keeps piling up. When is enough actually going to be enough?