Why Teachers Should Choose Prison Instead of Quitting

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14 years ago, when I began my Master’s in Teaching program, the prospect of working in a prison never crossed my mind. The idea wasn’t even on my radar. I loved children (still do) and was excited to begin a fulfilling career of molding young minds.

I graduated my program with honors, and for eleven years (on and off), I taught elementary and middle school students. In 2023, though, I found myself so burned out that I decided to give up teaching altogether. I had taught at three schools in two states, in seven different grade levels, and with wildly different populations. I had classes that were extremely impoverished and classes that were wealthy and privileged. And what I found is that no matter the class, no matter the school, no matter the grade — the job took everything that I had. And I couldn’t do it anymore.

So when I told my friend that I was working on an exit strategy, and she suggested that I try teaching at the prison where she worked, I laughed at her. “I told you I want out of teaching. Why would I want an even harder teaching job?”

She smirked and responded, “Seriously, you should look into it. The teachers at my prison love their jobs.”

So I did.

Fast forward a year, and I’ve been teaching at that same prison for about seven months…