Overwhelmed teachers fed up with ‘emotional toll’ of traditional classrooms turn to online education

Brook Edgar and Louis Provis were both left fed up with the emotional and physical strain of traditional teaching roles, so looked to online platforms instead

Teachers, feeling overwhelmed, are leaving the traditional classroom for online learning earning up to £100,000 per year.

As a report by Think Tank Britain reveals that the number of educators leaving the profession has hit a five-year peak, it's hardly surprising that teachers are exploring different avenues.

Two teachers, Brook Edgar, 29, and Louis Provis, 31, have shared why they ditched traditional teaching for the digital world.

They're both employed by MyEdSpace, an online platform designed to make education more accessible through live stream lessons and affordable tutoring. It was launched by Sean Hirons and Kharis Yanakidis, and it already boasts 6,000 users and millions of views across a range of subjects.

While the UK teacher earns an average of just £30,000 a year, it's no surprise more people are turning to online.

"When I started teaching, I wasn't prepared for the emotional toll it would take," confessed Brook, a physics teacher from Ireland.

"I spent many of my first few weeks in tears. Juggling the emotions of pupils, the stress of remembering to print everything, managing poor behaviour in class, and the pressure of looming OFSTED inspections was overwhelming. Even finding time for a toilet break was a challenge, as I'd always spot pupils misbehaving in the corridors and couldn't just walk past," she added.

"I saw teachers in higher positions than me, working 13 to 14 hours a day, stressed out, with no work-life balance and I thought 'this isn't for me'. I love teaching but the traditional classroom and school environment, coupled with bad behaviour, meant I wasn't actually teaching a lot of the time."

Louis, an English teacher and former head of sixth form from Birmingham, has seen his salary double since he switched to live streaming lessons.

The 31 year old educated over 1,000 students in his first four weeks. Discussing his new role, he said: "In my most recent role, I was coming to the top of the pay scale and the only way for me to increase my salary would be to take a leadership position, which would take me out of the classroom more and more."

He went on to say: "I am without a doubt earning more than I was before. My base salary is just over 50% more with bonus opportunities, too. It’s not all about money but it’s quite disheartening to think you’ve nearly reached your top earnings by 31."

Parents are also reaping the benefits of this digital education alternative as private tutoring can cost up to £60 per hour, according to Teachers To Your Home. In contrast, MyEdSpace sessions are priced at £5 per hour.

Currently, the platform provides lessons in English, biology, chemistry, physics and maths, with plans to add more subjects in the future. In the meantime, MyEdSpace aims to connect with a generation raised on social media by using live video streams as its primary tool.

When it comes to selecting teachers, they are chosen based on their experience, teaching approach, academic prowess and their ability to engage children through online learning.

"Every child deserves the opportunity to excel," said Sean, one of the co-founders," however, the current education system has many gaps millions of children are struggling and are disengaged in school."

"Their parents are unsure of how to help children catch up. Most of them can't afford to spend thousands of pounds on personal tutors for their children across the key subjects."

Kharis, another co-founder, chimed in: "We didn't want to create just another online learning resource. The education system's shortcomings demand much more radical thinking."

"We focused on building an online learning platform which doesn't compromise on quality of education and that talks to children through content and language that they relate to modelled on the world of online streaming that millions of children enjoy and engage with every day."

"We want to ensure top-tier education is within reach for everyone by offering prices more than 10 times cheaper than traditional tuition."