I've been a teacher for ten years, and I've never been more demoralized. What are the rest of you going to do?

I'm a high school English teacher in a relatively affluent district in the Chicago suburbs. I've been doing this for ten years now, and have gradually seen the teaching profession go from stable and fulfilling to an unstable and maddening career. This year, I've been breaking down repeatedly after school, crying in my classroom out of stress and anxiety, and am taking anti-anxiety meds for the first time in my life.<br><br>As I told my husband the other day, "I've never been treated this poorly for doing my job so well." The kids are a major part of the problem, but so is administration and the overall system. I'd like to imagine that a lot of people on this thread will have valuable advice for me, but I feel like a lot of it is going to be "LEAVE THE PROFESSION."<br><br>I've tried to incentivize my students in the classroom with positive reinforcement. I praise, give out rewards, and hand out totally meaningless "homework passes" that no one ever uses. They simply don't care. I've also become strict this year, cracking down on behaviors that I previously ignored like phones and earbuds. All that has done is escalate the situation, leading kids to simply become more disobedient because they know I have no real power.<br><br>This year for the first time I have been disrespected repeatedly by students. I was called a bitch under a student's breath, and I was doxxed and harassed by a student on TikTok. When I brought this issue to administration, they resolved it by telling me that the student in question did not delete the post, and that it was still up almost a month later. When I complained, they simply told me to stop looking at it. They offered no support, no help moving forward. In fact, they said that the student who doxxed me had a "right" to post it, as it was "freedom of speech." I asked if I had the freedom to speak to my principal and express my feelings, and I was simply ignored.<br><br>It's not just the kids. I have six classes this year, which is the most I have ever been given, and a huge departure from my usual four. I've been given no additional support or training for this, and I am burning out on the extra workload. I've repeatedly asked for a sub for my free period to help me with this, to no avail. Also, I've developed a vocal tick this year, and have asked for a portable white noise machine to help me focus.<br><br>I've asked repeatedly for support from my union, which has been useless. I was simply told to "document" incidents. When I asked for real help, like the sub or the white noise machine, I was told that those types of things are not covered under our contract. I've been told that since I'm a single mom, I should get a second job in the summer to make ends meet. That is not what I want. I want a full-time stable career where I make enough money to support a family. We're not asking for much, and our union is completely useless.<br><br>I'm seriously considering quitting after this year, and I'm wondering what the rest of you are going to do. I see a mass exodus of teachers out of the profession, and I imagine there will be huge shortages coming soon. What are you going to do?