"I love what I did, but I wouldn't start again. No way."

Water welled in Mary Jo Marsden's eyes as she thought back on her long teaching career.

She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and stifle tears before continuing.

"The last 10 years were devastating," said the retired teacher.

"To see things taken away one little tiny bit at a time, and then a chunk here and a chunk there."

She recalled good times and rewarding work throughout most of her career. However, deep budget cuts and systemic changes to education in Newfoundland and Labrador has left a stain on her view of teaching.

"It's like we got on this roller coaster and we can't get off," Marsden said.

"And who are we hurting but the children?"

Would you do it again?

During CBC's unprecedented Inside the Classroom forum, teachers, principals, and counsellors from across the province had a chance to air their concerns with the education system.

​​At the end of a discussion that spanned an afternoon in January, they were asked if they would start over again in the same profession.

For Angela Dawe, it's a toss up.

Junior high teacher Angela Dawe said she feels defeated in the classroom, and knowing what she knows now, she's not sure if she would have chosen teaching as her career. (CBC)

"I ponder," she said.

"I love my kids dearly. I love teaching. But given the system I'm teaching in right now, I don't think I would [do it again]."

Dawe, who's a music teacher at a junior high school on the northeast Avalon, said despite her best efforts, she goes home feeling defeated.

She said she wishes she had more time with students to form relationships, and that she didn't feel so frustrated.

I love my kids dearly. I love teaching. But given the system I'm teaching in right now, I don't think I would [do it again]. - Angela Dawe , junior high teacher

She also said she wished things could be as good as she knows they could be, if her school only had the resources she feels it requires.

"I find it really challenging," Dawe said.

"I have three degrees that have all focused towards being a music teacher, and I doubt myself many times."

Above and beyond service

Rather than retire after her 30th year of service, Donna Reddick decided to keep working.

When asked if she would do it again, she did not hesitate to say yes.

"For me, it's all about the child," she said.

"I love spending my day with the little ones. I like seeing the 'A-ha' moments."

Elementary teacher Donna Reddick said without a doubt, if given the chance to start over, she would choose teaching as her occupation. (CBC)

As an elementary school science teacher, she said she enjoys the little things, like showing children how to use copper wire and a battery to create an electric current.

"I love seeing that light bulb come on. I really do. It's so intrinsically rewarding for me and my students," she said.

"I still have that drive. I still have that energy."

Increasingly, Reddick is having a harder time finding those 'A-ha' moments. She shares the same frustrations as the other teachers in the forum.

I worry about our younger teachers. Our teachers who are just beginning. What are they going to face?... And how is that going to impact the students? - Donna Reddick, elementary school teacher

As hard as she tries, she said she feels she can't give the students everything they need.

"When my students go home at the end of the day, I sit down and I have a big sigh. I feel discouraged," Reddick said.

"I worry about our younger teachers. Our teachers who are just beginning. What are they going to face?... And how is that going to impact the students?"

Guilt and frustration

Marsden said she worried about the impact her job was having on other students in the school.

As a teacher for special needs students, she often required help in her classroom that could be used elsewhere in the school.

"I always feel guilty because I take the resources from the rest of the school to come help me with children who can't control themselves and who need help, and I take that from every class," she said.

She's concerned about children with learning disabilities who only need minor help.

She said she worries those students will fall behind, while instructional resource teachers are being taken from other classes and dedicated to helping her students — or "robbing Peter to pay Paul," as she calls it.

The feeling of guilt, mixed with the frustrations of teaching through budget cuts and a changing system, has left her with a definitive answer to the question of whether or not she would start all over as a teacher in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Emotionally, I would not do it again."