Sorry in advance, I’m using a friend’s login to post for the first time so I’m super embarrassed but I really need to get this off my chest.

I’m 28 and I work as a teacher at a public school in Korat, near the market. Been here almost three years. I love teaching so much, but the system and the people around me make everything way harder.

Yesterday we had a staff meeting in the morning, around 8:10. The principal asked me to join a special project — sounded good at first, but there’s almost no budget and no time to prepare. It was just announced and that was it, like they tossed a pebble to see what would happen and didn’t wait for answers.

The people who suggested the first ideas ended up with lighter tasks than others. When I asked for clarification, I was told to just do it myself and to hurry up, said in a cold tone… I was like, what? I tried to explain that if we want quality, we need time, permission from parents, and little stickers/post-its with parents’ phone numbers, but they barely listened and dumped all the heavy work on me even though I already have a lot on my plate.

The only free time I really have is evenings around 7–9 pm and maybe 3–4 hours on weekends to prepare teaching materials.

Some coworkers don’t seem to want to help at all. One of them (don’t want to give details) avoids anything that involves meeting parents, says she’s scared, but when the principal asks she says she’s free and no one else can do it except her—then after tasks are assigned she goes and has a long lunch, like an hour, and I end up covering two extra hours of classes on top of everything. T_T

I can’t take it. Sometimes I want to scream but I hold back because I don’t want things to blow up.

I’ve talked politely and asked for help, didn’t shout, but the feelings keep piling up. I’m tired of always having to adapt. I’m scared if I speak harshly it’ll become a big problem. I’m scared people will think I’m just complaining or that I’m a narrow-minded teacher, or that I’m overthinking things — haha.

There was one time the principal scolded me for missing documents even though I’d prepared them. I had to fix and reprint things on the way, which took about two hours to edit files and print more. I explained, but the principal’s attitude changed like they were looking for faults instead of helping with feedback. Feels like my effort is always seen as a flaw.

Some nights I can’t sleep, thinking about work, my mind’s all over the place. I want to quit and find an easier job sometimes, but I love the kids and teaching so I don’t want to run away easily. It’s a huge conflict inside me.

I want to talk to the principal, but I’m worried the mood will get tense. Would that damage relationships? Would they think I’m not tolerant or lazy like some colleagues do? How can I talk about this properly so it’s constructive and doesn’t make enemies at work?

Teachers or anyone who’s been through this, please give me advice. What should I do? Am I just being dramatic?

P.S. Sorry if this is messy or badly told — I’m confused.