For context, I'm a middle school English teacher in the US. I teach in a very strong union state. I'm in my third year as a teacher and I'm looking to quit.
Compared to many of the stories I read on r/teachers, I feel EXTREMELY lucky to teach in my district. That being said, I'm having some problems. Most of it is due to lack of substitutes and lack of teacher candidates applying for jobs.
I teach one class in an inclusion setting (regular-track English with a handful of special education students and a special education teacher to co-teach with me). My co-teacher is on medical leave for the rest of the year. I was given no replacement for her, leaving me alone in a room to do the job of 2 people. I also am not qualified to teach special ed, so I don't really know what I'm supposed to do for these students. Even after asking administration, I was given no support. They only started to consistently put another teacher in my room after a parent complained a few weeks later.
There is also another teacher who is out on medical leave and they're having trouble finding a qualified candidate to fill in as a long-term sub. So, myself and a few other teachers were voluntold that we'd each be taking over one of her classes (I will add that this is a paid position, but it means I lose planning time). When my administration was trying to sell me on why this was a positive thing, they said, “well after all, it's only another class.” As if getting an additional load of 20 students that I don't know and 3 days notice to plan with a curriculum I've never seen for the rest of the year is no big deal.
Anyway, the other teachers know that I'm struggling. They've offered to help in whatever way they can and I have been extremely grateful for that. My problem is my bosses. I'm at a relatively small school that's pretty tight-knit. I don't think anyone (admin, etc.) has ever checked up on me or asked how I was doing, unless they needed me to do something else. I'm non-tenured, so the consensus is basically that this is the way that it is until you're tenured and allowed to say no to things. I just feel extremely unsupported and kind of neglected, also taken advantage of. I plan on leaving teaching after this year (for additional reasons not relevant to this).
My question is, is it normal for bosses and supervisors to be this cold and unsupportive? I work a part time job in customer service and my manager is one of the most kind and helpful people I have ever worked for and has done more than she possibly could to accommodate for me. But teaching is the only salaried job I've ever had, so I only know what the expectations are in that kind of environment. When I'm looking for a job in a different field, what should I be expecting as the “norm?”