How to Avoid Teacher Burnout
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This post is not from the usual list of topics I typically write about on Table for Four or More. With the new school year in full-swing, my thoughts naturally drift towards school-related topics.
With memories of a difficult year still fresh in my mind, my thoughts are on not only surviving but enjoying the upcoming school year. That is why I want to address the very real issue of teacher burnout.
According to an article published in October 2018 in Education Week, 44% of new teachers leave teaching within five years. There are plenty of reasons why and teacher burnout is one of them.
Teaching is HARD. It can consume your entire life and challenges your emotional and physical well-being, but only if you allow it to. The solution is to take care of yourself first and foremost before you wind up feeling depleted.
This post doesn’t have to be just for teachers, it can be for anyone who puts their heart and soul into what they do every single day. We live in a time where doing your job and doing it well isn’t always enough. The expectation is to go above and beyond at the expense of our own health and well-being. Why?
Early in my career that is exactly what I did. After 15 years of teaching, I finally became a mom to two children and my mindset had to change. I was on the fast-track to burning out if I didn’t stop and adjust my priorities.
Below I have shared some of my best advice for keeping it together while working a stressful job and striving to be the mom I need to be for my kids.
Contents
Do Something you Love (Outside of Teaching)
Think about what you loved to do before you started teaching. What did you look forward to doing on the weekends before they were spent writing lesson plans? How did you unwind at the end of a long day of classes?
Start doing whatever it was that re-energized you and made you feel happy. Do something that takes your mind off of your work and onto something that will “fill your bucket.”
Are you someone who enjoys being outside? Take a walk every night or find time to explore your area parks. If you enjoy reading, spend 30 minutes before bed to crack-open that new novel that’s been collecting dust on your nightstand for the past month. Love to travel? Plan a weekend getaway with your closest girlfriends or a trip to the beach during spring break. Having something to look forward to will help get you through those long months without a break.
If you love to write, perhaps you’re interested in starting a blog of your own. I started a lifestyle blog as way to take my mind off of teaching and focus on something entirely different. Click hereto find out if blogging is right for you.
Create a Support Group
Sometimes all you need is to talk it out and be heard. Create a support group and invite others to join you for an hour after school to discuss teaching strategies, current behavioral concerns or to just share your day with other like-minded professionals.
If creating a formal support group is not practical, find other members of your teaching staff who you can go to for advice and plan a time to meet. During my first few years of teaching, the team of teachers I worked with set a monthly date to go out to dinner. We talked about school related issues but more importantly, we talked about life. It helped tremendously to get through some challenging situations.
For four years, I was a Peer Assistance and Review Consulting Teacher for my district. In this role, I evaluated and mentored new teachers and supported their growth in many different ways. Throughout my four years in this role, I found that teachers just needed to talk and be heard. Often they would come up with their own solutions just by talking out the different issues and concerns they had.
As a teacher perfecting your role every single day, you need to talk. A lot. Talk to other professionals who can give you an unbiased opinion, talk to your team members, talk to your administrator. Always take into consideration the confidentiality of a student before sharing with others. Talk about the specifics of the situation, not the child.
Learn to Ask for Help
I am better at this after 25 years in teaching than I was in my first five. I wanted others to think I knew everything I needed to know to be a successful teacher. Funny how age and experience can make me feel as if I know less now than I did 25 years ago.
Ask for help when you need it. Experienced teachers love to support new teachers in any way they can. From behavioral strategies to writing IEP’s, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn. Asking for help eliminates stress and helps to build relationships with your colleagues.
If you work in a classroom with a paraprofessional, ask them to provide assistance in an area you would like additional support with. It may be taking data or taking students to the restroom. As a new teacher, I struggled with delegating tasks but I soon realized how trying to do it all was exhausting and not helpful to anyone.
Keep a Journal
I love to write. I find the process of putting my thoughts in writing cathartic, particularly after a difficult day. It helps to put things in perspective when you can return to your writing and reread after some time has passed.
Journaling is also beneficial after being in front of your students all day and you don’t want to talk to anyone about anything because you are just too exhausted. If you’re an introvert like me, the last thing you want to do when you get home is talk about your day. Writing can be the outlet you need.
Erin Condren has a selection of beautiful and original journals you may enjoy. You will find an assortment of styles and options to choose from. In addition, you will also find a variety of Teacher Favorites guaranteed to inspire you.
Commit to your Health
This may be obvious, but it is more often than not overlooked. Committing to your health simply means taking time to eat healthy, exercise, and getting the right amount of sleep. It seems to be the one area that is ignored because it can easily be taken off the “to do” list. There always seems to be more important things to do which is crazy because is there anything more important than your health?
Take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Simple. When you feel good, you’ll be able to handle the stress of the job with more success than when you feel tired and unhealthy.
Understand your Personality
What makes you YOU? Do you enjoy being surrounded by activity and other people making small talk or would you rather have a deep conversation with one or two people? Do you like planning parties and other social gatherings or would you be more comfortable leading a book club discussion?
Understanding your personality will guide how you work with others, solve problems, and handle the day-to-day happenings at school.
Surround yourself with Positive People
Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who will lift you up emotionally. Avoid toxic individuals who like to remind everyone around them of everything negative happening in the school. Staff members can empower each other through positive affirmations and help support one another through difficult situations.
Find your tribe of people and hold onto them with all your might. As a new teacher it may be difficult at first, but you will soon discover who you’d like to go to for advice. It may be your grade-level team members, it may be another new teacher in the building, it may be a veteran teacher who embodies the same teaching ideals as you.
Reserve your emotional energy for the classroom by avoiding the negativity that can drain you.
You are Important
To avoid getting burned out, try and implement some of these suggested strategies. This list is to help you feel better, not stress you out more. It is not to be “one more thing” on your never-ending list of things to do, Simply try one (or more if you can) to see if it helps.
Avoid being a statistic by taking care of yourself. Teachers need to give themselves permission to take time out from their professional life to enjoy their own.
You change the world, you give hope, you make lives infinitely better. There’s nothing easy about that. Before you start planning that next lesson, plan how you’re going to take care of you.
Plan to…
- Do something you love
- Create a support group
- Learn to ask for help
- Keep a Journal
- Commit to your health
- Understand your personality
- Surround yourself with positive people
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you find this post helpful. Please share your strategies for taking care of yourself in the comments below. I’d love to hear (and learn) from you!
