Teaching is a hard job. Harder than any of us imagined it would be. And the pandemic has increased the problems and difficulties, and it looks like it will be a very slow return to "normal." In fact, according to recent surveys conducted by the National Education Association, "high percentages of teachers [are] thinking about leaving the profession."
I have been one of them.
Teacher burnout has always been around, but it seems to be especially high right now. The good news is that you can come back from burnout and feel excited about teaching again. Let's talk about 5 tips for preventing (or reversing) teacher burnout.
Five Tips for Preventing (Or Reversing) Teacher Burnout
1. Set Time Limits
Teachers are well-known for working 50 hours plus a week during the school year. We give and give of ourselves so much. And we tend to be perfectionists that won't let things go. I, too, struggle with this.
I remember several years ago spending countless hours retyping worksheets I had inherited from another teacher that I loved -- but they were crooked. Yes. Crooked. So I stole time from my family to work late retyping each and every worksheet that I planned to use.
Ridiculous.
Spending crazy amounts of time on school work MUST stop. If we are going to avoid burnout or much worse -- a mental breakdown we have to set time limits.
A great first step is to begin by being cognizant of the amounts of time you spend. Are you staying late every day? Do you spend copious amounts of time on the weekend planning or grading? Start logging when you arrive and when you leave school, and when you begin and finish working on school projects, grading, or lesson planning outside of school. You may be shocked at how much time you are spending.
Then the next step is to start looking for reasonable ways to chip away at the amount of outside time you are spending. Can you better manage your planning periods to get more done? Can you come in early a couple of mornings a week so your weekend can be free? Could you plan for the entire month in one sitting rather than doing it every Sunday night? Look for reasonable ways to begin chipping away at the blocks of time outside your contracted hours in which you are doing school work.
Use an alarm to remind you to pack up and leave or to put schoolwork away. Or decide that you won't work on weekends. Let's be honest, school work will never be complete. There will always be more you can do. This is why you must have the discipline to set a reasonable limit on your time and stick with it.
Begin today to make a plan for setting time limits on your work time. How can you work less but still be a successful teacher?
2. Count Your Blessings
It has been a tough few years in education. Very tough. It is so easy to get caught up in the stress and difficulty of the job. Teachers can become focused on the negativity and disrespect that is often thrown our way. Oh, wait! Is that just me? 😉
Seriously, though, when times are hard in the education system, in the country, or in the world, it can be overwhelming. Feeling overwhelmed for too long can lead to medical issues, depression, and a sense of despondency, among other things so teachers need to get ahead of it.
To step out of this (or to prevent it), count your blessings. Practice gratitude. Focus on the positive: the children's lives you are impacting, the blessings you have in your life, your abilities and strengths, the positive influences you have had in your life, etc. Laura C. Fields, in the article "How to Reduce Stress in Education with Positive Thinking," writes, "When you have an optimistic mindset, you'll be better equipped to handle the day to day stress you'd encounter in your education." And I would like to add that for teachers a positive outlook will equip you to better handle the stressors in your classroom and in your life.
Stephen Covey writes in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that "The way we see the problem is the problem." Our outlook is a significant contributor to our mental and emotional well-being. There are countless examples of a positive perspective and gratitude helping people to survive stressful situations and even trauma. It can help you too!
Begin today with a gratitude journal or list. Focus on your blessings and you'll see your mindset begin to shift.
3. Find a Teacher Bestie
Okay, okay, this one seems cheesy after all the deep stuff above, but this one really can be beneficial. Find a teacher best friend. The good news is that a teacher friend can be found in many places -- your colleague next door or down the hall, someone from an online teacher group or social media, a person at your table at the next education conference you attend, etc. You get the picture. He or she is out there. Find that person.
No one can relate to you and your job woes quite like another teacher. And venting to a teacher bestie can be good for the soul and may end up in uncontrollable laughter -- which is a good thing.
A teacher bestie doesn't have to take the place of your lifetime best friend or your family, but they can be there when you need some feedback or just need to share about the insane email you received that day. Every teacher needs at least one teacher friend.
Finding a teacher bestie can also keep you from droning on and on about your job to your family. Family members can be a good back-up but I have personally realized that it isn't always the healthiest way to let off steam about work. I've caused my mother and my husband to worry unnecessarily about me because as I vented I made things at school seem worse than they were. Not to mention the time one of my sons said, "Mom, I wish you'd find a new job, one that would make you happy." It simply broke my heart that he had not recognized that I love teaching, I love my kids. But he'd only heard my complaints about the pay, the disrespect, the extra responsibilities, and not the joys teaching brings, because I was using my family instead of my teacher best friend. Family members can be an okay back-up, but venting to a teacher bestie that truly understands the job can be valuable.
I hope you already have a teacher bestie, but if you don't please begin the search today. It really will help you.
4. Learn More
Do these keep sounding crazier as we go?
Hold up, be patient, because it will all make sense. Just hang on a minute.
A few years back I was absolutely burnt out. Each weekend when I'd think about going back to work my heart would skip a beat and my stomach would lurch. It was a bad case of burn out. Do you know what brought me out of that?
I took some classes.
No, seriously! I signed up with a local college and as I was learning new things I began implementing new things in my classroom. These classes and the knowledge I was gaining boosted my confidence and broke up the monotony. It cured my burn out and renewed my passion for teaching. It didn't happen overnight. In fact, it took me a while to realize it had brought me out.
It can help you too. Does that mean I think you should enroll in a masters program this semester? Mercy, no! (Not unless you want to and can afford it.) But I do think you should find a book or a conference or an online teacher course or something to help you expand your mind. Honestly, I don't think it even has to be education related. Just learn! In turn, you will see that your passion returns and whatever you are learning can make a difference in your classroom.
5. Practice Self-Care
This statement has been overused recently, but it truly encompasses an important concept for teachers, and one that is vital to overcome or prevent teacher burnout. Let's talk about what self-care should involve.
.png)
A. Physical Exercise
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all heard this before. But are you doing it? If not, begin today. Even a simple walk around the block (or farm, in my case) can relieve stress and provide body benefits.
Exercise supplies you with many benefits: helps control weight, helps manage blood sugar and insulin levels, improves sleep, and, of course, improves mental health and mood. Needless to say, exercise plays an important role in reversing or avoiding teacher burnout.
B. Eating Healthy
This is another no-brainer but an important reminder. Teaching is a high-energy profession. Each work day teachers make countless decisions, develop and perform lively lessons, and care for large groups of students. Teachers need to eat properly to keep their energy levels up.
Eating properly, like exercise, can help you control weight and improve sleep. Research even indicates that unhealthy eating, like an overindulgence in sugar and processed carbohydrates, can negatively affect mood and mental health. In fact, according to the Healthline.com article "The Connection Between Sugar and Depression," people who ate processed foods and meats were more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
Teachers needs to be at their best, so eating healthy is essential.
C. Getting a Good Night's Sleep
Research shows that there is a definite link between mood and sleep. In my own experience, I can reflect on situations I handled poorly in my past and see a correlation between my reactions and the quality and quantity of my sleep. Sleep is important for brain function, mood, and energy levels.
A huge part of self-care includes getting adequate amounts of sleep. It is recommended that adults get at least seven hours each night. Less than seven and sorry, but you are not going to be at your prime in the classroom or life in general. Obviously, if you want to avoid burnout you're going to have to be well rested.
So, what should you do if you know you aren't getting enough sleep? Begin by setting an earlier bed time. Turn off electronics an hour before you plan to get some Zs. Try some melatonin or CBD if you're still struggling. Look for ways to relax and meditate before bedtime.
You won't regret being refreshed, renewed, and well-rested.
D. Relaxing on the Weekend
Ah, yes. The weekend.
Some teachers are great at saving the weekend for "me-time" and some teachers...well, we're horrible at it. I remember a coworker/teacher friend apologizing prolifically to her elementary classroom because she had gone camping over the weekend and had not graded all of their Friday tests. For real! Of course, her students didn't seem to care at all either way. But she felt such guilt over it.
This is insanity.
The weekend is yours and if you want to stay/become a refreshed, passionate teacher one of the best things you can do is to save the weekend, not for planning and grading, but for you and your personal life.
If you have a huge project coming up or it's the end of the term and you simply must do schoolwork on the weekend, at least limit yourself to a few hours and definitely leave one entire day (I prefer Sunday) for nothing school related.
If you're stumped on what to do on the weekend, because you're in such a pattern of giving your time, here are a few things to consider: Sleep in. Visit a museum. Reconnect with a friend you haven't seen in a while. Go on a lunch date to a small cafe. Binge-watch Virgin River or Umbrella Academy or the hottest new show on Netflix. Read a book. Try a new recipe and invite the family over to see what they think of it. Get crafty. Go swimming at an aquatic center. Hike a trail or visit a park. Finally try out that restaurant everyone is talking about. Create a Weekend Bucket List and get on it immediately.
When you reclaim your weekend and set boundaries on your school work, you will return on Monday a better teacher. Try it a while. You'll see a difference. I promise.
E. Mental Well-Being
Here's the one a lot of us want to ignore.
As teachers, we want to be strong and handle things ourselves. This can be a good thing. We teachers are a pretty resilient and tough bunch, but sometimes we need to remember that saying we are not okay is okay.
Teachers must take care of their mental wellness as well as their physical and social wellness. So, what can you do to ensure you are caring for your mental health? First, don't be ashamed or secretive about it. Letting others know you aren't okay can actually help you and help them.
Second, seek help. Talking to a therapist on a regular basis can be the answer to your help and to your path to happiness. Find a professional therapist in your area or online. (Betterhelp is a great online therapy resource to check out too.)
Conclusion
Let's have a quick recap:
Set limits on your time, practice gratitude and positive thinking, find a teacher bestie, continue to learn new things, and, for goodness sakes, take good care of yourself.
We teachers are an amazing bunch. The situations we handle, prevent, and sail through each day in the classroom make us superheroes whether anyone recognizes that or not. So, take care of yourself so that you can continue saving the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment