My name is Tracy and I am a burned out teacher. With more than 10 years of experience working shoulder to shoulder with kids, I am officially tired.
Just to be clear- the children are NOT the source of my exhaustion. Sure, there were days when it felt that way but after much ample time for reflection, I have arrived at some conclusions. The following is a list of ways to help avoid creating "me".
1) Give teachers time to reflect, re-group and plan with other teachers. Depending on the district, I realize this can be difficult but it must be a priority since teachers often feel isolated.
2) Create opportunities for veteran teachers to sharpen their skills in other areas like coaching and administration. Teachers need to grow and develop just like everyone else. My previous position allowed me to coach literacy and model tech strategies, as well as learn some administrative savvy like budgeting and curriculum development. Had it not been for this, I surely would've exited the profession years ago.
3) Honor their voice. With all the discourse around education reform, testing etc, someone needs to be listening to those of us on the front lines every single day.
4) Get your teachers out of the building. Whether it's in the form of staff retreats, workshops, and school visits, teachers need to sharpen their professional saws by getting out and learning from others like them.
5) Stop attempting to script and standardize everything that goes on in the classroom. What I enjoyed most about my former teaching job initially was that I felt I had the autonomy to make decisions about what I taught, how I taught, and when I taught. It gave me room to be creative and have fun while I did it. As this began to shift, my attitude towards my job did as well.
6) As much as Arne would like us all to believe it, teaching is NOT a business in the traditional sense. Only Focusing on the bottom line, statistics, and accountability works well in the corporate arena but children and teachers are NOT products. The sheer humanity of what teachers do everyday differentiates the profession from any other- take care of your teachers and they will take care of your students-period.
Hi Tracy. I love kids. I love sharing with and caring for them. But I can hear what you are saying here: Teachers have little to no voices left. Their work is scripted and measured, and sometimes it is forgotten that we deal with real human beings, fragile minds and our precious future. I hope you can find inspiration to keep investing in the kids, and if you can't, I hope you find another career path that brings you great joy and fulfillment. Kind regards, and all the best for the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind words and understanding. The decision was not an easy one but I truly believe my voice needs to be heard outside the classroom. I am still working in the field, however, my work now involves policy and research. I am and will forever be a teacher at heart.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy
ReplyDeleteI just came across your post via Ewan McIntosh on Twitter. Love the simple steps you've got here to prevent burn out! It's probably timely that we all stop and think about things that keep us going and those that DONT! Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome and thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDelete35 plus years and was still raring to go on, sudden changes in management style and deprofessionalisation and I'd welcome it if they showed me the door tomorrow. Amazing how mistreatment can switch things so radically so quickly.
ReplyDeleteHi. I am a burned out teacher. I have given 6 years to elementary school students and 5 years to middle/high school students. The profession is losing people like me at an alarming rate. I love kids, love the act of teaching. But the administration is so soft. They send the kids back in and question my classroom management practices. The parents often side with the kids when I call home--as if I had the time to fabricate behaviors in the classroom. I am a gentle, sensitive soul, trying to do the best job I can. The nightmares I have are persistent. In each one, I am trying to solve the events of the day. I want to quit with every fiber of my being. The satisfaction I feel is minute compared to the dissatisfaction. I also spend 2 - 3 hours a night correcting, and even more on the weekends. The class sizes are getting bigger, and the demands more. We are not getting a cost of living increase this year, so even that cannot be something to look forward to. It is very sad. I am 50 years old. If I quit, I will have no means of support and will lose my house and my health benefits. I have looked into other fields, but no one is hiring. I feel badly for the kids, and even worse for myself. I am seeing a psychotherapist just to express my thoughts. I am in such a quandary about what to do....
ReplyDeleteI don't think that your experience is an uncommon one. Unfortunately, it is rarer to find a teacher who can stay positive. It's all well and good saying, "Find another career path," but I think too many teachers are doing that. I worry about what kind of service would be left if every teacher who was thinking of walking, did.
ReplyDeleteEdudicator, I worry about that as well. I suppose the anarchist in me wishes that teachers would walk out, simply to send a powerful message-even if only temporarily. So many enter the profession with the passion & power to reach young people & quickly find themselves victims of an ongoing, damaging narrative that places teachers at the center of all that is wrong with our schools. Good luck to you.
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