Avoiding Teacher Burnout

Rather than doing traditional student teaching, I opted to do an internship. Instead of taking over someone else’s classroom for a few months, I was hired as a full time teacher, with my own classroom, and my own classes. Thankfully I had a mentor teacher next door to me who was incredibly helpful, because that first year was a doozy. I had six classes of ninth graders and one class of mixed seventh through ninth graders. I remember asking myself several times during that first year, “What have I gotten myself into?! Am I even cut out for this?” I would often find myself overwhelmed with everything I needed to do. Between PLC meetings, IEP meetings, SEP conferences, student engagement, grading, lesson planning, and everything in between, I was quickly burning out. I had to learn how to balance it all so that I could continue doing my job effectively. Those things I learned in my first year of teaching carried me through many moments over the next eight years of my teaching career. 

One of the most helpful things for me to learn was to develop good relationships with your department and other coworkers. Utilize their experience. Having other adults to use as a sounding board, shoulder to cry on, or second mind to generate ideas is incredibly helpful. Find someone who is willing to give honest, constructive feedback— and then don’t be afraid to implement their suggestions! Be okay with asking for help, and with accepting help when it is offered. Creating a positive work relationship with those you work with is empowering and can help carry you through hard days.

Another thing I learned was that I needed to figure out how to balance things. I had to learn that I couldn’t do everything at once, and that I needed to prioritize my do to list. So instead of panicking that I wasn’t going to have my entire term planned out, I learned to be okay with planning out one unit at a time. Rather than trying to frantically try to get all seven classes’ essays graded within a few days of there due date, I allowed myself some extra time so that I could really focus on each paper and give meaningful feedback. Accepting that some things just might have to be set aside for a short time allowed me to really focus on what was most important. 

Flexibility is something that is absolutely crucial in teaching. Rarely do your days and your lessons go exactly how you have planned them to go. And that’s okay! Learning to be flexible can lessen stress. Some days you just have to let go of the lesson you had planned and really learn to feel out what your students need the most. That might mean eliminating an activity all together, altering an activity, or completely changing the lesson you had planned. I recall one day in particular when I had to completely abandon my plans for the day and restructure what we were going to do. One of my classes had learned it was my birthday. I can’t recall all the details of how it happened, but they had gone in on a birthday cake and decorations for me. So rather than sticking to the lesson I had planned, I allowed them to throw a birthday party for the first part of class. I can’t imagine how sad they would have felt if I had not been flexible that day and had shut their efforts down. It ended up being a special class period for all of us.

Something else that helped me avoid burn out was learning to leave work at work. Instead of bringing 150 essays home to grade at night, I trained myself to use my prep period and other planning time more effectively. This allowed me to really separate work and home life. That isn’t to say that I never brought work home, because some times, I simply had to. But for the most part, I left my work at work so that I could be 100% present at home. 

Lastly, one of the most important things I learned to help me avoid burn out was to laugh. Relax and have fun. Remember that your students can bring so much joy. When I would remember that my “why” was my students, I would feel so much better about my job. I thoroughly enjoyed laughing with my students and having fun with them. I can’t imagine a day without laughter in my classroom. Some days, it really is what saved me and kept me going. 

There is so much expected of teachers that burn out is a real concern. However, if teachers are proactive about it, and really put in the effort, the feelings of burn out subside, allowing teachers to feel more confident and in control. 

Do Kids Need Mental Health Breaks Too?

My second grader woke up today and decided school was just not in his plans for the day. No amount of reasoning, talking to/with, bribing, or explaining could convince him to go. Not even my husband, who can usually reason with him, could convince him to go. He’s our most social kid, who loves to learn, loves his teacher, and loves to be with his friends, so we knew something was going on. When I finally got him to talk to me about why he didn’t want to go, he admitted, “I just feel sad for some reason. I don’t know why. I just feel sad today.” And so here we are, having a mental health day, allowing him to process and feel his feelings.

I think that sometimes, as adults, we assume that kids don’t feel as deeply as we do. But the reality of it is, is that they do feel deeply, and some days, those feelings are just too big. Don’t we as adults have those kind of days? And aren’t we as adults allowed to take a sick day for a mental health break? So why shouldn’t kids be allowed the same?

Anyone, of any age, can benefit from a mental health day every now and then. Sometimes, our mind just needs a break to get back on track. I realize there are some days we have to just push through, and there are days our kids have to just push through. But if the circumstances allow, a mental health day can be extremely helpful. 

Some might argue that missing any amount of school will lead to a student falling behind. While it is true that there will be work to make up, one missed day here and there likely won’t be detrimental to the student’s overall success. Another point to consider with this argument is that students who are mentally overloaded are likely to tune things out or lose interest and therefore not perform at full capacity. 

Others may say that allowing students to miss school for mental health will teach kids that they don’t have to do hard things. I do agree that students need to learn how to do hard things, because life is just that way. Sometimes we simply have to do the things we don’t want to do. However, allowing a student to take a day off to tend to their mental health sends a message that taking care of our minds is just as crucial as taking care of our bodies. It helps kids see that mental health matters, because it does. 

Mental health is talked about more today than ever before. When we realize that it isn’t just adults who struggle with mental health problems, our eyes are opened and we become more sensitive to the rising generation and their mental health concerns. Because they matter. Their health— physical and mental— matters. It’s our job as adults to teach our kids and our students helpful techniques to handle challenges when they arise. Giving them effective tools to manage their feelings can greatly help them now and in the future.

Combating a Clock Moving in Reverse

Any parent of young children knows the struggle it sometimes is to keep them entertained and busy. While play really is the work of childhood, some days, kids need more than just play time. So what do you do when the clock seems to be going backwards, the kids just don’t want to play anymore, and you have just about spent every ounce of energy that you have? 

Three of my children are in full day school now, and my younger two are in preschool a few days a week, but there was a time not too long ago when I spent my days trying to think of ways to pass the time without screens. I had all five of my children within five and a half years, and in those early years, often found myself scouring the internet for ideas to keep them all busy. 

During that time, I learned a thing or two about what works, what doesn’t, and everything in between. Since sharing is caring, I’d like to share a few ideas that worked really well for my kids: ideas that promoted learning through experience, through sensory play, and through social interaction.

Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are my favorite way for children to learn through play. They are simple to create, easy to store, and last a long time. Our favorite sensory bin was made with beans as the base. I added some cups, spoons, little shovels, funnels, and small toys, and the stage was set for hours of fun. I learned early on that it worked best to put a large sheet under the bin to make for easy clean up. The bean bin would entertain my kids for hours on end, and would entertain all five of my kids at once. Their imaginations would soar, and they would have fun learning together. 

Keepy-Uppy with Paddles

Another favorite activity was making our own paddles with small paper plates and popsicle sticks or paint stirring sticks. The goal was to keep a balloon in the air, using only the paddles to keep it up. This activity promoted learning through movement and coordination. 

Matching Games

Matching is an excellent way for children to learn. It requires their brain to really look at things and find similarities and differences. It lets them notice the details of something. Versatility is another benefit of learning through matching. I’ve used matching games for color practice, learning letters and numbers, and much more. It is easy to add objects to matching games to make it go along with a theme or holiday. For instance, if the pieces are small enough, I will sometimes put the pieces to be matched inside an Easter egg. This also allows for practice of fine motor skills to open the egg, then matching skills to find the proper match. 

Water Activities

Kids love playing with water. While this can be a bit messier than other activities, it allows kids to experiment with the properties of water and volume. Throw some objects into a bin of water, and it suddenly becomes a game of sink of float, inviting kids to make hypotheses about each object. If it’s warm enough outside, a bin of soapy water, some old tooth brushes, and some rocks make for a fun “rock bath” activity. Freeze some small objects (animals, pom-poms, marbles, etc.) in ice cubes, give each child a cup of water and a medicine dropper and let them squirt water on the ice to rescue the object. It has been my experience that the common phrase, “just add water” works with kids too!

There are so many ways to learn and gather information. For kids who are kinesthetic learners (and even those who aren’t!), the activities listed above can help tremendously. So the next time you feel like time has stopped and you can’t make it to bed time, try one of these easy, low prep activities. Your kids (and your sanity) will thank you!

The Benefits of Boredom

If you grew up in the 80s and 90s like I did (or even in earlier decades), you know very well the reality of growing up mostly screen free. You know what it’s like to make your own fun. You remember times growing up when you were forced to come up with your own ideas, rather than relying on a little screen. Simply put, you know how to be bored– and how to be okay with it!

Today’s kids are becoming more and more intolerant of boredom. I can’t tell you the amount of times I hear my own children say, “I’m bored! Can I play a game on your phone?”, to which I always respond with, “Nope! It’s okay to be bored! Put your mind to work and think of something fun to do!” The majority of the time, they will complain about it and try to state their case again and again, but every now and then, if they will sit in their boredom long enough, it’s amazing what they can come up with! 

Classrooms are experiencing the same epidemic. Because of the mass amount of information they are being fed through screens and other devices on a daily basis, their brains just can’t seem to handle any amount of down time. It’s almost like a panic mode clicks on– they can’t even fathom not having anything to do or look at, and that seems to drive anxiety and stress. Students are afraid of quiet. They are afraid of letting their minds relax and think away from screens. 

Granted, boredom is a stark contrast to the go go go state that their developing brains are almost always in. Quiet, slow, imaginative thinking is becoming a foreign concept. Students are so used to information being fed to them at a rapid pace that they aren’t sure how to slow their brains down. It’s like rush hour traffic, when hundreds of drivers are trying to merge onto, navigate, and drive on the same road. It’s chaotic and sometimes messy. There is so much going on all at once that it’s hard to make any sense of it all. It’s easy to miss things that are happening. Compare that to a late evening freeway: the amount of traffic has decreased dramatically. Cars don’t have to fight for a spot on the highway. The chaos is minimized. The noise and messiness have almost disappeared. It becomes much easier to navigate the road and notice things that are happening.


Kids today can greatly benefit from being bored. Their minds will quiet down. They will learn to listen to their own minds and come up with their own ideas. Imaginations will soar. Anxiety will lessen. Boredom will become something that is okay, and hopefully at some point, something that is wanted because of the benefits that come from it. Boredom can be a powerful thing if we allow it to be.

Support Staff are the Backbone of the School

High School Students Wearing Uniform Being Served Food In Canteen

Schools are a working machine, with many parts. Each part is crucial to the overall functionality of the school. I don’t know of a single school that could run efficiently without its support staff. A school needs many hands to make things work. Those who work in the background generally don’t get the recognition and praise they deserve. But they do deserve to be acknowledged, because what they do is so important!

Custodians are vital to the overall physical appearance and functioning of the school building. They work so hard to make sure everything in the building is safe and in working order for employees and students. They respond to requests, big and small, to keep the school running as it should. 

Secretaries keep the logistics of the school running smoothly. They are often the first people to greet and talk to visitors as they enter the school. They keep things organized and keep track of so many things. 

Para Educators and other aides are incredibly helpful to classroom teachers. They are an extension of the teacher and allow teachers to accomplish so much more during the day. Aides help manage student behavior, help students with academic tasks, monitor playground and recess time, and encourage and uplift students. Para educators are essential for the support of special education classrooms. Oftentimes, they accompany students with special needs to mainstream classrooms. Sometimes they are assigned to work with one student individually. Whatever their assignment, they are vital to the school.

Where would we be without the dedicated cafeteria workers? They work tirelessly to provide nutritious meals for students. Their job is essential to the physical well being of the students. 

If you’ve ever worked in a school that has the privilege of having its own copy center and aide, you know just how valuable that resource is. Copy center aides help teachers by copying, assembling work packets or booklets, laminating, cutting papers, etc. Their work saves teachers so much time. While valuable at any grade level, upper grades would likely benefit most from the help of a copy aide due to the amount of students each teacher has in a secondary school.

Since the use of technology is so abundant in today’s classrooms, the role of IT techs is extremely important. Not all teachers are as computer savvy as they would like to be, so having access to someone who is can be very helpful. There are many times when I was incredibly thankful for the IT person at my school, but one instance stands out. It was time for end of the year testing, and I had just settled my class of 35 students into the computer lab, had them log in, only to have the network start glitching. I could troubleshoot most computer problems, but that was one I did not have the skill set to solve. Thankfully, the IT tech came to my rescue and we were up and going quickly. In today’s world of widespread technology use, the role of IT techs is priceless.

Last, but not least, let’s not forget speech therapists, behavioral therapists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, and school nurses. These workers do such important work in helping students make progress in specific areas. As a parent with three children currently receiving speech therapy services, I am indebted to their dedication and hard work. Their quiet, often behind the scenes work is immeasurable.

The next time you’re at your child’s school or at the school where you work, take a minute and express your gratitude to the support staff. I know they will appreciate the acknowledgement, and it will make their day to know the work they do is not ignored.

Connecting With Students

Female High School Tutor Sitting At Table With Pupils Teaching Maths Class

Teachers can have a powerful and lasting impact on their students. Think for a minute about a teacher you had that made a positive impact on you. What about that teacher makes them stand out? Maybe it was their personality, perhaps it was the thought provoking assignments they gave, or maybe it was that they noticed you and got to know you. The reasons can be numerous, and are often personal to each individual. 

When I think of my favorite teacher, I immediately think of a couple teachers I had. First, I think of Mrs. Shimmin, who was my second grade teacher. She made learning fun, was engaging, knew when to be silly, and made each student in her class feel loved and important. Another teacher I think of often is Mr. Downs, my AP English and Literature teacher my senior year of high school. His class was anything but easy; I remember many nights, working until the early morning hours to finish term projects, but he pushed his students and challenged them to do better. Through his class and instruction,  I learned a lot about what I was capable of. He knew us each individually and was kind. He was understanding when the demands of high school and life were too much. He loved all of his students, and we all knew it. The last teacher I think of is Dr. Smith, who taught several of my education courses in college. She made her classes fun and engaging, and made sure to get to know each of her students, which is often a rare thing in a college course. I’ve been graduated from college for 15+ years now, and I still keep in touch with her. She still encourages me to do my best and shares in my happy moments. 

As I look back on what I remember most about my favorite teachers, there seems to be a common theme: kindness and love. It didn’t matter the subject taught or the age or grade at which I was taught. What mattered most was how I felt while being taught by these individuals. These teachers encouraged me to be and do my best both in and out of the classroom. They truly cared about who I was as a person. I wasn’t just a number on their roster. 

Isn’t what what we all need? To feel loved and cared for, no matter where we are? Since we spend a good majority of our time in a classroom during our child and teen years (and often into our young adulthood), teachers who create positive impressions are so important. 

So how, then, does a teacher go about connecting with their students and working toward those kinds of positive impressions? 

One way is to create connections with each individual student. Get to know their names, what they are interested in, and what their family life is like. Know when their birthday is and acknowledge it when it comes. If they are in any kinds of sports, drama, music, or other programs at school, try to attend those events and support them. If you can’t make it to their school sponsored events, be sure to ask about how they went. Ask them about what they did over the weekend or holiday break. Remember when they have big (or small) things going on in their lives, and remember to ask about those things. Simply put, take some time to really get to know your students. It’s an investment worth making, and is an investment with a great return.  A little effort goes a long way!

Another way is to give meaningful feedback on their work. So often, students who are struggling are the ones who get the most attention when it comes to feedback on assignments. But in reality, every student loves to hear what they are doing well at, and would also greatly benefit from the teacher taking a little time to discuss what they can to do improve.

In addition, teachers can also find ways to incorporate their students’ interests into lessons and assignments. For instance, when asking my students to write a persuasive piece, I would always make sure to select topics that they would feel more passionate about. Seventh grade students won’t be very invested in writing about who to vote for in the upcoming gubernatorial election, but they certainly will be invested in writing about whether or not they should be allowed to bring their cell phones to class or who the best current musician is. Gearing lessons and activities toward student interests will engage them and will make an impression on their growing minds.

There are many ways for teachers to connect with their students, and often times, these will be personal to each teacher. But what matters most is that teachers are making an effort to connect, impact, and care for each student in their classroom. Because after all, don’t we all just need a little more love and care?

Reading: A Skill Worth Holding Onto

A seventh grade student, in annoyed exasperation, once asked me, “Why are we even reading books? I already know how to read, so why do I need to keep doing it?” The English teacher in me was ready with an answer, ready to defend reading, and ready to convince this student that they would, indeed, use reading skills for the rest of their lives.

So why is reading even worth doing? 

Reading is one of the most important skills a person can have. Some might argue that it is the most important skill, and that it is crucial for living in today’s world. I don’t think there is a day that passes where I don’t use reading in some form or another. Research has shown that reading improves writing skills, spoken communication, and imagination, among others.

Written language has been used and passed down through generations for thousands of years. Early civilizations found it to be an effective way to communicate ideas as well as to preserve histories and ideas. Although written languages have evolved over time, one thing remains: they are still used to communicate and preserve ideas. 

Learning to read is a lifelong skill. While not all adults who graduate high school or college will go on to read for pleasure and entertainment, I am positive they will still use reading skills in their daily lives. Take, for example, a person who finds themselves ill and in need of some kind of medication. Reading suddenly becomes a very important skill, as one must read the label and directions on the medicine bottle so that they can correctly take the medicine. Or perhaps someone wants to clean their kitchen, but doesn’t know what cleaners would be best. Again, reading becomes essential, as one must read labels to correctly identify which cleaning agent is best and how to use it. 

The instances in which we use reading are endless. We read when we are at the grocery store trying to choose what foods to buy. We read when we are driving and reading road signs. We must read when we are using an instruction book to assemble furniture, or when using a user manual to learn how to check the tire pressure in our car. I imagine we’d have some interesting tasting foods if the chef or baker wasn’t able to correctly read the recipe or labels of ingredients. Imagine the disasters that could ensue if medical professionals weren’t able to read chart details. There are a myriad of situations that could be greatly impacted by the inability to read. While not all people enjoy picking up a book and reading, one thing is certain: they will still use reading, and will find that it really is a skill they use daily. 

So to that seventh grade student, and to anyone else who isn’t sure that reading is even important, I assure you that it really is something that you will need to use daily, and that continuing to read will only improve your ability to read effectively and efficiently. Besides, reading can open up a whole world of possibilities, and that’s pretty exciting!