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.
