Teacher Burnout

I admit it: at the end of the last school year, I was as grouchy as a clown missing his over-sized shoes. The problem wasn’t just that I grumbled and made more than my fair share of sarcastic comments ; I consider that part of my everyday charm. The problem was that my attitude toward teaching became negative. Some days, I actually dreaded being at school. There was a time when I really loved teaching, and I want to find a way to get back to that place.

I write this with the understanding that I really shouldn’t be complaining. Teaching has a lot of perks—the time off, working with kids, and knowing your job is benefiting society. I know that in this time of economic distress, I should feel grateful to have a job. But, nonetheless, at the end of the last school year, summer couldn’t arrive soon enough.

If you do anything for a given amount of time, the patterns soon become evident. I have been teaching at the same grade level for five years now, and the years have started to blend together. The conversations with concerned (and not-so-concerned) parents have become very similar. The curriculum isn’t fresh to me anymore. All of these things added dreariness to my day in a profession where many people count on you to be their enthusiastic leader.

So this summer break (vacation—one of the keys to avoiding job burnout) I will make a plan to mix things up. I might start by reorganizing my classroom, getting some new posters, and maybe a nice, comfortable chair for my desk. I’m also going to revisit the curriculum pick out some choice projects and novels that I truly enjoy doing. Hopefully, this will be all that I need to get reinvigorated for the new school year, thirty-four short days from now. But who’s counting?