The Issue of Teacher Burnout

The Issue of Teacher Burnout

As a prospective teacher, it is important for me to be aware of one main issue that plagues many new (and experienced) teachers: burnout. Burnout is very complex, though, as its causes are vast and hard to avoid. This is why it is so important to understand these causes before jumping into teaching so a plan can be made to consciously avoid burnout. 

As aforementioned, there are myriad reasons why a teacher may experience burnout. One of the main reasons is general stress. The stress of maintaining a classroom, meeting standards of the school and state for student success, paying bills, writing lesson plans, and plenty more stress-inducing scenarios are abundant in a teacher's life. In the documentary Teach, four teachers are followed as they navigate the school year and the difficulties they face each day. One of the teachers, Shelby Harris, is a seventh-grade math teacher who tries new methods of teaching in order to get her students to learn in a more effective way. The root of Shelby's stress derives from the fact that many of the students in her district will be trapped in a hopeless cycle of dropping out of school and getting low-paying jobs. Shelby feels obligated to help her students avoid this cycle, and this causes her to stress about their success each and every day. 

So how can teachers avoid burnout if the causes derive from the foundations of being a teacher? The solution is going to be specific and personal to each teacher. Just like how some people prefer cardio and others prefer weight-lifting, different teachers will benefit more from some stress-reducing activities than others. According to the article, A Principal who Conquered Burnout, Highland High School principal Bill Zimmer was warned before taking his administrative position to do what he could to avoid burnout. This allowed him to devise a 9-point stress-reducing outline for himself that he would stick to every day. 

Zimmer begins his day by planning and reviewing his schedule, including speaking to his assistant principal about any meetings that day. His next course of action is to organize his immediate tasks and long-term tasks, then he silences his email notifications to "tame the email beast." He checks his email three times a day and avoids checking it outside of school because he realized that this kept him up at night worrying. He concludes the school day by reviewing the next day's work and goes home to begin his at-home routine. He tries to do cardio three times a week, meditates, reads, sleeps 7 hours a night, and plans to travel to give himself some more "me-time." I believe that teachers will have the most success in avoiding burnout if they devise a routine as Zimmer has and stick to it. It is imperative if teachers are going to get the most satisfaction out of their hard work.

Guggenheim, D. (2013). TEACH. United States: Little Room, Participant

Superville, D. R. (2018). A principal who conquered burnout. Education Week, 38(9), 11. Retrieved from https://login.molloy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2164608040?accountid=28076