Teacher Burnout

     With the close of this school year, I will be closing a chapter of my professional life.  I will hopefully be opening a new chapter at a different school in my district.  This past year has been a tough one...new administration, differing viewpoints on teaching style and strategies, new teachers, and new district incentives.  In these 180 days, I found myself struggling with my purpose and my career.  Here's where I had to be honest with myself...I was ready to quit.  I don't mean give up and take a break.  I mean I was ready to quit teaching all together.
     There is a stigma in the business world that all small businesses will fail within the first five years.  After this school year, I firmly believe it's the same for teacher burnout.  Coming out of college, I would have never thought that I would be sitting here blogging about teacher burnout.  I'm only FOUR YEARS IN!  Sadly, when I did some research, I'm not the only one.  The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future found that about half of all teachers leave the field after five years.            Education is the most rewarding and the most stressful job in the universe.  All of the student notes and hugs and kind words make being a teacher easier, but sadly those innocent youngins will never understand the stress and hard work that goes into every day in the classroom.
     One of the most important things in a school setting is the team.  Teachers and administrators have to trust and rely on each other.  This is a two-way street and I'll admit that I did not necessarily hold up my end this year.  Just like classroom teachers are "trained" to get-to-know our students, educators need to do the same (even if you worked with the same group in the previous year).  The relationships must be built.
     Fairly recently, a former administrator shared a link to an article about teacher burnout (12 Choices to Help You Step Back From Burnout).  It shares 12 conscientious choices we can all make effortlessly to come out from the burnout feeling.  This was perfect for my moment in time!  It was exactly what I needed to read!  I plan on referring back to it in coming years when the work gets tough.  I know it will be!  I've listed the choices below, but please click the link above for further details of each.

Choice #1: Choose to be happy.  Happiness is a choice.
Choice #2: Choose to disconnect.  Unplug once a week.  Be a human being, not a human doing.
Choice #3: Choose to be mindful.  Find a personal sense of peace.
Choice #4: Choose to make time for sleep.  Making $60,000 more in annual income has less of an effect on your daily happiness than getting one extra hour of sleep per night.
Choice #5: Choose to get outside and get moving.  Even five minutes of outside exercise can boost your mood.
Choice #6: Choose to be grateful.
Choice #7: Choose what to overlook.  The greatest remedy for anger is delay.
Choice #8: Choose what battles to fight.
Choice #9: Choose what to do next and what to stop doing.  Remember your mistakes, but keep your eyes facing front towards your current surroundings.
Choice #10: Choose to enjoy the relationships that matter.  Don't be so busy making a living that you forget to make time for living.
Choice #11: Choose to make a schedule and a priority list.
Choice #12: Choose to finish well.  No matter how you started the year, finish well.

 I have already started my new choices and plan to refocus and recharge over this summer.  I will be back at it in August!  Sometimes we just need to stop and regroup!