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Hi there!
This week in EDU 3650 we studied what it is really like to be a teacher by reading articles and watching a documentary in which main themes were teacher burnout.
Teacher burnout is a disheartening yet very common thing amongst educators across the board. It can occur for many reasons. The reason that stuck out to me the most is persistent stress. This stress can be caused by many reasons, but the reason I read about in this education week article (Sparks 2019) was trauma. This trauma is seldom experienced by the teacher themselves. Instead the trauma is experienced by the student and is relayed to the teacher. This is a heavy burden to carry at times. You want to care for your students and be there for them as an ally and a confidant yet there is a high risk of their stress becoming yours. Teacher burnout is very important to treat through prevention. If it isn't treated, it could result in negative outcomes for the student's academics and behavior both in and out of the classroom.
We also watched a documentary titled "Teach" directed by Davis Guggenheim. It featured four educators throughout their 2012-2013 school year. This movie featured: "Matt Johnson, a 4th grade teacher at McGlone Elementary, Denver; Shelby Harris, 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Kuna Middle, Kuna, Idaho; Joel Laguna, a 10th grade AP World History teacher at Garfield High, Los Angeles; and Lindsay Chinn, a 9th grade algebra teacher at MLK Early College, Denver". All of the educators in the Teach documentary we watched experienced some sort of burnout, however, their burnout was caused as a result of discouragement. These teachers in the documentary felt feelings of failure when realizing that their students are not getting the material and that their test grades were suffering.
The main word that needs to be remembered when experiencing burnout is perseverance. Things like low test scores and lack of engagement could easily discourage a teacher but it is important to remember that there are always more methods to try. No child is un-teachable. In terms of the burnout specifically, it is imperative that it is prevented rather than treated. There has to be a work- home balance that must be maintained. Whether that be setting limits on how long you will work for, or not bringing work home with you. For me as a student, I try to limit how much work I do in my bedroom. Despite having a desk and laptop, I try to keep my bedroom as a relaxation zone. As a future educator, I will try to keep that same practice to prevent feeling overloaded.
Sincerely,
Lenée
Future Stress-free Educator
Source: giphy.com
References:
Herman, K. C., Hickmon-Rosa, J. E., & Reinke, W. M. (2017). Empirically Derived Profiles of Teacher Stress, Burnout, Self-Efficacy, and Coping and Associated Student Outcomes. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 20(2), 90–100.
Sparks, S. D. (2019, September 18). How Caring for Students in Distress Can Take a Steep Toll. Education Weekly, 39(5), 12–13.
Teach. (2018).
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This week in EDU 3650 we studied what it is really like to be a teacher by reading articles and watching a documentary in which main themes were teacher burnout.
Teacher burnout is a disheartening yet very common thing amongst educators across the board. It can occur for many reasons. The reason that stuck out to me the most is persistent stress. This stress can be caused by many reasons, but the reason I read about in this education week article (Sparks 2019) was trauma. This trauma is seldom experienced by the teacher themselves. Instead the trauma is experienced by the student and is relayed to the teacher. This is a heavy burden to carry at times. You want to care for your students and be there for them as an ally and a confidant yet there is a high risk of their stress becoming yours. Teacher burnout is very important to treat through prevention. If it isn't treated, it could result in negative outcomes for the student's academics and behavior both in and out of the classroom.
We also watched a documentary titled "Teach" directed by Davis Guggenheim. It featured four educators throughout their 2012-2013 school year. This movie featured: "Matt Johnson, a 4th grade teacher at McGlone Elementary, Denver; Shelby Harris, 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Kuna Middle, Kuna, Idaho; Joel Laguna, a 10th grade AP World History teacher at Garfield High, Los Angeles; and Lindsay Chinn, a 9th grade algebra teacher at MLK Early College, Denver". All of the educators in the Teach documentary we watched experienced some sort of burnout, however, their burnout was caused as a result of discouragement. These teachers in the documentary felt feelings of failure when realizing that their students are not getting the material and that their test grades were suffering.
The main word that needs to be remembered when experiencing burnout is perseverance. Things like low test scores and lack of engagement could easily discourage a teacher but it is important to remember that there are always more methods to try. No child is un-teachable. In terms of the burnout specifically, it is imperative that it is prevented rather than treated. There has to be a work- home balance that must be maintained. Whether that be setting limits on how long you will work for, or not bringing work home with you. For me as a student, I try to limit how much work I do in my bedroom. Despite having a desk and laptop, I try to keep my bedroom as a relaxation zone. As a future educator, I will try to keep that same practice to prevent feeling overloaded.
Sincerely,
Lenée
Future Stress-free Educator
Source: giphy.com
References:
Herman, K. C., Hickmon-Rosa, J. E., & Reinke, W. M. (2017). Empirically Derived Profiles of Teacher Stress, Burnout, Self-Efficacy, and Coping and Associated Student Outcomes. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 20(2), 90–100.
Sparks, S. D. (2019, September 18). How Caring for Students in Distress Can Take a Steep Toll. Education Weekly, 39(5), 12–13.
Teach. (2018).
✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎✎
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