Countdown to the Next Teacher Break!
Most teachers have recently enjoyed being home for the majority of the Thanksgiving week. They spent time with their family, friends, and loved ones, and were able to relax, and recuperate from a school year that has been like none other. As we returned back to work on Monday, many of us had the same thought in our minds, “When is the next break”. Throughout the school building you could hear teachers greeting fellow coworkers whom most of us have not seen in about a week with the phrase “Three more weeks to go!” We all know that meant three more weeks before the next break. We were trying to encourage each other to help us make it through the day.
As much as I understand the intentions and the desire to cheer each other up, I believe that there is a deeper problem festering. I believe this is the cry of teachers working in an environment where they are continually burnout. When you get away from work for a few days and can’t wait until the next time you are able to get away from work again, there is a deeper problem. For some, they do not like their jobs. This is understandable. No one wants to be somewhere they do not want to be, but we all understand that work pays the bills and puts food on the table. It is an honor to work and provide for our family. We are not always going to like our jobs, but we understand the necessity of having one. Teachers should not feel guilty if they have a little dislike for the job at times. It is more common than we think.
According to a Forbes poll, 70% of people hate their jobs. Other polls report up to 85% of employees feel this way. From the role of the President of the United States down to the most lowly job you could imagine, I believe that there are parts of every job that are undesirable. We must remember that everyday is not going to be sunshine and roses, but there will always be some light.
Going back to work this past Monday was probably tough for many teachers. I spoke to a fellow teacher who shared with me that she knew teachers who were experiencing anxiety just thinking about it. If I had insight into how this past Monday was going to turn out for me, I probably would have experienced anxiety over returning as well.
At the school I teach at, on the Monday after Thanksgiving break, we had more teachers absent and needing coverage than previously. Teachers cringe when we see the absent staff list on the morning announcements knowing that we will be asked to fill in for absent teachers during our planning time. As we all may have experienced this school year, securing a substitute teacher has been harder than ever and some days impossible!
I along with many others were asked to cover classes during our planning time. Focusing on the fact that I was going to lose part of my planning time to go and monitor another teacher’s classroom could have ruined the rest of my day. I chose to focus on the light. There were so many teachers absent that I could pick the teacher’s class I was going to cover. There was the light.
Shortly into that school day, I was asked to cover another class instead of the one I originally “volunteered” to cover. With this newest disruption to my day, it was a little harder, but I managed to still find the light.
When that time was near, I slowly walked down the hall to this absent teacher’s classroom. The closer I got, the louder the noise became from that room. This can’t be where I’m going, I said to myself in disbelief. Just then, a teacher came out of that noisy classroom. She looked left then right and saw me down the clear hallway. She did not hesitate and peered straight toward me. I slowed down my pace, but she did not. Once she came close to me she asked if I was covering that class and told me that she had to get back to her class all in the same breath. She did not miss a beat, she continued walking away from that area as quickly as she could. At that moment, I knew this was going to be a very long 45 minute period. The new bright side was that the 45 minute period had already begun.
Within the first 10 minutes of being in that classroom, I could no longer find the light. Within 15 minutes of being in that classroom, I was seriously contemplating quitting this job. I had to raise my voice so that the students could hear me introduce myself. It didn’t work. Neither did the school’s quiet sign. Students were yelling and screaming, and out of their seats. I rushed to the back of the classroom. Two students looked like they were about to fight, then I realized that they were playing. I then rushed to the furthest part of the classroom for another misinterpreted encounter with two other students. Things did not settle down and at that moment, I admit, I did hate my job.
By the time I left that classroom, I could not imagine staying one more minute. That experience was so draining and stressful that the next day… my name was on the teacher absentee list.
Teachers are experiencing these tough, chaotic, demanding, stressful, exhausting times everyday. They can make the best teachers dread the job. During these times, the light can be very hard to find.
For some teachers, they are experiencing burnout. They are stressed out, overworked, and overwhelmed. Many teachers are able to get the relief they need from a two or three day weekend. For others, two or three days is not enough. Experiencing burnout, stress or being overworked and overwhelmed for extended periods of time can have a very negative effect on your overall health and wellness.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which is an agency with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), burnout includes 3 parts:
Feelings of exhaustion
Negative or cynical attitudes toward work
A sense of not doing well or being effective in your work
After reading this criteria, Monday was not a day of burnout for me, but I have experienced these feelings many times in my career.
I do believe that there is a time factor that must be added to call it burnout. If it happens and a teacher is able to recuperate quietly, I would not consider that burnout. What I experienced on Monday was not burnout. I was not exhausted. The previous week, I had enjoyed 6 days at home resting. I did not, however, have any positive thoughts about my job during that Monday as I felt that I was not in control of my environment. I definitely was not effective in teaching the students anything at all during that time. My experience does prove that teachers must have support, our health and wellness must be a priority, and that we definitely need to pay substitute teachers more money!
When teachers do not get the support they need and their health and wellness are compromised, it can lead to burnout. Unfortunately, many teachers do experience habitual burnout, which can lead to reduced productivity, anxiety disorder, depression, and other serious health and work problems.
According to a guide created by Winona State University, there are 5 Stages of Burnout. These phases of burnout resonated with me. I will relate this to scenarios of a beginning teacher and how she may be experiencing each stage. Let’s call her Jill. The 5 Stages of Burnout are:
- Honeymoon Phase
- Onset of Stress
- Chronic Stress
- Burnout
- Habitual Burnout
Honeymoon Phase
During the honeymoon phase of burnout, Jill may be excited about the learning that is going to take place in her classroom. She is enthusiastic about the day ahead, her energy levels are high, and she has all of these wonderful ideas about how she is going to be the best teacher she can be. Jill will experience a little stress during this time. Remember, teaching is a very important job. We are entrusted with educating the leaders of tomorrow. The stress she is experiencing is not limiting, instead it propels her to be dedicated… sometimes overly dedicated.
Onset of Stress
During this phase of burnout, Jill may start to see her limitations. She recognizes that days are not going as she would plan and that Harry Wong did not prepare her for this. She may not feel supported or feel that she has all of the resources that she needs to be successful. Jill’s energy starts to decrease and it gets harder for her to recharge. To compensate, Jill will probably take more time away from her self-care and her family. She just needs a little extra time to “catch-up”. Jill believes that she is still making a difference and things will get better if she works harder and has a positive attitude. Unfortunately the stress that Jill may be feeling now may start to impact her physically, mentally, and emotionally. Some symptoms she may be experiencing may include:
Anxiety
Avoidance of decision making
Change in appetite or diet
Fatigue
Forgetfulness
General neglect of personal needs
Grinding your teeth at night
Headaches
Heart palpitations
High blood pressure
Inability to focus
Irritability
Job dissatisfaction
- Lack of sleep or reduced sleep quality
- Lack of social interaction
- Lower productivity
- Unusual heart rhythms
Chronic Stress
During this phase of burnout, Jill is experiencing more frequent levels of the above stress symptoms. When she wakes up in the morning she dreads going to work. Her joy for teaching has decreased, but she knows that she is making a difference in the lives of her students because that is what the motivational video that she saw at the beginning of the school year said. She missed getting her attendance completed on time again today. Lately, she has been forgetting this and other deadlines a lot. However, Jill desperately wants to help her students grow and she feels the pressure of the upcoming test. Jill has completely cut her time at the fitness center out of her schedule. She is bringing more work home each night and her caffeinated beverages have increased. Additional symptoms that Jill is experiencing may include:
- Anger or aggressive behavior
- Apathy
- Chronic exhaustion
- Cynical attitude
- Decreased sexual desire
- Denial of problems at work or at home
- Feeling threatened or panicked
- Feeling pressured or out of control
- Increased alcohol/drug consumption
- Increased caffeine consumption
- Lack of hobbies
- Missed work deadlines and/or targets
- Persistent tiredness in the mornings
- Physical illness
- Procrastination at work and at home
- Repeated lateness for work
- Resentfulness
- Social withdrawal from friends and/or family
- Uptake of escapist activities
Burnout
During this stage, Jill is not the same teacher she was in the beginning. I consider this the survival stage. Jill is just trying to make it to the weekend. Jill joins the other teachers in counting down to the end of the school year as a form of comfort. Jill doubts her effectiveness as a teacher and she tries to avoid dealing with certain problems she is having in her classroom. She no longer believes she can change them and questions the last time the authorities in education have been in a classroom. When she goes home, she just wants to sleep or sit around doing nothing. Jill does not have the energy to go out with friends and she does not find social outings as fun as they once were. It is hard for her to have fun when she still has to deal with the math situation later. She vents to her husband at night and now he no longer wants to hear how her day has been. Jill’s overall health and wellness is deteriorating, but they have been the least of her problems. Symptoms that Jill is experiencing may include:
- Behavioral changes
- Chronic headaches
- Chronic stomach or bowel problems
- Complete neglect of personal needs
- Continuation or increase in escapist activities
- Desire to “drop out” of society
- Desire to move away from work or friends/family
- Development of an escapist mentality
- Feeling empty inside
- Obsession over problems at work or in life
- Pessimistic outlook on work and life
- Physical symptoms intensify and/or increase
- Self-doubt
- Social isolation
During this phase of burnout, it is advised to seek support.
Habitual Burnout
During this phase of burnout, the symptoms of burnout are a part of your regular day. Jill is always mentally and physically tired. She feels that she just needs a little extended time to recuperate, but a 3 or 4 day weekend is never enough to mentally, physically, nor emotionally energize her. Jill may feel that things are better because they are manageable.
If Jill has not done anything to improve her health and wellness, I am sorry to say that things are not better for Jill.
She has adapted to habitual burnout.
Jill is learning which challenges to tackle and which ones to ignore to prevent herself from having a nervous breakdown.
Jill’s students may be loud in the classroom and she may not correct them every time. Jill has learned to deal with the noise as long as everyone is safe.
Jill’s students may be as quiet as a mouse when another teacher walks by. Jill has given up on intrinsically motivating her students. She buys them Takis and in exchange for working quietly (or just being quiet while they are on their phones), they get Takis at the end of the week.
25% of Jill’s students passed the last assessment she administered. Jill may not be worried. She got the grades in her gradebook on time, that is something to celebrate. She needs a glimmer of hope.
Administration gives all of the teachers another program to learn. It will help improve test scores! Jill goes through the motions and implements the program. She does not know if the students learned anything or if it was effective. Jill focused on getting it done and she did. She is comforted in knowing that she was the first teacher to complete the program and she was able to check it off of her list. We always feel better when we can check something off of our list.
Jill’s students have the best penmanship in the school! Administration raves about their penmanship. She even received the teacher of the month award for her student’s penmanship. Everyday, Jill’s students will work on their penmanship. They may not get to the other skills that are much more important, but they will work on their penmanship. Jill has found something she is successful at. It gives her just enough hope to believe that she is making a difference. All teachers want to experience hope in something. No matter what it is, we will continue that practice at all costs.
Common symptoms at this stage may include:
- Burnout syndrome
- Chronic mental fatigue
- Chronic physical fatigue
- Chronic sadness
- Depression
Jill is surviving in an environment where she is experiencing habitual burnout.
Do you know Jill?
I was Jill at phase 5 recently in my career. There were aspects of my job that I thrived in. I made those things a part of my daily routines. There were aspects of my job that I was awful at executing. I tried to avoid those areas. The areas I thrived in were valuable to the schools so those are the things I was known for. That made it easier to hide the burnout I was experiencing. On the outside it looked as if I had it all together because I experienced some success in the classroom, but on the inside, I prayed for Fridays, snow days, and 3 day weekends.
I smiled when I interacted with my coworkers. We are professionals, that is what we do. As educators, we must focus on the needs of our students. Remember students first, students first, students first!
My health and wellness got worse before it got better and I know there are many Jill’s at phases 3, 4, and 5. It is very common for teachers not to recognize that they are experiencing burnout. We focus so much of our time and attention on others that we do not take the time to pay attention to our physical, mental, and emotional health.
Right now, I am asking you to do this.
For the rest of this week and next week, take some time every day to pay attention to your body. Pay attention to your body when you wake up in the morning. How does it feel mentally, physically, and emotionally? How do you feel during the most stressful part of your day? How do you feel at the end of your day and how do you feel when your evening is ending?
All teachers feel some level of tension, pressure, overwhelmingness, and energy loss. Do you feel these symptoms during certain events during your day? That is good information to know. Please record this information so we can focus on these events. Do you feel these stress symptoms consistently throughout the day? If your answer is yes, please visit our TCN911 page for support, continue watching our live shows on Facebook, and get involved. If you believe that you need more support than we can provide, do not hesitate to contact SAMHSA’s 24/7 free and confidential helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Burnout should not be a way of life for teachers. This blog was created to help you identify if you could be experiencing burnout. If you are not, we want you to continue that path and even decrease the stress and pressures you may feel. We can do this by continuing to watch our show for more strategies and tips. If you are experiencing teacher burnout, you are not alone and there is help out here for you, but you must be willing to implement it. We will help in the implementation with our follow-up blog.
Remember, when teachers are at their best mentally and physically our health and wellness, families, students, and society all benefit!
