Teacher burnout is REAL, and if you’re not careful, the symptoms are coming for YOU. The World Health Organization classifies burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” – a legitimate occupational hazard that organizations need to address. While not classified as a medical condition, it can easily lead to serious health problems, both mental and physical. Burnout …
Cope
Charlene Lynch picked up some strategies to help handle the daily onslaught of stress and nonsense in teaching. She also has some excellent advice for teachers looking to leave the profession.
I recently received a message from a bullied teacher that stuck with me. It said, “When we came back to the classroom after the pandemic, I was really struggling with suicidal ideation. I finally talked to my principal about it, and she warned me that they would post my teaching job as a vacancy before …
Welcome! I suspect that if you’ve arrived here looking for reasons to quit teaching, you already found a few of your own. Making the call on when it’s time to quit teaching is no easy feat. There’s a lot of fear that hangs over our heads about what we’ll do after quitting and to where …
A new teacher’s first day in the classroom can be incredibly overwhelming. So much can go wrong! What if the kids play up? What if they bully me out of the classroom?? What if I lose my cool and throw an eraser at their heads??? Stahp! Your first day of teaching a new class doesn’t …
I was done being a teacher. I had said that I was done with teaching as I cried hysterically in my car many times before, but this time felt different. This Was Different I’d had bad classes before, with kids who seemed to get a kick out of making the teacher cry. But I never …
Toxic Classroom Environment When people picture a toxic classroom environment, they are probably thinking of one that is hostile and negative as far as atmosphere and behavior. That kind of toxic classroom environment is caused by a number of factors, including bullying, discrimination, and a lack of respect. But the type of toxic classroom environment …
Either you’re a teacher who has decided that it’s time to change careers, or you’re just examining your options after a particularly hellish day in the classroom, I have lots of ideas for jobs for former teachers. I have ideas for a former teacher where you will use your teaching skills, like writing lesson plans, …
Do you need to know how to write a resignation letter for teaching? You’ve had it with being a teacher. You’re done. Maybe you’ll try another school or district, or perhaps you never want to be within fifty miles of a school again. Both are understandable. However, you’ll need to write an official letter of …
After I quit teaching, I had to send my husband to school to pick up my “belongings.” It’s shocking to see how much stuff I had in my classroom; it’s way more than I thought. But it’s 17 years’ worth of “stuff,” and most of these objects and papers hold an enormous amount of emotional …
Quick Realization I quickly realized, all those years ago when I first entered the profession, that teaching is much more than good subject knowledge and sound pedagogy. This was never more evident than the day an administrator came in to observe my 8th-grade English lesson. The worst point came when he said, “I assume they …
I know I complain about students a lot but yeah, there are some good kids. There are wonderful, sensitive, thoughtful, kind kids who give me back a bit of faith in humanity. Unfortunately, in my experience, these kids are way too hard on themselves. While teachers are doing everything they can think of to get …