Burned-In Teacher's First Guest Post: This BiT Wants You to Ride Out the Storm

Scuba, Flowers, and a Reception Hall

written by: Joantha Smith – 5th grade teacher – July 17, 2017

It was mid-year of the 2000-2001 school year when three of us sat around the teacher’s lounge lunch table considering pursuing second careers – all three of us. We had only been teaching for about 5 or 6 years and we had already hit a formidable wall. Teaching wasn’t supposed to be this difficult – admin expecting more from us to the point we wanted out - and FAST! Our conversation revealed secret passions containing a common thread which we discussed at length that day at the lunch table.
One of us talked about beginning a business being a scuba diving guide for newlyweds in exotic honeymoon locations. Being a certified scuba instructor/diver was his passion and hobby (still is). He was working long hours at school away from his wife and kids doing unfulfilling work. He wasn’t going to stay in education if this was going to be the day-to-day grind.
The other colleague shared wanting to manage a reception hall. How hard was that? It wouldn’t be long hours away from home almost every night. She wouldn’t have to submit lesson plans by 8am every Monday morning. And would certainly take her out of the daily grind we called teaching. Helping people celebrate life’s special moments sounded better than teaching – heck, anything sounded better than teaching. Finally, the fascination I have for flower arrangements prompted me to share that I would love to pursue being a florist at a local flower shop. There’s just something about a nicely balanced, fragrant, embellished bouquet of flowers. Flowers bring smiles, and that’s exactly what I wanted to feel – like smiling.

Do you see the theme here? The common thread? We weren’t smiling. We weren’t content. We weren’t present. What we DID have was the makings of a reception venue where folks could order flowers and plan their honeymoon all in one place! Making people happy and doing what we loved together – because we certainly weren’t in love with what we were doing. Grand plans were created around the table that day. We were geeking out about being happy. Does this sound familiar?

Situations changed. People changed. Administrators changed. We changed. The storm had passed.

When someone says, “When one door closes – another one opens.” Believe it, but sometimes you have to wait for it. A year or two later, a science position opened up for my friend to teach at another school. He was thrilled to be closer to home and would even have his daughter in class. Another elementary position opened for the other colleague that needed a change of principal and scenery – I miss her every day. And me? I stayed put.

I love my school and my school family. I always have. Families have their ups and downs like the stock market, and folks tell you to ride it out and that’s what I did. I relied on my coworkers, students, our new principal, and my personal family to renew my confidence that I had chosen the right path. I WAS supposed to be a teacher. And I was the captain of this ship. I was finally given an opportunity to be me.

If or when your thoughts begin to stray, and you begin visualizing an alternate career, take a personal inventory. Are you confident enough to wait out the storm? Or should you change your course? Don’t wallow in self-pity. YOU are the only one to decide your path and find true happiness.

Want to write a guest blog post and tell your story? Email it to me at burnedinteacher@gmail.com

Want to tell your story, but want to remain anonymous? Email me and we will set up an interview. 

Burn on! 

Stop the Shame: Admit You are Burned Out and Take Action

Stop the Shame: 

Admit You Are Burned Out and Do Something About It 

We've all felt it. Some of us may feel burned-out now and are afraid to take the steps necessary to get us out of that slump! This is a post from last May and I'm bringing it back for all of you who are rethinking your career as an educator. Here are the steps I found helpful as I pulled myself out of burnout... more than once.  

Step 1: Admit That You Are Burned Out

When I was feeling burned-out and hating life, I felt 100% alone and isolated. I didn't feel that it was acceptable to feel the feelings that I had. After months of tears and not talking to anyone but my husband about this, because I was ashamed,  he was exhausted and told me to quit. I knew that I was an awesome teacher. Students, other teachers, and parents told me all the time how great I was. They showered me with compliments, and although it used to fuel my fire, I had found myself numb to it. 

It wasn't until I started doing some searching online that I realized, not only were other teachers feeling the same way, there was actual research being done about it. Up until the last few weeks, I had skimmed some of the articles and then closed out thinking, "Okay, I'm not alone, but these people are full of sh@#! How am I seriously going to feel better about my career choice?"

Recently, I have been doing some deep research about being burned-out online and it is helping me so much! I am becoming sharply focused on my attitude and behaviors as a burned-in teacher. After reading a lot of articles (you will find the links below), here are the biggest take-aways that I have for you to reflect on about YOURSELF as an educator:

Potential Causes of Teacher Burn-Out:

1. Your students don't seem to care.

2. You feel you are disciplining more than teaching.

3. The pressure to perform is high and your workload is even higher.

4. You are experiencing constant changes in expectations and standards.

5. You feel you are being over-evaluated.

6. You are constantly dealing with colleagues who are less then fun to work with.

7. You have low self-esteem.

8. You are working for administrators who are terrible managers.

9. You are confused about your role as a teacher.

10. Your working conditions are bad.

Signs You are Burned-Out:

1. You take a lot of days off of work

2. You don't share or seek great ideas.

3. When you do converse, you are complaining.

4. You have lost that "spark".

5. You are exhausted.

6. You rarely smile or laugh (especially at school).

7. You are anxious.

8. You feel overwhelmed.

9. You seek collaboration and can't find anyone willing to work with you.

10. You isolate yourself.

11. You feel that everything is an emergency.

12. You feel numb to feeling any emotions for students or other teachers.

13. You take forever to get out of bed to go to work.

14. You despise staying after school to do work in the classroom.

15. You feel severe annoyance about every little thing.

16. You use planning time to search for jobs outside of education.

Step 2: Take Action

Possible Solutions:

1. Be more playful.

2. Be present in your teaching.

3. Decide what you want to be and who you want to be.

4. Be an actor. (Fake it!)

5. Embrace the uncertainty.

6. Find balance.

7. Search yourself. What do YOU love to do?

8. Grow relationships in and out of school.

9. Show gratitude.

10. Heal. Know these feelings will pass if you want them to and you will come out stronger.

Find Inspiration:
1. Google 'Teacher Burn-Out'. Read about burnout and solutions.
2. Find TED-ed Talks.
3. Find a hashtag on twitter that inspires you or find great people to follow. (Follow me on Twitter @burnedinteacher)
4. Find funny teacher memes.
5. Find a group of teachers online to share triumphs with.
6. Decide what is important to you and what is not.
7.Plan activities in your off time that have nothing to do with teaching.

Resources:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teacher-burnout-four-warning-signs-nicholas-provenzano 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reboot-resources-for-teacher-inspiration-monica-burns

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/rediscovering-your-fulfillment-as-teacher-allen-mendler

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/05/20/ctq-pillars-signs-of-solutions-for-burnout.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/12/teacher-the-day-i-knew-for-sure-i-was-burned-out/

http://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/Resources/Educ/CAMHPS/Coping%20with%20teacher%20burnout.pdf

http://www.nafme.org/teacher-burnout-is-real-signs-and-how-to-avoid-it/

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-tips-avoiding-teacher-burnout-mary-beth-hertz

I hope that recognizing the signs is helpful to you and your journey to become burned-in again. Now, take the next step and TAKE ACTION! For me, taking action is simply enjoying my summer vacation with no thoughts about school for weeks on end. I love my school and my kids, but I am done for now.

FYI: There are MANY more articles out there on the topic of 'Teacher Burn-Out'. I strongly encourage you to read all you can about it. I am finding new articles every day. They are extremely confirming and refreshing to read. Plus, you may find out (after reading about someone else's teaching life) that you don't have it nearly as bad as you think you do. 

Email me signs that you know you are burned-out. Tell me about your situation. Share your shame so you can become sharply focused on fixing this. You can become burned-in again!
You can also tweet out what you are doing to stay burned-in with #burnedinteacher.

Burn on!

My... How the Time Flies... When You Are Trying to Keep Your Head Above Water

 

Boom. I reached some goals, but it's not good enough. I'm still not happy. WT...???

Hey, Burnies! Thought I gave up did you? Figured I threw in the towel on the whole blogging thing? NOPE! In the past few months, I have been:

a. Moving into our new home.

b. Focusing on my family and getting settled into our AWESOME neighborhood.

c. Starting a new school year with 30 first graders.

d. Working on my career goals of becoming a Google Certified Educator Levels 1 & 2 by Christmas.

  Level 1? Check!

  Level 2? Taking the exam this week! 

  Google Trainer??? Yep! That's happening.

e. Trying new things as a Seesaw Ambassador so that I know what the hell I'm talking about when I present/facilitate about this game-changing app. 

....basically trying to keep my head above water like the rest of you. 

The list could go on, really... but that's not why you are reading...

With all that I have done, all I have learned, all that I still desire... I am lacking fulfillment. I love my students. We are trying new stuff together, failing all over the place, and loving every minute. However, I have a BURNING (no pun intended) desire to help educators love educating kids like I do. A NEED to assist teachers to weed through all that there is to do with technology and pick something to try. A mind-blowing excitement to help teachers narrow their focus to help them to realize how empowering technology can be for them and how simple changes can make a big impact on their lives.

But I need your help, readers. 

I need you to tell me what you are overwhelmed by. I don't want to do this for me, therefore, I don't want to assume that I know you. I don't want to be another 'sage on the stage' who gets up there and talks to hear myself talk. I don't want to tell teachers more vague lists of things they 'should' be doing such as, "give kids real-life experiences" and "make the classroom theirs," etc. YAWN. WE have heard all of those things with no simple "How-to's" attached. 

I want to be  someone who is giving teachers real, simple tools and tricks that can help them to leave the classroom at a decent time AND I MEAN LEAVE, not take it all home and work on it until 11:00 pm on their couch with a half bottle of wine every night. I want to be the coach who helps you navigate through the endless possibilities that you have as a leader of youngsters to help them (and you for that matter) be more productive and less passive. 

YOU have got to tell me what you want, need, desire to help you to be more fulfilled as a fellow educator and human. 

This is me putting myself out there, letting you know that I am ready and willing to listen to anything you have to say about how you are not being supported or how you are being 'supported' but by 'support' you mean more and more and more is being asked of you with no way of knowing how to actually put it into practice. 

Let's do this. Burn on!

The Way Some Burned-In Teachers Think About Summer Is Broken

Go Ahead, Work All Summer... I'll Be Over Here, Enjoying Life.

Today's question comes from Melanie, a fourth grade teacher from Idaho. She writes: 

"I've been teaching for 11 years and I am so burned out by all of the changes that seem to happen in my corporation each year. One year, they change our curriculum maps all around, the next year maybe I get moved a grade level, one year we went 1-to-1 with technology. I know that during summer break I should be relaxing and recharging, but there seems to be something that comes up to rock my world each year. I spend each summer working in my classroom getting ready for the 'next big thing' that is coming. Am I wrong? Should I not go into school?"

Since, I am on summer break, I am going to make this short and sweet, Melanie. Yes, you are wrong and no, you should not be in that building. Don't even go near it. 

Now, before some of you start chasing me with pitchforks and torches while telling me I am the worst teacher in the world, let me explain my answers a little bit. 

1. What I mean by 'wrong' is 'misinformed'.

Listen, we will all naturally think about school over the summer. I mean, it's our JOB to plan ahead and for the most part, we know what we will be getting ourselves into in the fall. However, if you are like me at all, you know that sometimes there is a difference between 'this is happening in August' and what REALLY happens in August. Things don't always go as planned and I would be in a hole in the ground had I spent all summer preparing for things at my old corporation that I was told 'were happening' and NEVER DID. 

If things are really coming down the pipe in August, your administration should be working on the details over the summer to help you succeed. Not you. Don't do their job for them. They are contracted more days than you for a reason. 

2. What I mean by 'you should not be in that building' is exactly what I said. Stay away. Far away. 

I want you to think of school in the summer as a family member or friend that you rarely see. Isn't it so much sweeter when you get to see your favorite cousin or long, lost roomy from college after an extended period of time? Trust me on this, you will be so much more excited to go back and kick butt if you wait at least 5 weeks. Do it. Walk away and don't look back for a month. Your students won't notice the difference and you can focus on YOU. As my principal always tell me, "BREATH." 

Burn on!

The First Step in Becoming Burned-In is Admitting That You Are Burned-Out: Turning Shame into Sharp Focus

Step 1: Admit That  You Are Burned Out

When I was feeling burned-out and hating life, I felt 100% alone and isolated. I didn't feel that it was acceptable to feel the feelings that I was feeling. I didn't talk to anyone about them, even my husband, because he was sick of hearing it. I knew that I was an awesome teacher. Students, other teachers, and parents told me all the time. They showered me with gifts and compliments, and although it used to fuel my fire, I then found myself numb to it. 

It wasn't until I started doing some Google searches that I realized that, not only were other teachers feeling the same way, there was actual research being done about it. Now, until the last few weeks, I had skimmed some of the articles and then closed out thinking, "Okay, I'm not alone, but these people are full of sh@#!"

Recently, I have been doing some deep research about being burned-out online and it is helping me so much! I am becoming sharply focused on my attitude and behaviors as a burned-in teacher. After reading eight articles (you will find the links below), here are the biggest take-aways that I have for you to reflect on about YOURSELF as an educator:

Potential Causes of Teacher Burn-Out:

1. Your students don't seem to care.

2. You feel you are disciplining more than teaching.

3. The pressure to perform is high and your workload is even higher.

4. You are experiencing constant changes in expectations and standards.

5. You feel you are being over-evaluated.

6. You are constantly dealing with colleagues who are less then fun to work with.

7. You have low self-esteem.

8. You are working for administrators who are terrible managers.

9. You are confused about your role as a teacher.

10. Your working conditions are bad.

Signs You are Burned-Out:

1. You take a lot of days off of work

2. You don't share or seek great ideas.

3. When you do converse, you are complaining.

4. You have lost that "spark".

5. You are exhausted.

6. You rarely smile or laugh (especially at school).

7. You are anxious.

8. You feel overwhelmed.

9. You seek collaboration and can't find anyone willing to work with you.

10. You isolate yourself.

11. You feel that everything is an emergency.

12. You feel numb to feeling any emotions for students or other teachers.

13. You take forever to get out of bed to go to work.

14. You despise staying after school to do work in the classroom.

15. You feel severe annoyance about every little thing.

16. You use planning time to search for jobs outside of education.

Step 2: Take Action

Possible Solutions:

1. Be more playful.

2. Be present in your teaching.

3. Decide what you want to be and who you want to be.

4. Be an actor. (Fake it!)

5. Embrace the uncertainty.

6. Find balance.

7. Search yourself. What do YOU love to do?

8. Grow relationships in and out of school.

9. Show gratitude.

10. Heal. Know these feelings will pass if you want them to and you will come out stronger.

Find Inspiration:
1. Google 'Teacher Burn-Out'. Read about burnout and solutions.
2. Find TED-ed Talks.
3. Find a hashtag on twitter that inspires you or find great people to follow. (follow me on Twitter @burnedinteacher)
4. Find funny teacher memes.
5. Find a group of teachers online to share triumphs with.
6. Decide what is important to you and what is not.
7.Plan activities in your off time that have nothing to do with teaching.

Resources:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teacher-burnout-four-warning-signs-nicholas-provenzano 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reboot-resources-for-teacher-inspiration-monica-burns

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/rediscovering-your-fulfillment-as-teacher-allen-mendler

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/05/20/ctq-pillars-signs-of-solutions-for-burnout.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/12/teacher-the-day-i-knew-for-sure-i-was-burned-out/

http://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/Resources/Educ/CAMHPS/Coping%20with%20teacher%20burnout.pdf

http://www.nafme.org/teacher-burnout-is-real-signs-and-how-to-avoid-it/

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-tips-avoiding-teacher-burnout-mary-beth-hertz

I hope that recognizing the signs is helpful to you and your journey to become burned-in again. Now, take the next step and TAKE ACTION! For me, taking action is simply enjoying my summer vacation with no thoughts about school for weeks on end. I love my school and my kids, but I am done for now.

FYI: There are MANY more articles out there on the topic of 'Teacher Burn-Out'. I strongly encourage you to read all you can about it. I am finding new articles every day. They are extremely confirming and refreshing to read. Plus, you may find out (after reading about someone else's teaching life) that you don't have it nearly as bad as you think you do. 

Email me signs that you know you are burned-out. Tell me about your situation. Share your shame so you can become sharply focused on fixing this. You can become burned-in again!

Burn on!
Amber

A Skill Every Burned-Out Teacher Should Have- And Why

I'm No Pinterest Board.

You will not walk into my room and be in awe of how beautiful it is. You will not marvel at my hand-drawn pictures and trendy purchased signs or charts and think to yourself, "Wow. I wish I was as creative as her." I'm no Pinterest Board full of crafty, DIY  beauty, and I don't strive to be. I am organized and practical. I don't believe in fluff, and I don't believe in spending hours of unpaid time and hundreds of dollars of my own money on buying fabric and paint to make a room look perfect. But I do believe in a healthy, safe, and creative environment for my kids. 

This post is in response to a question from Brian. He is a 4th year teacher in a middle school. Here is his question:

"So, you said that you have been teaching for one year at this new school, and you are getting rid of stuff? How much 'stuff' do you have? Is your room a total disaster?"

Aside from feeling a little self-conscious about your very poignant question delivery, you ask some very good questions. To answer your questions quickly, yes. I have acquired stuff this year. And, no, my room is anything BUT a disaster, however, it has been 'lived in' this year and needs some reorganization and rethinking. Here are some pictures from yesterday:

If you have been reading my posts from the very beginning, you know that this is my first year in my new corporation. Before this, I taught for 8 1/2 years at another corporation, quit to take a position in a non-profit that failed 6 months later. That is the VERY short of it, however, you should know that one reason I have so many things is because I did bring some stuff with me from my other school that I didn't know for sure I would use. After one full year of teaching 1st graders again, I now know what I don't need anymore.

When I was burned-out a few years ago (the first time), I found an outlet. I learned what I could do at school to give me a spring in my step again, if only for a short time... pitching and organizing. It is my natural love. I found this skill to be extremely fulfilling and I now look forward to it all the time.

The skill I am talking about in my title for WONDERful Wednesday this week is: FIND WHAT YOU ARE NATURALLY GOOD AT. FIND YOUR NATURAL PASSION. LATCH ONTO IT AND MAKE THAT YOUR FALL BACK WHEN YOU FEEL YOU ARE LOSING CONTROL.

If my students and I are having a particularly rough day, I stop everything and we clean our desks. They clean theirs and I clean mine. We go through EVERYTHING. I'm talking folders, supply boxes, and even our book boxes. When we are done, we have a fresh start and it is worth the time taken. I am instantly in a better mood.

Your passion may not be to put on a circus performance for your kids to teach them about fractions. (For some of you, it is. That's okay too.) If your passion is reading books to your kids, then make that they way that you teach. If you are naturally good at telling stories, then THAT, my friend, is where you have it.

No, my classroom does not turn heads for it's perfectly straight bulletin boards and apple theme, but my kids know where everything is and they are taught that being organized is one of the keys to success. Everything that is in my room serves a specific purpose. THAT is MY passion. It may not be yours, but that is what pulls me out of a rut. That is my skill that people notice.

Find YOUR skill. Can't find it? You had it at one time. You can find it again. Finding your skill will give you more purpose than just 'showing up' and 'getting through the day.' Finding your skill and sharing it with the world is what makes you then best teacher that YOU can be. Take action and take control by putting your skill into action in your classroom in some way.

Thanks so much for your question, Brian! I hope this helps you to understand that the need to declutter doesn't just apply to hoarders. It applies to all of us. My question back to you is: What is YOUR skill? What are you passionate about BESIDES teaching?

As always, check me out on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest @burnedinteacher! Send me your questions or comments by emailing me at support@burnedinteacher.com.

Comment below and tell me what skill you have that you are energized by and excited to do when school life is hanging you out to dry!

BURN ON!

My Favorite Part of 'The End of the School Year'

Start Planning for Next Year by Purging!

As I was researching End of the Year for Teachers, I came across this great article of questions, from mindsinbloom.com. It has really great questions to ask yourself as you close out the school year.

http://minds-in-bloom.com/2012/05/20-teacher-end-of-year-reflection.html

Here are my favorite questions from this article that I challenge you to ask yourself this week (My absolute faves are in red.):

1. What is something you tried in your classroom this year for the first time? How did it go?
2. What is something you found particularly frustrating this year?
3. What is something you would change about this year if you could?
4. What has caused you the most stress this year?
5. What were your biggest organizational challenges this year?
6. What was the biggest mistake you made this year? How can you avoid making the same mistake in the future?

I chose the two in red because these are the questions that I will continue to ponder and try my hardest to fix, first in my mind, and then take action on over the summer so I can set myself up for success in July and August. 

If you are doing your best to take last week's challenge and plan the next week this week, you could potentially be planning for the first week of school already by asking yourself these questions. I know I am! This week, I will be taking before and after pictures of my classroom as I do my FAVORITE organizational activity... PURGING!

Decluttering is a great way to find yourself. It will also help you to reevaluate your teaching. You may find some things that you used to use 10 years ago and see how far you have actually come in your teaching strategies. You may also find some old friends that you want to bring back out into your classroom setting! Don't be afraid to pitch things if you haven't used them this year. Just get rid of them. Clutter is not good for anyone. It bogs you down and makes you feel overwhelmed, and that just ads to your feelings of burning out.

I plan on getting rid of my desk, as it is just a center for clutter. I NEVER sit there and it's just wasting space. I also have a lot of things that I just jammed in my closets after moving into my classroom last year and haven't used this year. Those things will be meeting their maker this week as well.

What are you doing this week to set yourself up for success next year, already? I challenge you not to just "get through" the last couple of weeks of school. Start thinking of how you can TAKE ACTION to have a better school year next year. Who knows? You may actually look forward to starting a new year; refreshed, clutter-free, and ready to take action on the many other ideas that I have to share with you this summer to BURN YOU IN!

As always, you can email me to tell me or show me before and after pictures from YOUR classroom! Follow me on Twitter @burnedinteacher or LIKE Burned-In Teacher on Facebook by searching Burned in Teacher.

BURN ON!