Stoking The Fire!
It is okay to feel burned out at times. It is not okay to accept it. What we deal with on a daily basis in this world of education is sometimes unimaginable. And it can tear us down and make us wonder, “Why do I do this?”. This session will help identify some of the problems and how to find an “oasis or two in this desert of desolation”.
TREVOR MUIR
"On a national and even global scale, teaching has become increasingly difficult work. In the past year, teacher strikes happened across the country. You might be in the middle of a pay freeze right now. Legislation, removing funding from public schools and remaining stagnant in private schools, continues to increase. And then throw in school shootings and all of the debate and pain that comes with that subject. For a lot of educators, this year has delivered a beating."
I would say that I have two big frustrations......
1. I hate how some teachers are allowed to live by a different set of rules, while some are held under a microscope. We have people who come to school late, show us for meetings, late, stand in the hall for 10-20 minutes after the bell rings and it's always ok. Then we have other teachers who bless their heart no matter what they do, they can do nothing right. There's no accountability or consistency in accountability. How do I deal with this? One, I try to ignore it as much as I can. If it's not me, keep your mouth shut so you don't get a red flag put on your back.
2. I hate it when you have an administrator who is friends with staff and allows them to run the school and do whatever they want. There should be a separation between boss and colleague but sometimes there isn't. If you aren't friends with these people you become the black sheep. I've had this happen with two different principals. How do I deal with this? Literally I hide in my room and try not to get noticed! Weather the storm until its over! I would say in both cases Karma won in the end but it made it a very hard 9-10 years.
I relieve the stress by simply being outside. I love to work outside, hike, hunt, fish, kayak, ect. Nature is my calming force.
1. I hate how some teachers are allowed to live by a different set of rules, while some are held under a microscope. We have people who come to school late, show us for meetings, late, stand in the hall for 10-20 minutes after the bell rings and it's always ok. Then we have other teachers who bless their heart no matter what they do, they can do nothing right. There's no accountability or consistency in accountability. How do I deal with this? One, I try to ignore it as much as I can. If it's not me, keep your mouth shut so you don't get a red flag put on your back.
2. I hate it when you have an administrator who is friends with staff and allows them to run the school and do whatever they want. There should be a separation between boss and colleague but sometimes there isn't. If you aren't friends with these people you become the black sheep. I've had this happen with two different principals. How do I deal with this? Literally I hide in my room and try not to get noticed! Weather the storm until its over! I would say in both cases Karma won in the end but it made it a very hard 9-10 years.
I relieve the stress by simply being outside. I love to work outside, hike, hunt, fish, kayak, ect. Nature is my calming force.
Biggest frustration is the adults. The board, the government, and occasionally parents. Teachers are getting told what to do by people who have no idea what teach involves, who never when to school for teaching or stepped foot in a classroom. The government does not value teachers and public education which then in turn causes the general public to follow suit. Boards are made up of parents who are focused on what is best for their own kid and not the teachers or entire student population. They also do not know what is involved in teaching or how to teach. We do not tell our doctors or lawyers how to do their jobs. It is frustrating when politics make the rules for us and our hands get tied behind our backs and yet we are still asked to teach and get in trouble when we can't do our job to the best of our abilities because we do not have the full functioning capabilities because we are held back by red tape and testing and laws and rules that actually hurt teachers rather than help.
I get irritated about all the little processes. For example all of the boxes you need to check when doing PD paperwork, recertification, and filling out evaluation goals, data, etc.
The job itself is awesome and so rewarding but it’s a ton of work in itself. Coupling it with all the other little things just builds up.
I try to remember that the goal is the student and making sure that what I'm giving them is accurate and useful. If the little things get overlooked I try not to stress out about it (which can be difficult) because I can fall back on what is truly important about our work. I think about the community and try to make it better by making our future community members better. I also try to be outside and active as much as possible and find peace in the faces of my babies (a colleague once said "remember, every one of our students is someone's baby").
The job itself is awesome and so rewarding but it’s a ton of work in itself. Coupling it with all the other little things just builds up.
I try to remember that the goal is the student and making sure that what I'm giving them is accurate and useful. If the little things get overlooked I try not to stress out about it (which can be difficult) because I can fall back on what is truly important about our work. I think about the community and try to make it better by making our future community members better. I also try to be outside and active as much as possible and find peace in the faces of my babies (a colleague once said "remember, every one of our students is someone's baby").
Frustrations/stressors are endless...
Something that might be unique with how to response/deal with the stressors/frustrations:
Leave everything at school; don't take it home with you. Whether it is the workload to prep for lessons, or the issues with kids, people etc. Leave it at school. School is for school, home is for home!
Disclaimer: your spouse may not like that you don't talk about your day ;)
Something that might be unique with how to response/deal with the stressors/frustrations:
Leave everything at school; don't take it home with you. Whether it is the workload to prep for lessons, or the issues with kids, people etc. Leave it at school. School is for school, home is for home!
Disclaimer: your spouse may not like that you don't talk about your day ;)
You know all the stressors. I try to avoid them. I try not to complain or be around situations that are negative that I can avoid because I feel it makes me negative. Regardless of things that happen I know my intentions are to make a difference in the lives of others.
I know I'm not perfect and I fail often, but I know I do my best and I always try to learn from mistakes. As long as I'm doing that I don't worry about anything else that happens or what a couple people might perceive since that isn't the truth.
Things that help me are exercise (especially running because it helps me evaluate the day and think through all my thoughts), play with my kids and a video game for 20-30 min. before I go to bed to just relax when possible.
I know I'm not perfect and I fail often, but I know I do my best and I always try to learn from mistakes. As long as I'm doing that I don't worry about anything else that happens or what a couple people might perceive since that isn't the truth.
Things that help me are exercise (especially running because it helps me evaluate the day and think through all my thoughts), play with my kids and a video game for 20-30 min. before I go to bed to just relax when possible.
2 Awesome Articles
- How to Reignite Your Passion For Teaching After a Tough Year
- Rediscover ‘The Why”
- My Mom
- Mr. Rezler
- Make time to reflect.
- Make Summer Break actually a break.
- Rediscover ‘The Why”
- We've Said Goodbye to This Year's Students. Now It’s Time to Take Care of Ourselves
- "Teachers are notorious for taking care of everyone but ourselves. The coming summer provides a perfect chance to change that."
- Become the learner instead of the teacher.
- Hyphenate yourself.
- Be your full self with your loved ones.
- Join a new tribe or two.
- "Teachers are notorious for taking care of everyone but ourselves. The coming summer provides a perfect chance to change that."
My Personal Stressors...
- Dealing with Death... 33/9...
- Am I connecting to my students...
- Letting certain parents get to me....
- Are they stealing my day/. My night? My life?
- Are they stealing my day/. My night? My life?
- Letting certain staff get to me....
To Help Motivate & Stay Sane!!!
Have a "Vent Buddy or Buddies"!
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The Right Play List!!
My Motivational Slideshow outside my classroom door.
Click HERE to access. Download it. Upload it to your drive. Use and Edit away!
Bored Teachers Site (Or FB & Instagram)
TeacherGoals Site (Or FB & Instagram)
The "Calm" App
Ignore the fear to get involved with students and their lives...
Click HERE to make it happen
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My Me Box!!!
HERE is a page I keep on line to use when I speak...
3 Other Really Good Articles
- 10 STRESS-BUSTING SECRETS OF GREAT TEACHERSSail Through the Stress of the Stormby Vicki Davis
- The hidden threat of teacher stress
- 9 Stress Management Strategies Every Teacher Needs to Know | Hey Teach!by Chris Mumford, Hey Teach! Content Manager
- Be Imperfect!
- "Teachers are often prone to perfectionism and its ill effects: they often feel that they aren’t doing enough, or that their mistakes are magnified because of the importance of their job."
- Be Imperfect!