Elevator Pitch

Teacher Burnout

A plea to the over-extended new teacher:

The one with the Pinterest-worthy classroom who is a fixture on every new committee and
attendant at every school activity. I see you. I was you. I’m telling you from experience that it’s
time to stop. Stop devoting all of your free time to your classroom and your students. Stop
pushing your social and family life to the side so you can prioritize your student’s activities or
spend hours on another activity that will go by in a flash. One look at the news and social media
will flood you with articles and videos and sound-bites focused on self-care, on living in the
moment, on being “present.” Yet we are a nation obsessed with productivity, and the idea that
being constantly busy means we are valuable. Exhaustion is not a status symbol. Doing more is
not the same as doing well. Giving to yourself, having a life and taking time away is a good
thing. Research conducted by Bo Shen in 2015 found a statistical correlation between teacher
burnout out and decreased student motivation. This means, the more we overextend, the less
likely our students will reach their potential. Save your sanity. Do not feel guilty about this.
You want to give your students your all. But if you don’t take time to care for yourself, what
will you have left to give?