Preventing first year burn-out

There’s no easy answer for this, of course, but there are actually some answers that are more feasible than many of the other daunting tasks we attempt. I actually believe that a huge part of this is simply being less hard on ourselves. The emotional repercussions of watching our own failure can really be one of the greatest obstacles to success, and I beat myself into the ground during the first months of school. (I tried to make up for an inadequate classroom by taking on three extracurricular activities at once- ACT prep, creative expression, and journalism on Sundays- as though offering the kids more options would in some way make up for all the ways I was failing them in the classroom. I think I also thought I could really do some good with all those activities. I might have done some, but it was not a good idea.)

Besides being less hard on ourselves, the two best ideas I have on this are that it’s important to keep up and to take a break. By keep up, I mean the important stuff. Grading, lesson planning, phone calls. Staying on top of that stuff helps to avoid some of the guilt and the burden of knowing that our time is not ours. We end up having to prioritize either way, and usually run into trouble of some kind, but staying organized makes a huge difference, and my systems of organization will be one of the biggest changes I make next year. (Systems in place ahead of time to keep track of attendance, bathroom passes, consequences, parent phone calls and phone number changes, student work, behavior problems, missed work and make-up work, class notes and assignments and homework assignments, extra credit, etc.) Even staying organized on a personal left has immense benefits for mental health, I think.

It’s been said a thousand times (Ben is a big fan of this one) but actually doing it takes some guts. The first time a took a day off, I used a personal day so I didn’t have to pretend I was sick when I needed to get car insurance during business hours (as it turns out this was not necessary), and I came into school for an hour in the morning and a half hour at the end of the day to talk with the sub, supervise my biggest class, and collect work at the end. As it turns out, some of our subs are really great, have been in the community for ages, and are well-respected by the kids. (This is especially the case if the sub is someone’s mama or sister, and very especially the case if that someone is a star athlete of some kind.) The Delta is interesting that way. Letting go was really hard for me, but especially during the long months, breaks keep you sane, and I should have taken more of them.

Actually, one last thing. Our relationships prove to be important factors in staying sane. Relying on each other is not a bad thing, and roommates or close teacher corps friends to talk to can prove to be a saving grace.