I hate teaching

After two decades of teaching, this is the phrase I hear the most: I hate teaching. Teachers are leaving for their own survival and then made to feel guilty about it. Teachers are leaving and it shouldn’t be a shock. The system is toxic at best.

We aren’t taking these decisions lightly. It means we are leaving a career that was the center of our childhood dreams. It means we are leaving a career for which we have multiple degrees and the student loan debt to go with it. We are leaving because we can’t do it any more.

This is NOT due to a lack of self care. If an accountant says they hate accounting, we don’t tell them they aren’t exercising appropriate self care.

If you are feeling burned out by teaching, you are not alone.

“In the United States, 44% of new teachers leave the profession within five years of entry (Ingersoll, Merrill, Stuckey, & Collins, 2018).

The United States experiences an 8% teacher attrition rate, while Finland, Singapore, and Ontario, Canada, experience a 3%–4% attrition rate (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond, & Carver-Thomas, 2016).

Of the teachers who voluntarily leave the profession, most credit some type of dissatisfaction, particularly with administrator support (Sutcher et al., 2016). Many refer to this dilemma as a leaky bucket.” source: https://positivepsychology.com/teacher-burnout/

Teacher burnout isn’t new but it is accelerating. People like to blame the pandemic (and that didn’t help matters) but the teachers I know are way more upset about state testing, book banning, and the ridiculous oversight of professionals in the room. There isn’t time for teaching or learning because so many teachers are required to turn in lesson plans and document every. single. thing.

When I ask a lot of the teacher friends I know who are leaving (or have already left), there is still a sparkle when they think about what brought them to teaching. Teachers come to teaching because they are helpers. They want to share excitement about learning whether that is a certain subject or just the idea of being a lifelong learner.

The problem I experienced (and those of so many peers) is that the system is set up as if teachers are disposable cogs of the system. When one is all used up, they will just get another. Except we are finally seeing that the backup cogs aren’t always available. BUT there is still no change. So good teachers get burnt out and leave. A once excited student teacher is driven to the point of saying I hate teaching.

What are the signs of teacher burnout?

Loss of motivation
Feeling drained or exhausted all of the time
Lacking a sense of satisfaction or accomplishment at work (like I hate teaching)
Having a sense of failure
Difficulty sleeping, change in sleep habits
Withdrawing from coworkers, family members, or friends
Feeling isolated or alone
Being unusually irritable or impatient
Increased use of alcohol or drugs.

source: https://recognizeandrise.org/burnout/

What causes teacher burnout?

The reasons are numerous, but many teachers cite the following:

Low Autonomy
Lack of Resources
Feeling Overworked
Lack of Appropriate Compensation
Encountering Classroom Management Difﬁculties
Poor Workplace Relationships

source: https://www.mayersonacademy.org

Are you a burnt out teacher?

If you’ve been telling friends, I hate teaching. I want you to know that feeling makes sense. You are not alone. In fact, the number of peers that are feeling the same way is almost overwhelming. You can recover from teacher burnout.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to leave the profession, but it means we are going to need to explore some new options for personal growth and balance.

How to recover from teacher burnout…

I offer 1:1 coaching for teacher burnout. In this coaching program, we dig into how to regain a sense of safety in your nervous system so that you can regain your balance. This is personalized to your needs.

A typical 6 week coaching package may cover the following topics:

Uncovering what part of your nervous system is online more of the time.
Identify triggers activate your fight, flight, and freeze response.
Explore exercises that help you identify and create safety for your own nervous system.
Learn how to attune to our body and emotions rather than avoid or distract.
Increase our capacity and help ourselves become better aligned when making our decision about the future.

What teacher burnout coaching with me DOESN’T look like…

We will not be talking about classroom management, organizational skills, or any of the other things that typical teacher support programs cover. That is a place for that (and a lot more) and great resources available.

My coaching is designed to give you the foundation for the next steps with a focus on you.

Want to know more about teacher burnout coaching?

You can grab this 3 part mini-series on burnout below or schedule a 15 minute call to get your questions answered directly by me. Hate the phone, but got questions. Send me a dm on instagram @learninghypothesis.