Student and Teacher Burnout

It’s finally the end of the year! We have five weeks of school left to go and four weeks left for the seniors.

Everyone is excited for summer and graduation, but burnout is creeping up on all of us and it’s easy for all of us to become overwhelmed and unmotivated when it comes to school work and attendance.

Everyone is tired and could be feeling a bit depressed and overwhelmed, It is completely normal to be feeling this way.

I can tell you that, personally, I have become very unmotivated. It took way too much energy to even start working on this article, and I’m not the only one who’s feeling it. 

Here are some quotes from students and teachers:

How does burnout affect you as a teacher and how do you deal with it?

Kyle, ACE music teacher: “I think teacher burnout is very real, I think it happens to most teachers. I think the way that it affects me is that I don’t have as much mental energy for planning lessons and I find myself planning less engaging lessons when I’m feeling burned out; and relying on teacher focused lessons where I can just deliver content. I think it sometimes makes me less patient in the classroom.” 

 “I try to be self aware about it. One thing I do is leave my school laptop at school so I can spend uninterrupted time with my family. I think everyone needs that work-life balance.” 

Do you think school puts too much pressure on students at the end of the year?

Savannah, student: “Personally I don’t think so, but I feel like other students who don’t have my mindset would feel very stressed out.” 

Have you experienced burnout?

Anonymous student: “Yes I have experienced student burn out. Sophomore year it got so bad I was failing four classes at once and I felt as if my school was failing me.”

What do you think causes burnout?

Gabriel, Danbury teen: “The urge to go to school slowly disappears as the school year comes to an end, reducing the overall capability of students to be able to focus on studying.”

How does burnout affect your ability to do your job?

Daniela, ACE English teacher: “There are times during the week or school year when I find it harder to have the right attitude and give my best energy for teaching. Because of that I make sure that I take time for myself on the weekends or after school to prevent burnout. I always want to give my very best for the students, but if I get burned out I can become very cranky and irritable and I won’t be very focused on my objectives and goals for the day.”

But what can I do about it? 

A lot! And it all starts with learning about burnout and how it comes about.  

Burnout is a type of stress that relates to school and work. It can make you feel like you’re a failure or like you can’t do anything right. Most people feel a type of brain fog and can’t seem to concentrate. Burnout can also take an emotional toll on you and give you a feeling of helplessness.

Some things you can do for burnout are:

• Therapy
• Take time to do the things you love
• Reach out to people close to you
• Create a support system
• Take a break 
• Keep your work and home life separate 
• Stop using your devices as much
• Go outside
• Exercise 
• Practice self care

It’s very important to talk to someone about how you’re feeling. Burnout can last a very long time and if you don’t talk about it or work on it it can have long lasting effects. 

Remember, burnout affects everyone, so don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.  If they say they’ve never experienced burnout,  they’re lying. Again if you’re feeling burnout or depressed, talk to a therapist or someone you trust.