Some time ago a couple of tweets came from my PLN that caught my eye. Blair Richards (@ouiouicestlavie) commented, “4 years into teaching and I’m exhausted. Any wisdom on how to make this a sustainable career without killing myself?”
Then Katie Hellerman (@klhellerman) wrote, “I love #TPRS and the results. But even after 3 years I find it to be an exhausting format. Any suggestions to fight TPRS fatigue?”
This is a common complaint particularly among those who start using comprehensible input methods (the only kind that work!) and developing their own materials (after the textbooks have failed). Especially if you’re trying to balance family or any kind of personal life with communicative teaching, it can quickly get out of hand. I know teachers who have left the field simply because they felt doing it right was just too demanding.
Common complaints
What are some common complaints teachers have when they’re burning out?
- “I spend all my free time finding materials.”
- “I’m overwhelmed with grading communicative assessments for large classes.”
- “If I don’t plan every minute I seem unorganized and class gets out of hand.”
Sound familiar? So, what’s the solution?
Tips for burning bright
How do you get it all done right and stay strong and balanced in the process? Here’s one tip to get you started. Then, check back for the next four Fridays for more installments in this series. You’ll get a total of nine tips that I think will help you stay sane and effective at the same time.
- Put your sanity first.
It seems intuitive to make your students and your class the main thing, but really, if you’re going crazy and too tired to function, you’re not doing them much good anyway. Also, if you burn out in 2 years and never return to teaching, the profession has lost a potentially bright star for the future. Remind yourself that keeping your sanity is making your students a priority – they need you clear and professional. Get enough rest. Eat well and enough. Take breaks. Take vacations.
What other tips are useful for you to keep from burning out? Share them here, take what I’ve shared and please, make communicative learning work for you as well as your students.
Photo credit: Luis Silva
I have friends that tell me that they appreciate the fact that when they get home, they do not have to think about work anymore. I’ve been told that I should consider a different career because of all the extra work….and I agree in some small way. I don’t like having to spend my free time grading or lesson planning or researching, but I love what I do, and when students tell you that they’d love to have you again the next year, you think …”ok, I’m not that bad”. The thing that makes me want to have a different career is dealing with the parents. “My son/daughter used to LOVE Spanish until they had you” “It’s not you, you’re good…I’m sure, my little baby just isn’t connecting with you.” Then I get told, by my higher ups, “I know you’re a good teacher” but you need to understand that you are dealing with a “B” level class, so you need to make it “easier” and yet we are told that our classes should be rigorous. How do you stop getting burned out from being told to be one way, and then kowtowing to the parents….that is my question
I call teaching my black hole – it would suck all the energy and time I have in my life and I’d still feel like I’m not doing well enough for my students. Thankfully I’ve had mostly positive experiences with parents, but it’s my classes that tend to drag on my enthusiasm. I feel like their mom when I want to ask them “Do you know how hard I’m working to make sure you not only learn Spanish but enjoy it as well?” A good week for me is one where I don’t feel like walking out and never returning. I’ve been in the classroom for 10 years now.
I keep my sanity in the classroom with a couple of easily reproducible activities that I can repeat across levels that engage the kids and don’t take hours to develop and that engage the kids in class for a period of time. I also find that using TPRS/CI now I can just allow myself a PQA day now and then where I don’t have to spend a lot of time planning or assessing. With kids now I have to admit I’ve become much more of a minimalist teacher. trying every day not to burn out.
[…] is the second post in a series on tips to avoid burnout. See “Burning out or burning bright?” and continue to check back on Fridays for more tips on how to stay sane and effective at the […]
[…] is the fourth set of tips to avoid burning out in communicative teaching. Check out “Burning out or burning bright?,” ”More tips on avoiding burnout,” and “Still more tips on avoiding […]
[…] is the last set of tips to avoid burning out in communicative teaching. Check out “Burning out or burning bright?,” ”More tips on avoiding burnout,” “Still more tips on avoiding […]
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