The Never-Ending Workload
Being a tired teacher doesn’t have to be the norm.
There used to be very few days during the week where I didn’t come home exhausted and craving a nap. I’d stare at my bag filled with work for the night and realize I’d be up late…again
And on top of the papers to grade, emails to return, and lessons to plan that night, I had just put in a full day teaching with no breaks or down-time. My nerves were shattered, and my energy was depleted.
I really needed more to get it all done–more time. more hands, and just more of me, in general. But, unfortunately, the only “more” in my life was the amount of work being added to my plate each week.
Can you relate?
Why Are We Teachers So Tired?
Earlier in my career I thought if I didn’t come up with the idea, plan it, and create it, I was somehow not as good as I could be. Or, God forbid, not as good as the teacher next door. I seemed to spend every waking hour in teacher mode; I wore my exhaustion and workload like a badge of honor for so long that I felt guilty when I wasn’t working. After all, administrators seemed to love those teachers who came in early and left after dark, so feeling this way must be a good thing, right?
Wrong! I could feel myself heading towards burn-out fast. Being a tired teacher all the time was destroying my love of the profession. It was a constant struggle to balance my family and job, and it never seemed I was doing either very well anymore.
It wasn’t until I embraced the idea that being good at my job didn’t mean I had to shoulder all of the burdens myself. In fact, in my effort to do it all I was beginning to perform worse than I had in the past. Working myself to the breaking point wasn’t good for me or my students.
Three Ways I Stopped Being Tired as a Teacher
Tired Teacher Hack 1: Peer Collaboration
“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
I began to seek out the ideas of other teachers on my campus and collaborate on lessons and activities. It wasn’t that I was a hermit before this. I was social with a lot of my co-workers. But there is a difference in “talking” about what could happen in our lessons and actually “planning” those ideas together.
Why is it so effective? Peers offer different skills, viewpoints, and experiences, helping you learn, avoid mistakes, and see new ways to tackle challenges. In a nutshell, collaborating makes everyone better.
Tired Teacher Hack 2: Parents as Partners
I avoided this step for a long time. I worried that it was going to be extra work; that parents would become too involved; that I was somehow asking too much of them. I was wrong!
Parents can be one of your biggest assets! Find those moms who love nothing more than cutting out and laminating materials, planning and running parties, making copies, etc. Hand off the smaller tasks to someone with more energy to do them than you; save your energy for your students, and say goodbye to being “teacher tired”.
Tired Teacher Hack 3: Look Online for Help
I started incorporating ideas I saw online and found good resources and lessons online to supplement (or even replace) my own plans. I know some administrators don’t welcome this idea with open arms. In fact, I had one principal who wasn’t shy about making derogatory comments about buying materials online. What did I do? I just kept my mouth shut about what I did, and my students didn’t suffer at all!
On the contrary, I now had the time and energy to focus on what really mattered, teaching my students. I began to see more growth in my class than I had in the past. I could devote my time to adapting lessons and materials to meet the needs of my students instead of spending every minute developing all the materials myself.
Let Go of the Guilt
As teachers, we often get the subtle, if not overt, message that teaching is a sacrifice.
“Good” teachers:
- Come in early and stay late
- Create and plan new lessons every year
- Work tirelessly after school and on weekends
- Give up personal family time for their “school family”
We’re often led to believe that doing any less is shirking our responsibility as educators.
Do those things need to happen on occasion? Yes. Should they happen all the time? Absolutely not!
Don’t let anyone guilt you into giving more of yourself than is healthy. Find ways to share the work so you and your students reap the benefits. A tired teacher is never at her best.
And if you ever experience those moments of self-doubt or guilt for using the lesson from the teacher next door, let it go! When you find your next great activity through Pinterest or Instagram, enjoy the time it saved you. When you buy that perfect resource from Teachers pay Teachers, trust yourself to know you made the right choice for you and your students.
Life is too short, and the students are too important, to show up every day with an “empty cup”.
