One of the most difficult things for teachers to learn is to set boundaries and to figure out a system where they are only working during their working hours. If you are a first/second year teacher, this may not seem possible for you yet, but I assure you it is. It took a long time for me to figure it out, and sometimes I still do have to do a task outside of the school day but 95% of what I need to get done gets done between the hours of 8am and 3pm.
I was a teacher with extreme burnout, on the verge of switching careers despite knowing that I was meant to be a teacher. Shifting my mindset, changing how I work in the classroom, and reminding myself that I am a human being who happens to teach – and not a teacher who happens to be a human being brought me back to the classroom stronger than ever.
The first shift happened for me in my 3rd year of teaching when I started my first master’s program. I quickly realized that doing work outside of school and grad school outside of school was no longer feasible with simply existing as a human being.
The second shift happened after I had my child. It was early after schools were fully back after covid so there were a lot of things wrong in the education world. I needed to start setting very clear boundaries when I was working in school so that when I was home I could be a mom, and for one hour a day I could just be me.
This shift for me took a lot of mental reminders and occasionally out loud statements. When I would start to get nervous that I would only get to school 15 minutes early instead of 45, I would remind myself that that means I gave more time to myself, my home, and my family. This reminder helped put a lot of things in perspective for me. I also forced myself to leave every day at the last bell and go exercise which was an easy swap because it was still a productive use of my time, but just a productive for me as a human being, and not a teacher. When I get tempted to “get ahead” of something while at home, or grade an assignment super quick – I ask myself if that sounds like something I want to do, in my free time, without getting paid to do so. 9 times out of 10 the answer is no – and I find a time to make it happen another day.
The biggest thing that helped me set clear boundaries, work during the school day, and ultimately bring back my passion for education was allowing myself to get work done even when students are in the room. In my first couple of years teaching, I thought that if students were in my room I should constantly be circling, teaching, observing, and monitoring behavior. What I learned is that if I set and practice strong classroom management and classroom procedures – the class will still function if I step over to my computer to send an email and enter in a set of homework grades. Also, if students are going to learn how to do things on their own/ monitor their own behavior – they need to be left alone! I have to remind myself constantly, that a student who takes out their phone because I am not staring at them is the one at fault – and not me.
My other recommendation is to have an ongoing “fix” list. This will help you reuse everything from year to year and only have to make minor tweaks instead of creating from scratch. Also, when you find a classroom management style/ procedures that you like and work well – KEEP IT. There’s no need to always be updating and changing everything you do in a classroom every year.
These methods will not always be feasible if you are in a new prep, new class, or new curriculum – but hopefully with these methods in place, even with a new “thing” it should hopefully be minimal outside of school work.
If someone figures out how to stop thinking about lessons on their car drives, dreaming of classroom activities, or actively worrying about your student’s situations in your free time – please let me know. 🙂
Ms. Pi 4 Ever 