Am I the Archer or am I the Prey?: Stress and Burnout in Education

Teacher burnout is real and a growing problem in the education system. So much so that teachers in every corner of the United States make an intentional effort to leave the profession. School districts are scrambling to hire teachers with emergency certifications or paraprofessionals. The constant stress and teachers' withdrawal due to high emotional anxiety impact the quality of classroom instruction (Hailey, 2024). 

As teachers experience exhaustion, fatigue, and stress, the outcome includes cynicism and negative effects on their mental health. Teachers who have quit often cite a lack of support from stakeholders and low pay as reasons for their departure. One contributing factor to burnout is the increasing number of students from diverse backgrounds and their unique needs. Administrators, parents, and other stakeholders place high expectations on teachers, which takes a significant toll on their mental health (Hailey, 2024). 

Teachers always, always, always work long hours with no extra pay. The heavy workload is real. Outside of the classroom, teachers create lesson plans, grade, and develop materials that go with those plans. Sometimes, those lesson plans change as the new curriculum is changed. I know I, for one, won’t forget when the math team on my campus received a new curriculum two years ago. They had a hard first year due to that change, but they all made great strides and now understand the curriculum. As teachers, our greatest strength is adaptability, but in tough situations, it becomes a weakness, and it affects us tremendously with our mental health struggles. 

Hailey (2024) says that “Teacher burnout is a critical issue in the United States. A staggering 90% of teachers perceive it as a “serious” problem, with 67% considering it “very serious.’ Teacher turnover rates are at 8%, with younger educators disproportionately affected. Projections indicate that over 270, 000 teachers will leave the profession each year for the next three years (Hailey, 2024) As an educator, I wonder how this could be prevented or why administrators aren’t listening to us? Administrators need to play a better role in how they prevent teacher burnout and provide the resources to prevent a critical need. 

This year has been quite challenging for me on campus. My homeroom comprises a large group of students from various backgrounds, which has made it difficult for me to find answers to my questions. Although I have always appreciated working alongside incredible teachers and feeling supported by the administrators, the increasing diversity among students has been overwhelming. There have been days when I've returned home in tears, a first for me. That said, a strong connection exists between teacher burnout and depression.(Agyapong, et al.,.2022), proved how the frequencies were with burnout symptoms among clinically depressed teachers. Around 86%-90% of those teachers met the criteria for depressive disorder. Anxiety disorder was associated as well amonst the teachers in the study. Teachers experienced stressors as the triggers increased. Amongst the stressors were the basic reasons teachers say burnout is attributed to: class size, grade level taught, workload, poor student performance, lack of progress, and school-related factors (Agyapong et al., 2022)

I love teaching and the feeling I get with a sense of accomplishment. However, I like designing curriculum even more. I like the facilitation part of the design process, which is why the instructional design side seems like the right fit for me. While I know there will be challenges in the career change, I’m ready for the new change and can’t wait to begin. 

References

Agyapong, B., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Burback, L., & Wei, Y. (27, August 2022). Stress, burnout, anxiety and depression among teachers: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17), 10706. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710706

Hailey, T. (2024, September 27). Teacher burnout statistics: Why educators quit. Schools That Lead. https://www.schoolsthatlead.org/blog/teacher-burnout-statistics