First year teacher here -- Anyone else find it hard to turn their "teacher brain" off when they get home? I feel like I always should be doing more even though I'm at my limit at this point in the year... Should I be feeling burn out this early in the game?

likesmarthelpful
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You have to learn to turn work off the second you walk out of your classroom door. I am a 26-year teacher. It's the only thing that has kept me in teaching this long. I do not take work home ever. It is a job. Don't feel obligated to work outside your contract hours. No other job expects this without some sort of compensation given. Let the guilt go.

likesmartfunny

Once you realize how pointless it all is, that will change.

likefunny

I have one of my favourite poems on the classroom wall, Ozymandias.

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

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My first few years were like that. By the time summer came, it took two weeks of me staring at the wall, dead, in order for my humanity to return. My husband, concerned about the trend and its possible effect on my health, finally suggested that I limit my time working on school-related work. It was good advice. (There are exceptions, such as when research papers are turned in, but usually, I've become a lot more efficient.)

The fact of the matter is that in many professional jobs, it is possible to never be "finished." You have to decide what is "good enough."

likesmart

15+ year teach here! Make your students do the work! Act as facilitator, not instructor. They learn way more when you have a hands off approach and you will avoid burn out. Also, the most important mantra: I don’t work for free.

likesmart

There are brains with off switches?
I need to upgrade to a newer model.
What else do brains have nowadays?

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Everything you describe sounds normal.
I had to set a hard line of no work after 8pm and act like it's the law to break myself off that pattern.
As far as the exhausted end of year feeling, that didn't get better so far, 17 years in.

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8 PM? That's kind of you. As Louisiana said, I NEVER take work home. If it can't get done during the day, then it can wait.

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I've had to start taking sleeping meds to shut down my brain so I can get some sleep.

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Been doing that for years.

I taught for 30 years. I am now substituting, never been able o turn it off.

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I taught 35+ years. I am in agreement with the other vets here. Try to leave your work at school, even if you need to almost drive yourself to distraction some days to accomplish the goal while at school or when not at home. At times I got delayed at a railroad crossing on my route home and could get two to three lab reports graded while the train was passing through! Also, design assignments that are long enough to accomplish your goals but brief enough that you are able to grade efficiently and fast. Anything that kids may upload and technology is able to grade and record is wonderful, too. There will be times when you need to bring a limited amount of work home, but give yourself a cut-off time in the PM when no more school work will be done!

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You are not alone in that. You have something to prove and you're ready to do it. No shame in having that drive, but don't feel bad when it slows down either. Just because something doesn't take you a long time, doesn't mean it's not good!
I spent less than 30 minutes planning a week of reading instruction and got the best evaluation score on it so far. You get better, you relax, and the burn out will hopefully lower with those things!

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I retired in June after 27 years. We’ve all been where your at know. When I first started, I would stay late to get every bit of work done. After five years, I realized that staying late everyday was not sustainable.

As you continue in your career, you will find short cuts and more efficient ways to complete your planning, material gathering, and grading. Like other responders above, you might take something home once in a blue moon, but you’ll get most of your work done at school, where it belongs!

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Most important for me is that I do n to take work home. If I need to work on something I say and work on it. I am generally here to five pm, if nothing else, I am just reading.

That has turned out well because I am now on the after school study hall list. So I frequently get paid for being here after school. I will normally come in on Sunday and get my lesson plans turned in, but I do not do it at home.

Do school work at school.

I'm in my first year of teaching as well. In my first few months I was coming home grading, planning enough to get through the next day, then collapsing. I realized I could not keep that up and ended up switching to another possession that fit me and my teaching style. Now, I have a much better balance. While I do still take some things home to grade and plan out lessons it is no longer a daily struggle.

Mine hasn’t shut off in 34 years….

Ha, I retired after 30 years public school. I have been subbing for 4 years now- still can not turn it off.

Every year for 9-10 mos. That is why I don’t do optional paid summer training offered by my school district (even if I am encouraged to do so). My summer keeps getting shorter and my mind and body needs to rest. However, I have been teaching for 27 years and I make a decent salary.

I forgot to mention - don’t take your computer home or check/answer emails or Class Dojo at home. When we are on break or off for a day I tell parents that I will not be on Class Dojo. I definitely do not go on during the weekend! I stay 1-2 hours after school for my own sanity - to be organized and not rush the next day. One good thing about COVID, there are not as many special activities or curriculum nights. I often felt pressured to do these, and I didn’t want to look like I wasn’t a team player. I went above and beyond for years, then I was diagnosed with Sage IV cancer. I am blessed to be cancer free and it has given me a new perspective on boundaries at work. As they like to say, “They will have your job posted before you walk out the door! “. Sad, but true!

My first....who am I kidding--after fifteen years, I still am always looking for something to use in school...everywhere. The only respite I have from Teacher-Brain is when I am out in my wood shop making stuff. Then, I can relax into the making, rather than thinking about school.

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