Burning On

by Paula J. Sanders-Nelson ~November 13, 2022

Everyone has heard of teacher burnout, right? More students, more paperwork, more discipline issues…daily. It’s enough to make many take off their teacher hats and hang it up.

“It's caused by chronic stress due to unrelenting workplace demands. The National Education Association defines teacher burnout as “a condition in which an educator has exhausted the personal and professional resources necessary to do the job.” It's not just about the ability to educate effectively, though.Sep 15, 2022 Teacher Burnout: A Growing Problem in Schools - Talkspace

 

My last year teaching high school was a bit much. There were some nights when I couldn't close my eyes without dreaming about the noise and violence. Yes, I said violence. 

My plate was already full with work, plus family health issues and now pile on the daily discipline issues, fights, lack of administrative support, apathetic students and the list goes on, I was teetering on the edge of good-bye teaching profession.

So many at this point ask, well, why didn’t you just quit?

Reasons, well there are many…not only was my family depending on me financially, but I had students who became like family depending on me for emotional support. How could I, in the midst of all of the chaos, simply walk out on them? If I was feeling anxious, nervous, stressed and borderline traumatized, how were they feeling?

 I looked out each day at a group of students who should have been elated to be back in school and moving into the normality of school days: homecoming, prom, field trips, athletics…instead, I saw a lot of blank faces. Many turning to artificial substances to escape the raucous. How could I just leave? I couldn't, I toughed it out. 

I am still toughing it out. It's a new year, new school, new kids, but I look out and see the similarities. They are keeping their heads above water, trying to be in the norm, but there is a lot going on inside of those young minds. So, my teacher hat is still on, I enter the classroom everyday, a little bit older but hopefully a little bit wiser. I’m burning on.

The Teaching Challenge

April-2022

by Paula J. Sanders-Nelson

This has been a challenging year. I truly want what is best for my students, but sometimes feel as if I am set adrift all alone. I do give a lot of challenging work. I am working with young people who will soon be off into the world. Mom or Dad cannot call the college professor and demand you have a second chance. Nor can students put off completing classwork until the end of the semester and try to play "catch up".

I want my students to feel confident walking into an arena-size English 1301 class and understand the reading and writing assignment; how to format an MLA-styled paper. I want them to KNOW what MLA is! I do not want them to feel lost, left out or worse, dumb, because they did not meet the demands my of senior-level class. I dread hearing "they didn't teach us that" on some social media confessional video. I tried. I stood up in front of many who ignored me to watch Tik Tok videos of dogs on skateboards or the latest dance challenge. Only to forcibly charge me with leaving them out of the loop when it's down to the wire and the assignment is due and they absolutely have no clue what they are supposed to do or where to find it.

This has truly been a challenging year, but out of the hardships, I have observed first and second-generation future college students rise to the challenge and sometimes going above and beyond with their assignments. They actually enjoyed the work, learned from the articles and the stories, and demonstrated this in their on-time submissions. They were not kissing up to me, they were simply following instructions and getting the job done. No, they were not all straight "A" students, but they are the ones who will excel post-secondary, whether it be academically or in the workplace. They have the work ethic, they are teachable and coachable, and sharp. And I am proud of them because had it not been for these hardworking, ambitious, and entrepreneurial students, I might have just walked away from the job I love the most.

Teaching💗

🎓Hat's off to the hardworking survivors of the class of 2022