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Burnout has been studied since the 1960s and is well documented in the education field. For people who are trying to define what is occurring to them, they can read the article to see the three types of burnout: exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. The newest teachers can read this article to understand how they are feeling.

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Most of us know an educator who has "had enough." An educator who doesn't sleep well at night, who becomes exhausted by the ratio of classroom discipline to actual teaching, and who doesn't like pandering to standardized tests that increasingly fail to reflect actual learning in students, according to many in the curriculum and education sectors.

The collective symptoms of fatigue, overwhelm, boredom, depression, anxiety, stress, apathy and frustration (among other negative emotions) are referred to as "teacher burnout." While these may characterize any educator who has hit their limit, the condition most commonly affects classroom teachers, who deal with day-to-day student interaction.

This alarming state of education in America is bad not only for teachers, but for students as well. Not to mention the entire future of the United States, which is sadly behind in the production of qualified STEM workers - those in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. It's just as pernicious a problem as teacher bias and teacher stress (the latter of which leads directly to burnout).

If we want to solve these issues, if we want to produce happier students and teachers, it's time to take a hard look at the many questions surrounding teacher burnout: it's definitions, causes, symptoms, prevention and more. Whip out that notepad or tablet and get ready to take note of the answers that might save American - and global - education.

What is Teacher Burnout?

Before we can devise and implement effective methods for addressing burnout, we must understand what it is. That's where a good teacher burnout definition comes in.

"Burnout syndrome has been clinically characterized by a series of three subtypes: frenetic, underchallenged and worn-out," explain researchers Jesús Montero-Marín and Javier García-Campayo, adding that it is "a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job." In other words, burnout is a state that persists over time, leading the teacher to develop one of three coping mechanisms:

Exhaustion: a state in which the teacher feels they cannot offer any more of themselves

Cynicism: a distant attitude toward work, colleagues, students and other aspects of the job

Inefficacy: a feeling of becoming incompetent and ineffective at the job

It scarcely needs to be said that this state is damaging to students, to teachers, to administration (which must deal with the stress of unhappy teachers and high turnover), to parents and to the union as a whole.

What do the Teacher Burnout Statistics Say?

Teacher burnout isn't merely some anecdotal problem, either; it's more than the stories we hear from friends and colleagues, and even the children whom it affects. The condition is backed up by very real and very disquieting statistics.

"Roughly half a million U.S. teachers either move or leave the profession each year," reports the Alliance for Excellent Education, adding that this deluge of attrition disproportionately affects high-poverty schools. Moreover, it "costs the United States up to $2.2 billion annually," a shocking figure when considering the budget shortfalls that already plague public schools - especially distressing in the face of increasing enrollment. With a million more children who entered the system between 2008 and 2016, and half a million teachers leaving or relocating annually, the amount of churn and disruption is huge.

While the oft-quoted statistic that 50% of teachers leave within their first five years is erroneous, new research indicates that the number sits around 17%. That's almost one-fifth of the workforce, a number that could never go unnoticed among burgeoning classroom sizes and spending cuts.

Sadly, the end of a long career is far from the most common cause of teachers leaving the profession. "About 90% of the nationwide annual demand for teachers is created when teachers leave the profession, with two-thirds of teachers leaving for reasons other than retirement," says a Learning Policy Institute report. Inherent in this statistic is also the fact that increasing school demand isn't what's causing the shortage: it's teacher burnout.

The report also found that turnover rates are:

50% higher in Title I schools

70% greater for math and science teachers in Title I schools

80% higher for alternatively certified teachers in Title I schools

If these teacher burnout statistics tell us anything, it's that the problem is more immediate than many people want to believe.

What Are the Impacts of Teacher Burnout?

Teacher burnout leads to reduced educational quality, because it increases the numbers of underqualified or straight-up unqualified teachers in the system. Record numbers of "emergency" teaching certificates signal the desperation for anyone to take over classrooms in the absence of "real" educators, with all the training and experience that entails.

This is a devastating outcome of burnout, leading to reduced student achievement and a particularly severe impact for students of color, continues the Learning Policy Institute: "Turnover rates are 70% higher for teachers in schools serving the largest concentrations of students of color. These schools are staffed by teachers who have fewer years of experience and, often, significantly less training to teach."

The numbers increase as the concentration of students of color increases, with teacher turnover 90% higher "in the top quartile of schools serving students of color than in the bottom quartile for mathematics and science teachers, 80% higher for special education teachers, and 150% higher for alternatively certified teachers."

Continuing the already well-established racial and ethnic achievement gaps, these numbers signal a still-devastating division between white students and students of color. While the achievement gap is declining, it's happening slowly and unsteadily, and these statistics could mean a plateau or even reversal in the future.

It's not surprising, of course, that teacher burnout and turnover are especially prevalent at schools with reduced services, larger class sizes and troubled budgets ... but it does indicate a serious need to recognize burnout sooner, implement supports for teachers, and try to keep qualified teachers in place, especially in the low-income environments where it is so common.

What Are the Teacher Burnout Signs & Symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of burnout vary depending on the type of burnout any given teacher experiences, explain Montero-Marín and García-Campayo: "Despite the various definitions of the syndrome presented in the literature, burnout has traditionally been described as a relatively uniform entity in all individuals, with more or less consistent etiology and symptoms."

However, the research shows this view to be overly simplified, which in turn impacts the care teachers can expect for the condition. Instead, the field needs to offer support to educators that matches their need. In other words, they "need to characterize the different types of burnout in order to adjust lines of therapeutic action for more effectiveness."

According to Montero-Marín and García-Campayo, the three sub-types include:

1. Frenetic: This category includes teachers who put a lot of time and energy into their work, are extremely dedicated to achievement and attach personal ambition to their efforts. Consequently, their personal lives often suffer, as they feel they cannot get the self-care they need to balance out their workload.

2. Underchallenged: The underchallenged type lacks motivation and interest, does not apply themselves to their work beyond a superficial effort, and their experience of boring routine and lack of acknowledgement drives them to seek other employment.

3. Worn-out: When the teacher no longer has anything to give to the profession, they become completely worn out, disregarding their responsibilities. They feel a lack of recognition and lack of power that eventually leads to significant neglect of their duties.

While these teachers have different feelings about their job, and therefore different needs when it comes to support in their personal and professional lives, teacher burnout symptoms as widely reported by multiple studies include:

A feeling of unfulfillment in the work, depleted by overwhelming mountains of grading, constant meetings and an ongoing sacrifice of personal time

Overwhelm, or the sense that the teacher can never "get it all done," no matter what they do

Frustration from not having the ability to change the system, from teaching to tests that don't reflect student learning and take away from meaningful education time, and jumping through professional development hoops

Exhaustion, both emotionally and physically, as teachers cannot get enough sleep (staying up all night grading) and can't seem to affect change in the system (standardized tests, student outcomes), forced to witness the same problems play out again and again

Stress, stemming from lack of self-care, ongoing repetitive classroom issues, overwhelm, lack of support and expectations teachers don't feel able to meet from administration, parents and tests

Weight loss, weight gain, lack of sleep and other physical conditions associated with stress and overwork

These symptoms, which pertain to all three of the teacher burnout types, stem from many causes.

What Causes Teacher Burnout?

Burnout, like its signs and symptoms, arise from many interrelated and pernicious causes. These include:

A lack of autonomy, with professional teachers unable to make critical choices in their own classrooms and about their own curriculum

Student behaviors including disrespect, inattentiveness and sociability, which affect the teacher burnout statistics around the world

Lack of support from administration

A frenzied environment, where teachers rush from place to place and duty to duty, with too little rest for regrouping and not enough time spent on each activity

Freighted relationships and poor communication with parents and administration, with the teacher feeling unable to communicate their needs

Lack of budget to buy appropriate materials

Lack of time for each lesson or segment of the day

Lack of time in the day to adequately prepare for lessons, leaving teachers the choice between teaching poorly or losing out on sleep/family time/self-care/hobbies

Referred mental trauma from working in close context with students who experience abuse, neglect and trauma in the home, in foster care or in other settings

These teacher burnout causes, while distressing, contain within them the seeds of hope, because they point to ways in which the educational field can begin providing teacher burnout solutions today.

Teacher Burnout Prevention & Solutions

Teacher burnout prevention is one of the most pressing needs in the educational sphere today. Teacher burnout requires that administration, teachers, support personnel and aides all work together to create a more nurturing environment for teachers.

The goal: to bring more qualified educators in - despite widely publicized and off-putting elements of the job such as low pay, low recognition, difficult classroom management and others - and to keep them there.

The solution needs to start with helping teachers already in the field, then extend to widespread support that embraces new teachers as soon as they step into the classroom. These solutions include:
GIVE TEACHERS MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR DAILY LIVES
For a quarter-century or more, teachers have had a limited belief in their own ability to effect change in the classroom. It is a problem still very much in existence today, if ongoing discussions on the importance of teacher autonomy are anything to go by.

Luckily, an increased level of autonomy is something other countries have achieved, according to the above article. The answer? It may be as simple as letting teachers choose more of their own curriculum and seeing where it goes. The results in Finland and other notably successful countries are hopeful indeed, so it might be time for administration and state policy-makers to ease up on mandated curriculum and let teachers do what they were trained to do.

HELP TEACHERS MODIFY THEIR REACTIONS
Most teachers come into the field full of hope, then watch those hopes get dashed against the rocks of student trauma, overwhelm, frenzied school environments, towering expectations and more. This leads to feelings of hopelessness, despair, emotional drain and other symptoms of burnout.

To say that teachers need to "adjust their attitudes" sounds damaging and heartless, yet it may be a secret for preventing teacher burnout. Studies indicate that "modifying one's reactions may reduce the stress that leads to burnout" and that "coping skills and strategies can be developed over a period of time that can help to eliminate the negative responses that fuel burnout."

This means, of course, creating workshops and trainings to teach the teachers. Humans don't necessarily turn to the right coping mechanisms when faced with stress, and must be guided toward these healthy "attitude adjustments" through education, counseling and guided practice. Help with reframing issues, stepping back and compartmentalizing will go a long way.
PUBLICIZE AND LOOK FOR EARLY DETECTION OF WARNING SIGNS
No one can expect change if its need and routes aren't well-known. This means publicizing the nature, causes and - most importantly - signs and symptoms of burnout. That in turn means developing trainings for teachers to help them recognize the signs and symptoms of burnout in themselves and others. If teachers know what to look for, they're more likely to report on themselves and others with compassion rather than judgment, and are less likely to stay quiet.

It's not just teachers who need to put more effort into detecting burnout, however. Administration must also take an active role. Administrators need to set up routine meetings with teachers in which they inquire genuinely about the teacher's wellbeing and ferret out lurking signs of burnout.

That said, it's important to avoid attaching a stigma to burnout. Because there is so much stigma already associated with common burnout symptoms - depression prime among them - there exists the danger of creating a negative association that will discourage both self-reporting and gentle reporting on others' behalf.

OFFER MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AMENITIES
Teachers have notoriously tight budgets. Especially considering the staggering number of teachers who spend their own money to outfit their classrooms (94 percent, according to recent figures), we can't expect teachers to spend the money on commonly suggested self-care solutions: yoga, counseling, hobbies.

What education can do, however, is provide these amenities in a school context. Studies show that "Mindfulness, self-compassion, personal efficacy, and positive affect were associated with emotional support while emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were negatively associated with emotional support." Moreover, "Depression was negatively associated with emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support."

Providing mindfulness practices in a school setting will help teachers feel supported, increasing those positive associations such as self-compassion and personal efficacy, not to mention a generally happier frame of mind. Ideas include hobby courses, yoga and meditation, journaling practices and other at-will (not mandatory!) offerings.
CREATE A CLEAR PATH FOR ADDRESSING SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT
Lastly, educators need rapid responses to burnout when they arise. If teachers know that administration will take steps to help them recover, they will be more likely to report symptoms of burnout. As it is, they know no help is coming. Today, they may even fear negative outcomes of self-reporting, such as lack of faith in their teaching and consequently an even greater lack of autonomy.

Instead, teachers need:

Widespread policies for how to report teacher burnout and receive care

A direct path to administration's ear when reporting burnout

A reasonable expectation of getting help

Choice in what type of care they'd like to receive

Assistance in adjusting their workloads and lifestyles to manageable levels

An administration actively watching for and helping with burnout

Because of the limited resources for teachers to date, it will take time to train teachers that they can ask for help. Only by proving consistently, over time, that asking delivers help can administrators and policy-makers convince teachers to take the difficult step of reaching out.

A Single Step: Starting Down the Path to Teacher Fulfillment and Satisfaction

Unsurprisingly, teacher burnout will not be addressed overnight. It will require a cadre of administrators, policy-makers, teachers and support staff working in concert in order to eliminate - or at least ameliorate - the emotional hazards of the job and create environments in which teachers wish to remain for life.

Yes, as with a journey of a thousand miles, addressing teacher burnout starts with a single step. A single teacher who asks for help rather than stews in frustration; a single administrator who advances self-care initiatives; a single policy-maker who advocates funding for workshops related to burnout and its prevention.

The good news? A single step is pretty small. Wherever possible, we should all "step" up to make such changes - for ourselves, for our students, for our country and for our world.

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Teacher Burnout Solutions & Prevention - How to Retain Talented Educators - Marco Learning

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Most of us know an educator who has "had enough." An educator who doesn't sleep well at night, who becomes exhausted by the ratio of classroom discipline to actual teaching, and who doesn't like pandering to standardized tests that increasingly fail to reflect actual learning in students, according to many in the curriculum and education sectors.

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Mayo Clinic: How to spot it and take action

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Mayo Clinic: How to spot it and take action

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Conditions for burnout are unique to the individual, so we must be able to understand when we walk the line on job burnout. The Mayo Clinic has provided a list of how to handle burnout in practical and attainable ways.

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Job burnout: How to spot it and take action

Feeling burned out at work? Find out what you can do when your job affects your health.
By Mayo Clinic Staff
Job burnout is a special type of work-related stress - a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.

"Burnout" isn't a medical diagnosis. Some experts think that other conditions, such as depression, are behind burnout. Researchers point out that individual factors, such as personality traits and family life, influence who experiences job burnout.

Whatever the cause, job burnout can affect your physical and mental health. Consider how to know if you've got job burnout and what you can do about it.

Job burnout symptoms

Ask yourself:

Have you become cynical or critical at work?

Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started?

Have you become irritable or impatient with co-workers, customers or clients?

Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?

Do you find it hard to concentrate?

Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?

Do you feel disillusioned about your job?

Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?

Have your sleep habits changed?

Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical complaints?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be experiencing job burnout. Consider talking to a doctor or a mental health provider because these symptoms can also be related to health conditions, such as depression.

Possible causes of job burnout

Job burnout can result from various factors, including:

Lack of control. An inability to influence decisions that affect your job - such as your schedule, assignments or workload - could lead to job burnout. So could a lack of the resources you need to do your work.

Unclear job expectations. If you're unclear about the degree of authority you have or what your supervisor or others expect from you, you're not likely to feel comfortable at work.

Dysfunctional workplace dynamics. Perhaps you work with an office bully, or you feel undermined by colleagues or your boss micromanages your work. This can contribute to job stress.

Extremes of activity. When a job is monotonous or chaotic, you need constant energy to remain focused - which can lead to fatigue and job burnout.

Lack of social support. If you feel isolated at work and in your personal life, you might feel more stressed.

Work-life imbalance. If your work takes up so much of your time and effort that you don't have the energy to spend time with your family and friends, you might burn out quickly.

Job burnout risk factors

The following factors may contribute to job burnout:

You have a heavy workload and work long hours

You struggle with work-life balance

You work in a helping profession, such as health care

You feel you have little or no control over your work

Consequences of job burnout

Ignored or unaddressed job burnout can have significant consequences, including:

Excessive stress

Fatigue

Insomnia

Sadness, anger or irritability

Alcohol or substance misuse

Heart disease

High blood pressure

Type 2 diabetes

Vulnerability to illnesses

Handling job burnout

Try to take action. To get started:

Evaluate your options. Discuss specific concerns with your supervisor. Maybe you can work together to change expectations or reach compromises or solutions. Try to set goals for what must get done and what can wait.

Seek support. Whether you reach out to co-workers, friends or loved ones, support and collaboration might help you cope. If you have access to an employee assistance program, take advantage of relevant services.

Try a relaxing activity. Explore programs that can help with stress such as yoga, meditation or tai chi.

Get some exercise. Regular physical activity can help you to better deal with stress. It can also take your mind off work.

Get some sleep. Sleep restores well-being and helps protect your health.

Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the act of focusing on your breath flow and being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling at every moment, without interpretation or judgment. In a job setting, this practice involves facing situations with openness and patience, and without judgment.

Keep an open mind as you consider the options. Try not to let a demanding or unrewarding job undermine your health.

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Show references

1. Depression: What is burnout? Informed Health Online. https://www.informedhealth.org/what-is-burnout.html. Accessed May 13, 2021.

2. West CP, et al. Interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. 2016; doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31279-X.

3. Bianchi R, et al. Is it time to consider the "burnout syndrome" a distinct illness? Frontiers in Public Health. 2015; doi:10.3389/fpubh.2015.00158.

4. Bianchi R, et al. Burnout and depression: Causal attributions and construct overlap. Journal of Health Psychology. 2018; doi:10.1177/1359105317740415.

5. 5 things you should know about stress. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/. Accessed May 13, 2021.

6. Kryger MH, et al., eds. Sleep, occupational stress, and burnout. In: Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine. 6th ed. Elsevier Saunders; 2017. https://www.clincalkey.com. Accessed May 13, 2021.

7. Bystritsky A. Complementary and alternative treatments for anxiety symptoms and disorders: Physical, cognitive, and spiritual interventions. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed May 13, 2021.

8. Gilmartin H, et al. Brief mindfulness practices for healthcare providers: A systematic literature review. American Journal of Medicine. 2017; doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2017.05.041.

9. Swenson S, Shanafelt T. Mayo Clinic Strategies to Reduce Burnout: 12 Actions to Create the Ideal Workplace. Oxford University Press; 2020.

10. Bianchi R, et al. Is burnout primarily linked to work-situated factors? A relative weight analytic study. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021; doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.623912.

See more In-depth

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Job burnout can affect your physical and mental health. Understand the signs and know when to take action.

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A first go to in practicing positive mental health is looking for the best foods. Burnout can lead to bad habits and negative eating habits. The issues with mental health and our eating will impact our daily lives. This is a compilation of healthy foods that can help boost your mood. On the difficult days in the classroom, making positive and small choices will help build our mental health.

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MDLive is a provider of telemedicine in mental and physical health. Most insurance plans cover the fees and appointments can created online as a phone call or as a telemedicine call. Features include general practitioners, internal medicine doctors, and therapists. This course opened with the idea that burnout can manifest itself into physical, emotional, and personal health issues. The rapid access to WebMD provides access to help ease those issues.

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Using MDLIVE is as easy as one, two, three.

What does it cost?

What we care for.

Reliable health care starts with quality doctors.

Frequently asked questions.

MDLIVE Talk - Health Tips & Info.

Millions of people have already received quality medical care with MDLIVE.

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MDLIVE offers reliable 24/7 health care by phone or video. Access board-certified doctors anytime, anywhere, including weekends, nights, and holidays. MDLIVE doctors and therapists have an average of over 10 years of experience.

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The White Wolves Wellness Foundation serves Kern County in providing free to low cost experiences to better their mental health. Yoga, mindfullness activities, meditiation, and soundbaths are scheduled to build a person's mental health and relieve stress in a positive and accessible way.

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MAKING MEANINGFUL CHANGE, EACH AND EVERY DAY.

It's pretty simple, really. we change lives and communities through YOGA, meditation, sound and self empowerment.

Imagine a nonprofit where the core of every program and initiative is to provide others with access to increased health, vitality and self empowerment - sounds pretty amazing, doesn't it?

That's what White Wolf Wellness Foundation does each and every day - empowering change in the community through targeted online and in person programs that enhance the human experience. We create access to wellness, mindfulness, and transformative events by putting practices online and going out into our community regularly. A mindful community is a more healthy and peaceful place to live. The time tested practices we teach will help each person learn to find their inner peace and increase physical and mental wellness. In turn creating those healthy and peaceful communities, one person at a time, one breath at a time.

From our free community yoga program to our 200 Hour Yoga Teacher trainings and everything in between, the goals are clear: to provide an accessible toolkit for growth, change and personal development that extends beyond the conventional.

Without your participation and donations, these initiatives simply wouldn't be possible. Your support of our vision is creating change within our region that reshapes healthier and more vibrant communities throughout the California's Central Valley and beyond.

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Imagine a nonprofit where the core of every program and initiative is to provide others with access to increased health, vitality and self empowerment - sounds pretty amazing, doesn't it? That's what White Wolf Wellness Foundation does each and every day - empowering change in the community through targeted online and in person programs that enhance the human experience.

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California Association of Science Educators: Preservice Teacher Programs

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California Association of Science Educators: Preservice Teacher Programs

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Mentorship has shown that it increases teacher retention and lessens the mental anguish of the first year of teaching. The California Association of Science Educators (CASE) provide preservice science teaching candidates an opportunity to connect and work with scholars who will provide their mentorship. CASE is one way to connect veteran teachers with people new to the profession.

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ATTENTION PRESERVICE TEACHERS:

If you are a PRESERVICE teacher (without a teaching credential) currently enrolled in school, you can take advantage of CSTA's Preservice Teacher Membership! The yearly membership fee of $35 gives you access to the support, resources, professional development, and mentoring that membership in a professional organization brings with it, in addition to all of the membership benefits offered to CASE members.

Click here to join today!
(Proof of enrollment is required)

If you have any questions regarding the Preservice Teacher Membership, please email or call Zi Stair at (916) 979-7004.

Teach California

The California Department of Education has an excellent online resource for prospective teachers. Teach California has credentialing and job information as well as an interactive question-and-answer feature. Click on the Discover Teaching Science link on the home page to get answers to your specific questions about science teaching. http://www.teachcalifornia.org.

Science Education Community in the CSU

The Science Education Community in the CSU is a community of members-CSU faculty, K-12 science teachers throughout California, K-12 administrators, interested legislators, and, of particular importance, preservice through Induction year science teachers, including undergraduate and credential students and those in their first three years of teaching science. The Science Education Community in the CSU is based upon the concept of a "teaching commons" whereby the community of California's K-12 science teachers and university science teacher educators advance and promote the scholarship of teaching and learning science through sharing of ideas, practices, and information, and resources. Find a wealth of information and assistance at http://teachingcommons.cdl.edu/sec/.

Science Teacher as Researcher (STAR)

The STEM Teacher and Researcher program is a nine-week paid summer research experience program for aspiring K-12 STEM teachers from any California State University (CSU) Campus or Noyce Scholars from any US university. Undergraduates on a teaching path, STEM undergraduates seriously considering a career in teaching, masters students, or credential candidates who want to be the best STEM teachers with the most real-world science, technology, engineering, and math experience on their resume' compete to become STAR Fellows. This is the deal. You spend nine summer weeks working full-time with a research team at one of our partner lab sites on cutting edge projects. You work hard, challenging yourself and learning new skills while advancing real science in a field that interests you. You meet fabulous people and immerse yourself in the culture of science. Each week you participate in an education workshop focused on transferring your lab or field experience to the classroom. Finally, you share your knowledge at a conference. Our funding partners pay you a weekly stipend for your work, the labs get you to help answer pressing questions, and -most importantly- your students get a teacher that knows how science works in the real world. Everybody wins! Additional information and videos about the STAR program can be found at StarTeacherResearcher.org.

Preservice Teacher Program (PST)

The US Department of Energy Office of Science runs a program to provide internships for preservice teachers (PST). This program is a paid, ten-week summer research program. Similar to STAR, the PST program sends preservice teachers to work in research labs. Like STAR students, the PST students will be creating a research poster/presentation at the end of their program. More information can be found at www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/PST/about.htm.

PowerPoint Presentation for Preservice Teachers

Click on this link to view a PowerPoint presentation which will familiarize you with your professional organization! Science Methods Instructors download activities to use with your preservice students

Credentialing Information for Prospective Teachers

Teachers are credentialed for teaching by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Information for Elementary Credential
Information for Secondary Credential

Preservice/New Teacher

$35

Preservice/New Teacher Membership

Preservice - Available only to undergraduate and credential students.

New Teacher (1st or 2nd Year Only)

Join Online

1-Year Membership

$60

1-Year Membership

Enjoy a full year of CASE membership.

Join Online

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If you are a PRESERVICE teacher (without a teaching credential) currently enrolled in school, you can take advantage of CSTA's Preservice Teacher Membership! The yearly membership fee of $35 gives you access to the support, resources, professional development, and mentoring that membership in a professional organization brings with it, in addition to all of the membership benefits offered to CASE members.

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Random Acts of Kindness Foundation's goals are to build kindness, empathy, and joy in every student. This foundation has free K-12 lesson plans to build a healthy mentality by spreading the kindness. As an educator, the free curriculum allows us to use effective activities to teach social emotional goals and frees up our time for personal use. For students, they will experience how to spread kindness and mindfullness to build up their mental health strategies.

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Educational Leadership: Is it Burnout? Or Demoralization?

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Educational Leadership: Is it Burnout? Or Demoralization?

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Demoralization is the changing of values and morals of a person due to their experience. It is often very hard to find perspective when teachers experience burnout. This article provides a through distinction between burnout and demoralization. This study also defines how demoralization affects the students, organization, and coworkers.

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Online June 2018 | Volume 75
Fighting Educator Burnout Pages 10-15

Doris A. Santoro

The word "burnout" is commonly invoked to explain experienced teachers' dissatisfaction with their work and their subsequent departure from the profession. The word suggests a flame extinguished-that teachers have exhausted their personal resources and have nothing left to offer.

Certainly, teachers in high-pressure environments with inadequate supports are susceptible to burnout. School leaders should be attentive to these conditions and address them.

However, burnout is not the only type of dissatisfaction that may contribute to experienced teacher attrition. After researching the sources of teacher dissatisfaction for more than 10 years, I have discovered another challenge to teachers-and one that might even be more pervasive than burnout: demoralization. Demoralization is a form of professional dissatisfaction that occurs when teachers encounter consistent and pervasive challenges to enacting the values that motivate their work (Santoro, 2018a). Teachers who experience demoralization believe that the school practices or policy mandates that they are expected to follow are harmful to students or degrading to the profession and that their attempts to alter them have been fruitless.

Demoralization is a moral type of dissatisfaction that needs to be understood as a problem of professional ethics. It can affect all kinds of teachers-from those in high-poverty schools under close scrutiny for student- achievement gains to those in well-resourced institutions that routinely make the lists of the top schools in the United States. What connects demoralized teachers in these distinct environments is that they believe that they are doing wrong in the name of the profession they love.

A Moral Conflict

Teachers experiencing demoralization are faced with moral dilemmas, but these dilemmas are not the type that demand, "What's the right course of action?" Instead, the moral dilemmas teachers often face take the form of, "I am confident about the right course of action, and I am not allowed to take it." Demoralization reaches its peak when teachers believe that they are violating basic expectations that educators should embody: Do no harm to students, support student learning, and engage in professional behavior.

These principles of educator conduct are not idiosyncratic or romantic. They were identified more than 50 years ago by education sociologist Daniel Lortie (1967) as norms of "client responsibility" (what students, their families, and their communities deserve) and norms of "craft performance" (what teachers should reasonably be expected to do as part of their professional responsibility). They shape the moral centers that bring teachers to this work, guide their practice, and sustain them over the long haul.

And yet I find that in many schools teachers feel these basic beliefs are being violated. Here is a sampling of the kinds of situations that may exacerbate teacher demoralization:

Failing to meet students' learning needs due to a scripted curriculum or mandated textbook.

Following school practices that increasingly focus on academic achievement, even though students arrive at school with profound emotional needs.

Witnessing students feel worthless as schools are graded, ranked, and closed.

Being pressured by school leaders to pass students so schools can improve publicly available graduation rates.

Witnessing school leaders' rejection of teacher expertise and initiative in favor of adopting expensive products and services that yield dubious results.

Observing the increasing use of alternative and fast-track licensure programs that degrade and deprofessionalize teaching.

These challenges are taking a severe toll on the profession. Surveys show a "precipitous drop" in teachers' job satisfaction since 2009 and an "undercurrent of despair" about their work (MetLife, 2013; Office of Performance Evaluations, 2013). A Gallup report, "The State of America's Schools" (2014), described teaching as "vilified." The same report drew on daily tracking research conducted in 2012 that revealed teachers were least likely to agree with the statement, "At my work, my opinions seem to count," compared with 12 other occupations. Of the 100 percent of teachers in one survey who began their careers feeling enthusiastic about their profession, only 53 percent remained enthusiastic in 2015 (American Federation of Teachers & Badass Teachers Association, 2015).

Given this profound dissatisfaction amongst teachers, school leaders are wise in trying to reverse it. However, the most robust data do not reveal conclusively that the problem is burnout per se. We know that teachers are experiencing dissatisfaction (Keigher, 2010), but, like doctors, we must be careful to look for the true source of the problem in order to properly treat it. A headache can be caused by many things, from dehydration to a concussion, but the remedies will be very different for those problems. Similarly, school leaders need to get to the root of teacher dissatisfaction so it can be diagnosed and treated properly.

Finding the Right Remedy

Burnout is only one possible manifestation of dissatisfaction, and it is one that lays the problem squarely at the feet of teachers. When we say a teacher has "burned out," we suggest that there is something wrong with the individual, and we imply that teachers come to the profession with a finite amount of personal and professional resources. The logic of burnout suggests that if these resources were not in sufficient abundance or were not properly conserved, then they will dry up.

The demands of teaching are profound, and it is understandable that without sufficient external and internal supports, teachers may have nothing left to give. Usually, the recommendations for attenuating burnout involve self-care, mindfulness, and boundary setting. All of these can be invaluable tools for teachers who face the many stressors embedded in this work. However, these prescriptions for well-being assume that the problem is about individual resilience, tolerance of adversity, and managing workload. The recommended fix will often be an "inside job" to be undertaken by teachers as individuals.

In contrast, the diagnosis of demoralization characterizes the problem as a value conflict experienced as a result of policies, mandates, and school practices. The individual teacher has not failed. In demoralization, experienced educators understand that they are facing a conflict between their vision of good work and their teaching context (Santoro, 2018a). The values that teachers bring to the work (serving students and their communities, upholding the dignity of the profession) are still worthwhile, but are being thwarted by the conditions in which they work.

By responding as if teacher dissatisfaction is the individual's problem, school leaders can make the problem even worse and repel some of the strongest and most dedicated experienced teachers in their buildings, districts, and states.

When School Leaders Undermine Good Work

It can be difficult to determine what is causing teacher dissatisfaction. Demoralization, in its later stages, has many of the same outward symptoms as burnout. Teachers experiencing demoralization may describe feeling depressed and exhausted and report physical ailments.

The difference in demoralized teachers is that they retain their commitment to engaging in good work and, by all outward measures, are performing very well. It is their frustration of not being able to do good work that is the source of their dissatisfaction. They may feel a sense of complicity in harming students or undermining the profession, which leads to guilt and shame that make the work intolerable.

The teachers I have interviewed who are experiencing demoralization are leaders in their buildings and districts. They are asked to lead professional development, build district curriculum guidelines, and initiate special programs. Many are nationally board certified and have received awards for their teaching. Teaching well and providing service to their communities is how these educators choose to embody good work, but something is causing a conflict with that choice.

For example, Diane, a 21-year veteran teacher who I interviewed during my research, was demoralized when she could see no way to do good work and follow her state's testing requirements. During a high-stakes state exam, Molly, one of her 4th grade students, was stuck on the word "selection" in the test's directions and asked for help. When Diane told Molly she couldn't help her due to test administration regulations, Molly broke down and sobbed. Molly's parents called Diane later that evening to apologize for her behavior. They were concerned it had compromised Diane's job. Diane told me:

As a teacher, my job is to answer questions for kids. As a teacher, it is my job to make my students feel safe and cared for and part of a community. These kids were nine years old. They have certain adults in their lives that they're supposed to be able to trust and that they care for. The fact that Molly felt that she was hurting me in any way, shape, or form by not being able to perform was wrong. It was wrong that I couldn't answer a child's question or that I couldn't read a word for her. Everything I'd been taught had already said that these are the things you're supposed to do for kids. You're supposed to help them to get to the next level. And, if you are giving them a test, it should be appropriate to what they know and are able to do. I had words and actions [for] things that I wanted to be as a teacher, and I was able to enact [them] until this point. At this point, I was no longer able to be that person that I know I want to be. I have to be this other person who feels monstrous, actually.

To make matters worse, Diane's principal and superintendent later discounted her concerns about administering high-stakes tests as a "personal" issue and characterized her voicing of her concerns as "unprofessional."

In contrast to Diane's experience, another teacher I talked to, Vanessa, had a 14-year-old career in which she had a great relationship with her principal. She believed her principal listened intently to her concerns. They did not always see eye-to-eye, and their conversations could get heated. However, their touchstone question was moral: "Is it good for kids?" This shared moral concern enabled them to build mutual respect, even in the midst of strong disagreement.

Vanessa, however, became demoralized when a new principal joined the faculty who seemed to operate without a shared understanding of good work. He had scant classroom teaching experience and refused to engage her in conversations about teaching and learning. From Vanessa's perspective, he believed the only worthwhile goal was teacher compliance with district mandates, while she envisioned a much broader purpose for her work. Vanessa believed that her new principal interpreted her concerns as personal complaints in response to district mandates, rather than her attempt to uphold her professional responsibility from the more expansive position of good work.

When school leaders ignore teachers' moral concerns about their work, they miss an opportunity to identify crucial common ground. Successfully responding to demoralization requires that school leaders recognize teachers' moral motivations, listen for the moral concerns when teachers raise questions about policies and practices, and problem solve with teachers to identify how they can find a way to do good work in the midst of mandates. This allows teachers to take action, ideally with the support and encouragement of their school leaders, to find a way to enact the moral purposes that brought them to this work.

Moral Power to You!

What would it have looked like for Vanessa's new principal to attempt to understand her point of view? Or for Diane's principal to acknowledge her concerns as a matter of professional ethics, rather than labeling her speaking up as "unprofessional?" Even if both Diane and her principal were beholden to the state requirements for testing conditions, they could have collaborated with their teachers as allies by discussing ways to minimize the potential harm to students.

School leaders who care about improving teacher satisfaction and retention should consider incorporating strategies that address demoralization into their plans. The very first step might be to determine the source of teachers' dissatisfaction. One way school leaders can do this is to listen for, recognize, and respond to teachers moral concerns (Santoro, 2108b).

Responding thoughtfully to teacher's moral concerns may involve:

Facilitating discussions about what good teaching entails. Learn what faculty members believe supports them or prevents them from engaging in good teaching.

Becoming curious about teachers' resistance. School leaders can find out about the principles that guide teachers' work in these conversations.

Inviting teachers to develop proposals to resolve or address value conflicts in their work.

Separating federal, state, and district initiatives into three categories: nonnegotiable, desirable, and better-off-ignored. Protect teachers from unnecessary new initiatives. Sustain focus on the initiatives that advance the goals and mission of the school. Communicate the relationship between the mission and goals to the expectations you have for faculty.

Sharing responsibility for difficult decisions with teachers (for instance, passing or suspending students). Avoid passing the buck.

Instituting exit interviews and collecting data on why teachers leave a school or district.

Demoralization is a process, not a single event. Preventing and reversing demoralization entails that school leaders be cognizant of and recognize the moral commitments teachers bring to their work. It means working with teachers to articulate the features of good work and to support ways that good work can be done in their classroom, school, district, and state.

References

American Federation of Teachers & Badass Teachers Association. (2015). Quality of worklife survey. Retrieved May 4, 2018 from www.aft.org/sites/default/files/worklifesurveyresults2015.pdf

Gallup. (2014). The state of America's schools. Retrieved June 23, 2014 from www.gallup.com/services/178709/state-america-schools-report.aspx

Keigher, A. (2010). Teacher attrition and mobility: Results from the 2008-09 teacher follow-up survey (NCES 2010-353). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 7, 2014 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch

Lortie, D. C. (1967). The teacher's shame: Anger and the normative commitments of classroom teachers. The School Review, 75(2), 155-171.

MetLife. (2013). The MetLife survey of the American teacher: Challenges for school leadership. Retrieved from www.metlife.com/content/dam/microsites/about/corporate-profile/MetLife-Teacher-Survey-2012.pdf

Office of Performance Evaluations. (2013). Workforce issues affecting public school teachers. Boise, ID: Idaho Legislature.

Santoro, D. A. (2018a). Demoralized: Why teachers leave the profession they love and how they can stay. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Santoro, D. A. (2018b, May). Demoralized teachers and what local leaders might do. School Administrator. pp. 14-15.

Endnote

All names of interviewed teachers and their students are psuedonyms

Doris A. Santoro ( dsantoro@bowdoin.edu) is associate professor of education and chair of the education department at Bowdoin College. She is a philosopher of education and a teacher educator. Follow her on Twitter.

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Online June 2018 | Volume 75 Fighting Educator Burnout Pages 10-15 Doris A. Santoro The word "burnout" is commonly invoked to explain experienced teachers' dissatisfaction with their work and their subsequent departure from the profession. The word suggests a flame extinguished-that teachers have exhausted their personal resources and have nothing left to offer.

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Stand and Deliver is one of the ultimate teaching movies. Jamie Escalante's inspiring dedication and issues provide a look at how the profession displays both negative and positive policies. The interactions between Escalante and his coworkers provides an opportunity to reflect on a teacher's perspective of the relationship we experience.

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Stand and Deliver (1988) ⭐ 7.3 | Biography, Drama

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A classroom is a fluid structure with daily ups and downs. On the days that are heavy and we feel disillusioned from the profession, it is important that we discuss our emotions and actions of the day. FutureMe.org allows a private writing space that will email you your submission one year, three years, or five years to allow you to reflect on that day. If disillusionment and negativity of the day can be let go from writing and reflection in a year, a person can really see how they have grown as a person.

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FutureMe: Write a Letter to your Future Self

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Write a letter to the future and read the public (but anonymous) letters from others. FutureMe has been delivering letters to the future for millions of people since 2002.