Start of the School Year – Avoid Being Over Committed

It's the beginning of the school year, and for many teachers this is their first year teaching. One of the biggest challenges new teachers face is finding balance between work and their personal lives.

I recently spoke with a few beginning teachers.  They clearly communicated their commitment and enthusiasm for the upcoming school year,  planning to put 110% into the experience.

However, the drawback can be stress and eventual burnout.  Even Tony Danza struggled with this!

A feeling of fatigue can come many sources: lesson planning, school involvement, family communication, grading, paperwork, etc.

How does one find balance?  It's tricky.  Here is one of my favorite quotes from Road to Teaching that puts a teachers' struggle to find balance into a good framework:

"The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs.  The chicken is involved; the pig is committed." – Martina Navratilova

While it's important to be involved, my advice to any beginning teacher is not to be the pig.  Don't over commit to activities outside of class and, in the end, you won't get burned-out / slaughtered from the pressure.  For example, instead of committing to coach the basketball team, volunteer to be fill-in when needed or maybe even be the assistant coach.  Rather than taking lead on planning a big school-wide event, take a smaller role or just simply volunteer for a few hours.

The greatest tool you have available is your ability to say "NO."  Your colleagues and administrators understand that you are under a lot of pressure and you have some type of personal life outside of the school.

RESOURCE LINK

Road to Teaching: A Guide to Teacher Training, Student Teaching, and Finding a Job

Resources on Stress Management