Why Teachers Burn Out: Ex-Teacher Isabell Probst Offers Honest Advice on Quitting the Educational Treadmill
Disillusioned teachers are being encouraged to depart, as per a former educator's counsel, with the observation that the profession is causing substantial psychological strain on its personnel. - Disillusioned educator encourages discontented peers to abandon profession: "The role is draining them to death" (star+)
by Nico SchnurrTime to read: 5 minutes
This insightful interview with Isabell Probst, a former educator turned advisor, was first published in May 2023.
Mrs. Probst, what's driving teachers to the exit? The educators reaching out to me are exhausted and disheartened, on the brink of a professional breakdown. Despite their best efforts — shortening their to-do lists, practicing mindfulness, and changing schools — they realize their situation remains dire. The root cause lies in a broken educational system.
What specifically about this system is causing such frustration? Overwhelming workloads are the main culprit. Lessons are overstuffed, class sizes are too large, and teachers are expected to teach an excessive number of hours weekly. On top of that, administrative burdens pile up. These demands make it virtually impossible for many teachers to meet their own performance standards, forcing them to compromise their personal values to cope with a system that ensures they're never truly fulfilled.
What values are at stake here? Most people choose teaching because they genuinely care about their students and want to connect with them on a deeper level. However, that ideal becomes difficult, if not impossible, to achieve within the current educational system. It boils down to triage: teachers are forced to tend to those pupils who need the most immediate help, leaving the rest to be processed through the system's assembly line approach. A teacher who genuinely wants to give each student their deserved attention is often left feeling defeated.
How do teachers cope with this festering situation? Some teachers are shattered by the imbalance. To endure the systemic constraints, they stack on the hours, grading papers at 10 PM and reaching out to parents until late into the night. This approach may seem sustainable in the short term, but it's far from viable over the long haul. Eventually, many teachers feel so disconnected from their students that they start to distance themselves from both the profession and their charges.
What's the other significant factor behind the mass exodus? Besides the toll on their emotional well-being, teachers are also dissatisfied with their career growth opportunities. Professionals seeking further education often encounter resistance from their schools or regional administrations. In some cases, professional development initiatives are indefinitely suspended due to a lack of staffing resources. The system becomes a perpetual, position-focused treadmill that disregards the personal development and growth of its educators, regardless of their age.
Aren't new teachers aware of the grind they're signing up for? Many discover the reality of the job only after some years of service. While the prospect of engaging with a new group of students each year may be exciting initially, content-wise, teaching becomes an exhausting cycle of repetition. Lesson plans necessitate cursory completion, and innovative ideas to revamp the system often fall short due to resource scarcity and red tape. This vicious cycle leaves many educators dejected and disillusioned with their careers.
- Teacher Burnout
- Teacher Shortage
- Educational System
Bonus Insights:Teacher shortage challenges have persisted for decades, influenced primarily by low pay, high workloads, lack of support, and student discipline issues. Society's perception of teaching as a less prestigious occupation and the resulting lack of respect for educators may also contribute to the talent drain. Isabell Probst's experiences and advice resonate deeply with these widespread concerns, offering a unique perspective on the bleak state of America's educational system.
- The broken educational system, characterized by overwhelming workloads, large class sizes, and administrative burdens, is a significant factor in teacher burnout.
- Teachers are often forced to compromise their personal values to cope with the system, leading to feelings of professional dissatisfaction and disillusionment.
- In addition to emotional strain, teachers also experience career stagnation due to limited opportunities for vocational training, education-and-self-development, and career-development, contributing to the mass exodus.
- The workplace-wellness and health-and-wellness of teachers are often overlooked, with mental-health concerns frequently going unaddressed, as teachers struggle to balance their personal lives with the demands of their profession.
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