Dave Stuart Jr.

Teaching Simplified.

The Teacher’s Journey: A Deeper, Better Way of Thinking (and Doing Something) about Burnout and Demoralization

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This year has been hard.

In some ways, what I just said is teacherspeak for October.

But in other ways, this year has been uniquely difficult for educators. It's gone worse than we expected. The needs are greater than we thought. The professional literature is a cold and barren thing compared to the raw humanity we experience each day in our classrooms.

So, what are we to do?

Zoom out

Let's do some highly technical diagramming.

You and I are on a journey this year.
It began when we made a decision: I'm going to be a teacher. I could do all kinds of other things, but no — I'm going to do this.
Eventually, stuff got hard. Maybe on the first day of class. Maybe only yesterday. But something confronted us that we weren't able to handle. A student with needs we didn't know how to meet. A colleague whose difficulty was unexpected. A parent we couldn't please. A boss out of touch with reality.
Some of us worked through it. We put our heads down and practiced. We sought wise council. We did the research. We experimented. And we found new methods or capacities that we hadn't had before. We arrived at competence.
Others of us weren't so fortunate. We did all the things you're supposed to do, but it wasn't enough. Eventually, we became burnt out or demoralized.
Meanwhile, our more fortunate colleagues, glowing with newfound competence, took on more challenges. They reached further in their classroom or outside of it.
Aaaaaaand they eventually ended up here, too.
Here's the gist: one way or another, if you stay engaged as a teacher — all-in on getting better, on advancing long-term flourishing outcomes for young people — eventually you end up at the Walls.

Weirdly enough, that's super good news

So, there are two ways to look at what I just described:

  1. That sucks, or
  2. That's awesome.

Okay, so there are more than two ways to look at it. I'm oversimplifying — perhaps criminally so. But here's how I see it:

Remaining engaged as a teacher has a built-in forcing function for growing into a deeper, maturer human being.

That forcing function is the pair of Walls — burnout and demoralization. To get through these without disengaging your heart and mind from teaching, you're forced to take on an Inner Journey.

The Inner Journey tends to include one or more of the following areas of inner work: depressurizing the self, making work behave, and/or wrestling with fundamental questions.
On the other side of the Journey is the newfound energy that comes from deepening and widening as a human being. This energy aids us in our work and in our lives.
And often, it leads us to decide, once again, to be an educator.

In the weeks to come, I'll be examining the Inner Journey here on the blog and over on YouTube. Be sure you're subscribed to both (blog, YouTube) to not miss a thing, AND do me a favor and invite a colleague who might like these things, too!

Colleagues, our work isn't just something we do; it does something to us. This is a hard truth — but it can also be such a good one.

On the journey right beside you,

DSJR

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle Roy says

    Thank you for giving me a question that I can use with the teachers I coach–“What is school for?” So simple, but so absent from our conversations about our work.

    Reply

  2. Bethwel says

    Very intense side walk you experimented,,,, would like to know how you did it to collect the evidential information😉😉

    Reply

  3. Zachary Ripley says

    So good, Dave! It’s not IF we hit a wall, it’s when… I cannot agree more and appreciate the direct path back to success.
    You’re levelling up that visuals game, too, and I am a fan (simple + clear = effective!).

    Reply

  4. Sonam Sharma says

    That’s exactly right. The new found energy part is very important, not only in the life of teachers but also in the life of every single individual. This where things start to pull you. This is where you enjoy things. This is where going extra mile feels happy. This is where you get a sense of satisfaction with your life. Thanks for posting this wonderful article.

    Reply

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