First Aid for Teacher Burnout
How You Can Find Peace and Success
Preview
Book Description
Offering clear strategies rooted in research and expert recommendations, First Aid for Teacher Burnout empowers teachers to prevent and recover from burnout while finding success at work. Each chapter explores a different common cause of teacher burnout and provides takeaway strategies and realistic tips. Chapter coverage includes fighting low morale, diminishing stress, streamlining grading, reducing workload, leveraging collaboration, avoiding monotony, using technology to your advantage, managing classroom behavior, advocating for support from your administration, securing the help of parents and community, and more. Full of reflection exercises, confessions from real teachers, and veteran teacher tips, this accessible book provides easy-to-implement steps for alleviating burnout problems so you can enjoy peace and success in your teaching.
Table of Contents
Meet the Author
Preface
eResources
Acknowledgements
Part I: Introduction
1. Help Is on the Way
You Are Not Alone
Help for Every Culprit
Part II: Setting the Stage
2. Mindset: "My Attitude Is (Only Partly) Everything"
Avoid Toxic Traps
Amend Toxic Thinking
Adopt Healthy Habits
Reflection Exercises
3. Environment: "My Classroom Looks like a Room without Class"
Make the Project Doable
Prime Your Environment
Rearrange to Support Learning
Employ Systems
Reflection Exercises
4. Overstimulation: "My Brain Needs a Union Rep"
Set Boundaries for Others
Set Boundaries for Yourself
Employ Systems
Reflection Exercises
Part III: Goodbye, Fluff
5. Grading: "My Hobbies Are Grading, Grading, and More Grading"
Challenge Your View of Grading
Change Your Approach to Grading
Delegate for Particular Grading Needs
Let Technology Help You
Reflection Exercises
6. Volume: "I Can Do Everything I Want, in Just 48 Hours per Day"
Prime Your Outlook
Prioritize and Purge in Multiple Areas
Leverage Resources
Get Helpers for Your Classroom
Make the Most of Helpers’ Time
Reflection Exercises
7. Overcommitting: "I’m My Schools’ ‘Go to’ Volunteer"
Set Yourself up for Success
Troubleshoot Trends
Reflection Exercises
8. Collaboration: "No Offense, but I Prefer to Work Alone"
Prime Your Outlook
Find Appropriate Collaborators
Improve Collaboration’s Odds for Success
Leverage Tools
Reflection Exercises
9. Tedium: "My Work Is Monotonous. My Work Is Monotonous."
Fight Routine
Invite Challenge
Reflection Exercises
Part IV: Tools and Processes Can Be Your Friends
10. Curriculum: "I Create More from Scratch than Martha Stewart"
Use Colleagues’ Lessons
Work with Administration
Let Technology Help You
Reflection Exercises
11. Technology: "Using the TV Remote Is as Techie as I Get"
Get the Technology You Need
Get the Help You Need
Improve Technology’s Odds for Success
Use the Right Tools
Reflection Exercises
Part V: Getting Everyone on Your Side
12. Behavior: "I’m Bullied or Disregarded …by My Students"
Explore Lots of Options
Be Proactive
Manage Behavior Effectively
Turn around Tough Situations
Reflection Exercises
13. Administration: "My Higher-ups Push Me Lower-down"
Prepare Your Mindset
Help Administrators Understand
Use the Power You Have
Communicate Effectively
Consider Outside Help
Reflection Exercises
14. Community Relations: "When I Ask for Support, All I Get Back Is My Echo."
Maximize Back to School Night and Open House
Maximize Parent-Teacher Conferences
Get Adults Involved in Your Classroom
Avoid Parent Pitfalls
Actively Promote Good Publicity
Reflection Exercises
Part VI: Conclusion
15. Get Started and Keep Going
Resources
Glossary
References
Author(s)
Biography
Jenny Grant Rankin, Ph.D., teaches the PostDoc Masterclass at University of Cambridge and is a former junior high school teacher, recipient of "Teacher of the Year" award, technology coordinator, school administrator, and district administrator. She is also author of Designing Data Reports that Work: A Guide for Creating Data Systems in Schools and Districts and How to Make Data Work: A Guide for Educational Leaders.
Reviews
"This book is organized in such a way that teachers who are already cramped for time can turn to just the part of the book that applies to them, and quickly find practical tips that can make an immediate difference in their careers. I absolutely recommend it to teachers who are struggling to manage their careers right now!"
--Elizabeth Simpson, Math Coach, The Lamphere Schools, MI
"There is a drastic need for this book. As a veteran teacher, I am friends with the older teachers and a mentor to the new ones. I know all of us could use a little ‘first-aid’ and will appreciate the strategies in this book!"
--Cristie Whitley Watson, 6th Grade ELA teacher, Gravelly Hill Middle School, NC
2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention