By Robin Bruno and Laine Penney
In the past decade, many students around the world have experienced student burnout, which is a state of exhaustion, inefficiency, and pessimism due to large amounts of stress regarding schoolwork and homework.
This can be fueled by many factors, whether that be personal life, school environments, or extracurricular activities. According to a survey conducted by the China Care for the Next Generation Working Committee in 2020, over 70% of adolescents experienced academic burnout. Students who take multiple AP classes are especially susceptible.
Instead, not many people acknowledge teacher burnout and how it can affect the life of the classroom. It is a sad sight to see and is often caused by a teacher dealing with multiple classes, which can be high demanding AP classes, and home life, for example, having to take care of a family.
The University of Missouri recently surveyed 468 teachers and found that 78% have considered quitting teaching since the 2020 pandemic. The numerous reasons that were cited include, “A lack of administrative support, excessive workloads, inadequate compensation and challenging student behaviors.”
This can be different for many teachers, what makes it difficult for a teacher is what occurs outside of school hours, “The combination of the amount of time you spend grading, preparing, and writing letters of recommendation are what ends up taking a lot of time.” says a teacher from Benicia High School.
Teachers can start getting into habits to help aid unavoidable stresses, such as practicing time management, taking mental health days, and engaging in relaxation techniques. Another thing that would help teachers is that the school system could hire more staff to help out, like TA’s, or provide people that can help them balance the workload and their personal lives.
beniciapaw.com 