Get Help!

Get some help! Seriously!

Often, the qualities that make someone a great teacher are often the qualities that can lead to their burnout. I would think it would be safe to say that most effective teachers have at least a little bit of "control freak" in them. This level of responsibility and ability to plan and execute well makes good teachers, but it can also make one crazy.

It's hard for control freaks to "let go." However, the most experienced and effective teachers have found the right balance. The teachers at my school who have been there for what seems like forever are some of the best delegators I have ever met.  They have trained their students, aids, and parent volunteers so well that their classroom procedures and routines run seamlessly.  This didn’t just happen overnight, it took much preparation, teaching, re-teaching, practice, modeling, reinforcing, and tweaking to become what it is today but the initial investment is well worth it.  As difficult as it is not just do it yourself, its important in maintaining your sanity and reserving your time and energy for other things. 



Here are some ideas of how to elicit some support:



-Ask for parent, guardian or even older brother or sister volunteers in the beginning of the year and make a schedule of who you can count on and when.  This is also a great way to get parents into the classroom, even in middle and high school.  You can involve parents in a really positive way and develop a relationship with them that could have a lasting benefit on your student (s).




-Delegate a “room mom or dad” to help you organize parent volunteers and support.  They can be a great resource for you when it comes to reaching out to other parents and organizing events, parties, and field trips.  Room moms or dads don’t just have to be for elementary school, you can use them in middle and high school too!  You could have a grade level parent representative or one for each period. 



-Put your kids to work!  I promise you can do with without breaking any child labor laws.  Give them classroom jobs!  You can even develop job applications and “pay” them with classroom money or other rewards.  The benefit is, if you teach them well of course, you don’t have to worry about little tasks like getting the attendance to the office, sharpening pencils, passing out papers, collecting papers, and taking lunch count.  Even the smallest jobs can teach kids great responsibilities, encourage a sense of ownership and belonging in the classroom, and build confidence and self-esteem.  It has even been a proven behavior management strategy for some students and situations.



-Collaborate with other teachers!  Don’t reinvent the wheel.  Share ideas with other teachers.  You can even divvy up the work-load in terms of lesson planning, making copies, ect. With other teachers at your grade level.  For example, if the entire grade level is starting a new Science unit, you could have different teachers take on different responsibilities and have one create the assessments, one develop the task-list for the project, ect.  And then make copies and share with eachother!