Teacher to Teacher: Beating Burnout

Previously published in Volume 84, Issue 4

Being a health and physical education professional is rewarding, but it's also a career with challenges. We want to help our members connect and share the issues that come up in their classrooms so we can all learn from our collective experience. 

Question: How can I avoid getting into a rut? Or worse, burning out?

Answer: It's easy to fall into a routine of teaching the same activities, skills, concepts and sports every year. For a while, it can seem like a good idea: You iron out the kinks and get better and better at your routine.

However, it's only a matter of time before that routine becomes a rut. But losing your ability to adapt and change—even aside from missing opportunities for professional and personal growth—will make everyday life as physical and health educator harder. There will always be students who challenge you in a new way, equipment malfunctions, times when the gymnasium is inaccessible, and the list goes on. If you’ve lost the ability to be agile and think on your feet, those daily molehills will quickly become mountains.

On the other hand, when you make an effort to find new games, seek new ways to teach skills and try out new equipment, you'll stay more positive and enthusiastic, and you'll also be more likely to handle the frequent curveballs that come with the career. Here are a few strategies to help keep things fresh, new and interesting: 

1. Attend professional development courses, go to conferences, take online classes or just meet up with colleagues as often as possible. 
2. Sign up for blogs and newsletters—and then set aside a specific time each week to actually read them.
3. Commit to posting about your classes regularly on social media. Being public about your lessons might make you up your game. And conversations sparked with colleagues might inspire even more new ideas. Just make sure to follow your school's policy when posting the photos of your students.
4. If it's in the budget, buy some new—possibly unusual—equipment and see what you can do with it, or partner with another school to trade equipment partway through the year so you can test out some new sports or skills. 
5. Create some games or skill drills of your own, or invite students to pitch in with their own ideas, as well.

And finally, I'd add that it's important to respect your need to recharge. Set aside time on Fridays, if at all possible, to get organized for the next week. That way the weekend can be all about taking care of yourself (and your home and your family and your dog) and not about lessons plans.

Have a question you'd like to ask a colleague? PHE Canada would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] and you might see your query in a future issue.