Feeling Like a Failure As a Teacher? It’s Not Your Fault
Educators come to me all the time feeling like a failure as a teacher. They feel defeated in their jobs because they can’t keep up with all of the demands.
When I was teaching, I felt exactly the same way. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I worked, I always felt like I was running behind and failing as a teacher. There was always more I could do to help my students, more I could do to make my classroom conducive to learning, and always more I could learn.
While being a teacher is never boring, it can also be exhausting. By feeling like we’re never doing enough, we start feeling burnt out... and that teacher burnout and stress doesn’t go away because the endless demands keep coming.
But the reality is that the job of a teacher is truly never done. We may feel like we could do more, but that’s only because the expectations put on teachers are truly unobtainable.
Please hear this: if you’re feeling like a failure as a teacher, it’s not your fault. The entire education system can be incredibly dysfunctional and makes it so hard to be a teacher. Instead of beating yourself up, realize that you’re doing the best you can in an incredibly hard situation.
How to Stop Feeling Like a Failure As a Teacher
So how can you stop feeling like you’re failing as a teacher while preventing teacher burnout? Keep reading for our top three tips to actually enjoy working in education again.
Get Clear on What You Can— And Can’t— Do
After realizing that it’s not your fault that teaching feels impossible, start taking action. First, realize that you cannot do it all. Easier said than done, right? But this step is so important if you want to stop feeling like a failure as a teacher.
While work often gets continuously piled on to teachers, we need to be the ones to say “enough is enough.” Take a look at what feels the most draining to you. What do you wish would be moved off your plate? Then, consider whether it actually could be crossed off of your to-do list.
For example, if you write lengthy, personalized feedback on letters you send home to families, you might realize how draining that is. Upon reflection, you might decide that you’ll send home a general letter to families, with personalized feedback shared quarterly. When you audit how you spend your time and energy, you might be surprised to realize you can let go of some of the things that drain you without huge consequences.
Set Boundaries To Reduce Teacher Burnout
Get clear on your boundaries, then practice holding yourself to them. For example, maybe you realize that you can no longer commit to staying at school past 4 PM. In order to prioritize your well-being, you need to spend time away from work. When your colleagues ask if you’ll join a committee that meets from 4-5 PM each Wednesday, you politely decline, sharing that you’ve decided not to stay at school past 4 PM.
The first time that you communicate a new boundary, it can feel uncomfortable. It might even make that part of you that’s feeling like a failure as a teacher feel a little bit worse. But the more you do it, the better it feels!
Setting boundaries is a great way to prioritize you. Communicating what you can and cannot do allows you to take control of your schedule and minimize overwhelm. When you set boundaries with other educators, you are also modeling what it means to practice self-care in a profession that consistently asks teachers to put themselves last. So you may even help your fellow educators stop feeling like they’re failing as teachers too!
Make a More Sustainable Plan with Alternatives to Teaching
What if you get clear on what you don’t want to do and the thing you want to let go of is teaching? That’s ok! The first thing to do is to free yourself from guilt. If you feel like you’re ready to move beyond the classroom, this means that you are growing into a new part of your career– not that you’re failing as a teacher.
Teachers often feel stuck because we don’t see career pathways for ourselves beyond teaching. But there are so many alternative jobs for teachers that we can pursue in education while building more sustainable lives.
From curriculum development to education consulting to instructional coaching, there are endless possibilities. Allowing yourself to explore these career changes for teachers is another act of self-care. By honoring your desires and owning your immense skills, you can take charge of your schedule and tune into your best next step. And finding the work that will truly bring you joy and fulfillment is a pretty great way to stop feeling like a failure as a teacher.
Ready to Stop Feeling Like a Failure As a Teacher?
If you’re ready to step out of the demands of teaching and want to pursue more flexible jobs in education, then it’s time to join the Beyond the Classroom course.
Through this course, you’ll get clarity on how to move into the next phase of your career as an educator and gain access to a growing community of other educators who are making the switch to more sustainable career paths.
Have questions? Contact Educator Forever to learn more about the Beyond the Classroom course and all our other resources for teachers.