The Burn Remedy [#MTBoSBlaugust]

It's #MTBoSBlaugust 2016!  I'm challenging myself to blog daily throughout August, and you can too.  Join the fun!

I wanted to share something I've been enjoying lately.  If you've been reading my blog over the past year, then you know that I've had a rough year.  If you haven't been reading my blog over the past year, well, last year was rough.  The "I'm not sure if I want to keep teaching" kind of rough.  I've heard it's quite common for the fourth year of teaching.  And, of course, there's the well-known statistic that about 50% of new teachers quit the profession within the first 5 years.  I decided my first year of teaching that that wouldn't be me. 

I was burned out this year.  For many reasons, some of which I discussed in previous posts, and others that are more personal.  We are lucky to have an instructional coach in our school.  I asked her if there were any resources she knew of that could help.  She found some for me, but she didn't have any resources for remedying teacher burn out.  They were more preventative.  Honestly, at that point, it was April/May, and I was looking forward to a refreshing summer and starting anew in September, and by then the figurative smoke was clearing.

This summer I started actually using the Twitter account I made 3 years ago.  I saw that someone tweeted about the Truth for Teachers podcast, and thought that it sounded like something I would enjoy.  I was right; I love it!  I have been listening to it while driving, and last week I listened to it while setting up my classroom.  (One of the benefits of setting up my classroom before the conference days start is that I'm pretty much there alone, and I'm working uninterrupted.)

Some of the recent podcast titles include:

• 5 back-to-school time traps (and how to escape them)
• 6 simple steps to your best summer ever
• 8 keys to avoiding teacher burnout
• 10 tips for conveying bad news in a parent-teacher conference

The episodes are great, and helpful to teachers in general.  I know I will be listening to some of the same episodes over and over.  The best two words to describe the podcast are inspirational and uplifting.  New episodes are posted every Monday, and who doesn't need inspirational, uplifting messages on a Monday?  What I really love is how the host, Angela Watson, addresses burn out, and has solutions ready.  

When you listen, you may hear Angela say that she taught elementary.  When something gets labeled as being elementary, I start to tune it out because that's not for me.  The majority of what Angela has to say is applicable to all teachers.

Angela has also written books that I am interested in reading.   I am starting to read Awakened.  The description of the book sounds like an attitude adjustment that could prevent burn out altogether.  I would also really like to read Unshakeable.  The description of Unshakeable makes it sound like a book for when you are feeling burned out.  The best thing about these books is that they are reasonably priced.  (I cannot tell you how many times I've picked up or looked up a book for education, and it is over $25!  It makes me so angry.  We're teachers.  We are going to be constantly buying books like this; the nature of our job demands it.  Why does it always have to be so much money?)

So in short, Angela Watson is my new hero and you should listen to her podcast.  I was never a podcast listener before, and now I love it!  Get your weekly dose of Monday Motivation.