Are You on Fire or Burning Out?

With these conditions needed, it is easy to see why we, as teachers, rarely can stay “on fire” about much of anything. In our bell-to-bell days, we are not always clear on overarching goals, receive feedback rarely, and we certainly can’t focus on a specific task because our focus must be divided. Additionally, it's hard to find the sweet spot between automaticity of our teaching and challenging ourselves to be better, and we all know that personal control and agency are knocks against the teaching life. Yet, there are times when we do reach that flow state, right? When I think about the times when I’m “on fire,” it never happens without a collective purpose. 

The last time I felt “on fire” was our recent Reading Opens the World event, Fall into Reading. Our union was the recipient of an AFT grant, allowing us to give away thousands of books for free. For two hours, we were able to provide our community with lots of great literacy opportunities, and our community partners were in sync with us. The Buffalo Zoo, the Buffalo Historical Society, many of our first responders from all over the county, our students, and many of our teachers all came together for a great event. You can watch a video overview here. Those two hours flew by, and the work was effortless. Did we have the elements in place to create that “flow” state? Yep. Our goals were clear, the feedback was immediate and positive, we all had intense focus on our particular tasks, we used our skill sets but were also challenged in the environment, and we experienced personal control and autonomy. By all accounts, everyone who participated was fulfilled by this experience. This is not to say that it wasn’t a tremendous amount of work on the front side, right? My team and I had been planning since August, and there were days when I was very overwhelmed in coordination efforts, but it led to an “on fire” event because we came together for a common good. 

Now, let’s contrast that with the “burning out” experience that often happens during our regular school day. In our profession, do we usually have immediate feedback or are we waiting weeks or months for an observation to be returned or test results to come back? Are our goals always clear? Or, are we tasked with the impossible or at least improbable? How often are our plans and focus interrupted by the everyday experiences of fire drills, assemblies, field trips, student absences, meetings, and the like? Do we usually feel that our talents are being utilized and our abilities challenged? And, for anyone who feels the exhaustion of burnout sweep over them, isn’t it usually because we feel powerless? 

Why am I sharing this contrast? In part, I want educators to understand that the very nature of our jobs is counter to the needed conditions to reach flow, to feel “on fire” in our siloed classrooms. I don’t point this out to disparage schools, but instead, I want to make it clear that we are not lacking. We are not the problem. The problem lies in the complexity of the job and the absolute isolation that happens to us all. You see, the state of flow, the feeling of being “on fire” is a direct result of singularity of purpose but is best achieved together. It is impossible—in a room full of diverse students with a wide array of skills, needs and talents—to have a singular purpose. Instead, we must recognize that the work we do every day can cause burnout, and we need to be very intentional in how we approach it. 

What can we do? First, it seems to me that the best way to approach the teaching life is arm in arm with our fellow teachers. We must share our goals for students, working together and providing feedback to each other. We must come together around shared goals for our students and our communities. We must lean on each other, celebrate each other’s specific skill sets, and learn from our colleagues. Finally, we must absolutely demand autonomy over our curriculums and never bend to outside interests that are not best for our students. We can fight the burnout together. We are warriors and caregivers!

Second, we need to push for opportunities to collaborate, and really focus on the types of experiences that will allow our students to experience flow. We need to protect them from burnout, right? We can provide them with opportunities to get in their flow, feel on fire, and recognize that the environments we create for our students can counteract the rigidity of schools. If you are interested in some of my ideas for a flexible class, I share them on my website, Flexibleclass.com and in these resources: “Creating a Flexible Classroom,”  “Isn’t It About Time for Flexible Grading?” and “The Flexible Approach to Social Emotional Learning.”

For ideas to prevent burnout, check out this excellent blog: “Teachers: Keep Your Bucket Filled All Year,” There’s also an amazing webinar that addresses the question we all want to know: Mental Well-Being: How Do I Take Care of Myself When So Many Others Are Needing Me? If you have ideas that will help us all have more “on fire” moments and will help us prevent burnout, please reach out and share with us!