DL - Teacher Burnout

[Anonymous]

Oh and cleaning the damn house all the time since everyone is in it 25/7

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading these forums with so much whining parents and teachers are draining.

Cool. Read medical reports. They are fascinating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, what is your suggestion op? To short change the children's education even more by demanding less direct instruction time?

Open the schools to in person instruction. Problem solved!

During a pandemic! Yayyyy! (And oh, BTW, please don't quote other countries opening schools, as if that's at relevant to the massive botched response to COVID in the U.S. Thanks ever so).

Wow, you're dumb. Please tell me you don't have custody of minor children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers spend all day with 20+ children crammed into a room. There is absolutely nothing more draining than that. I understand it is a very different type of energy utilization but it will be a huge relief compared to what they are used to in terms of energy requirements- if they didn’t burnout in the classroom, they won’t during DL...

No. In over twenty years of teaching in a number of significantly different districts, countries and SES student groups, nothing was as draining as teaching on line last spring. Every nerve in your body is tense with an effort to connect with the classes. Hours and hours of preparation were essential because the things that we know work in a classroom don’t necessarily work on line. I’m thinking the reason teachers are just waking up to the fear of teaching face to face covid-ridden classes is because after the spring everyone who taught ( I don’t mean those in districts who were limited to Not introducing new material or grading) were too fried to even think about the next year. We really hoped things would be improved and we could safely return to classes. Now , we’re being told to plan for four different scenarios, and it’s hard to even determine a route. Even half time synchronous teaching is living hell. And, frankly, my students were great; they made an obvious effort to make things work. Even kids who talked over each other in class tried to listen to each other on line. There is no good solution right now, and pouring boiling oil on teachers is hardly encouraging.

OP here. I'm concerned that teachers are going to quit or take LOA if the entire school year is going to be virtual. I work one virtual conference per month and it is extremely exhausting, not to mention all of the planning and preparation that goes into preparing virtual conferences and exhibits. And I'm working with ADULTS! I can only imagine how difficult and mentally draining this will be for teachers, especially for those in the younger grades.

I'm confused. Teachers were adamant that they needed DL, now they have DL but they can't do DL, that's too hard.

Nope. That is not what it says. Point is, no teacher would choose DL for an elementary school class as a first, second, or third choice. Given the choice of DL or being stuck for hours in a room with a bunch of asymptomatic vectors who, by virtue of being normal young humans, will not be able to follow safety protocols adults are expecting of them, the choice becomes DL or find other work. While hoping this pandemic is eventually managed, DL becomes the imperfect short term solution for those intending to remain teachers. The animosity toward teachers, who did not create this virus, is disheartening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about the parents putting in 15-18 hour days due to DL supporting their young children, meals,meals,meals, and then 7-9 hours of office work, calls, deliverables.

It sucks, right. Teachers agree with you. How about this fool country manage the spread of COVID-19?

[Anonymous]

I observed a few teachers teach online this spring, both in a public school setting and in private school activities.

*** The bottom line is that a good teacher will rise to the occasion, regardless of familiarity with the technology or comfort with the videoconference nature of the teaching. ***

The teachers who I knew to be mediocre in their intelligence, patience and educational resources, fared the worse! They got impatient, overwhelmed, did not know how to discipline wayward students, and ended up exhausted and unhappy.

The teachers who I knew to be passionate, smart and resourceful, even older teachers who at first had difficulty navigating the various platforms and the different rhythm involved in online conversations, did very well indeed, and managed to keep their students' attention, channel the students' energy, and provide quality content.

So... the problems will be exactly the same as before. Good teachers will stay good teachers. Bad teachers will always be bad teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers spend all day with 20+ children crammed into a room. There is absolutely nothing more draining than that. I understand it is a very different type of energy utilization but it will be a huge relief compared to what they are used to in terms of energy requirements- if they didn’t burnout in the classroom, they won’t during DL...

No. In over twenty years of teaching in a number of significantly different districts, countries and SES student groups, nothing was as draining as teaching on line last spring. Every nerve in your body is tense with an effort to connect with the classes. Hours and hours of preparation were essential because the things that we know work in a classroom don’t necessarily work on line. I’m thinking the reason teachers are just waking up to the fear of teaching face to face covid-ridden classes is because after the spring everyone who taught ( I don’t mean those in districts who were limited to Not introducing new material or grading) were too fried to even think about the next year. We really hoped things would be improved and we could safely return to classes. Now , we’re being told to plan for four different scenarios, and it’s hard to even determine a route. Even half time synchronous teaching is living hell. And, frankly, my students were great; they made an obvious effort to make things work. Even kids who talked over each other in class tried to listen to each other on line. There is no good solution right now, and pouring boiling oil on teachers is hardly encouraging.

OP here. I'm concerned that teachers are going to quit or take LOA if the entire school year is going to be virtual. I work one virtual conference per month and it is extremely exhausting, not to mention all of the planning and preparation that goes into preparing virtual conferences and exhibits. And I'm working with ADULTS! I can only imagine how difficult and mentally draining this will be for teachers, especially for those in the younger grades.

I'm confused. Teachers were adamant that they needed DL, now they have DL but they can't do DL, that's too hard.

Nope. That is not what it says. Point is, no teacher would choose DL for an elementary school class as a first, second, or third choice. Given the choice of DL or being stuck for hours in a room with a bunch of asymptomatic vectors who, by virtue of being normal young humans, will not be able to follow safety protocols adults are expecting of them, the choice becomes DL or find other work. While hoping this pandemic is eventually managed, DL becomes the imperfect short term solution for those intending to remain teachers. The animosity toward teachers, who did not create this virus, is disheartening.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about the parents putting in 15-18 hour days due to DL supporting their young children, meals,meals,meals, and then 7-9 hours of office work, calls, deliverables.

Here \__________/

Now you have a fancy receptacle for your crocodile tears. Welcome to the world, phony parent!

Next time swallow or use a condom. You’re not welcome

[Anonymous]

Yep, let's keep fighting amongst ourselves. That's what they want. Divisiveness. It's the federal government's fault. WAY less expensive to have tests for everyone with results before school, every day, contact tracing, funding for quarantine.

[Anonymous]

Listen, I am sure this is a real concern, but we will be coming off of teachers having a full 3 months off. If that doesn’t sustain them until at least January then that’s crazy. Nobody else gets a break like that. DH and I are burnt out with ZERO end in sight so cry me a river.

[Anonymous]

You are misguided. Many teachers are working everyday now, unpaid, though most are taking a week or two off. And yes, your situation is undoubtedly, relentlessly difficult. Those discussing what distance learning is like are not claiming everyone else is having a rollicking good time during a pandemic. They are just responding to the thread topic. As a pp noted, division of the citizenry Diverts from pressing for real solutions to a 100 year health disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers spend all day with 20+ children crammed into a room. There is absolutely nothing more draining than that. I understand it is a very different type of energy utilization but it will be a huge relief compared to what they are used to in terms of energy requirements- if they didn’t burnout in the classroom, they won’t during DL...

No. In over twenty years of teaching in a number of significantly different districts, countries and SES student groups, nothing was as draining as teaching on line last spring. Every nerve in your body is tense with an effort to connect with the classes. Hours and hours of preparation were essential because the things that we know work in a classroom don’t necessarily work on line. I’m thinking the reason teachers are just waking up to the fear of teaching face to face covid-ridden classes is because after the spring everyone who taught ( I don’t mean those in districts who were limited to Not introducing new material or grading) were too fried to even think about the next year. We really hoped things would be improved and we could safely return to classes. Now , we’re being told to plan for four different scenarios, and it’s hard to even determine a route. Even half time synchronous teaching is living hell. And, frankly, my students were great; they made an obvious effort to make things work. Even kids who talked over each other in class tried to listen to each other on line. There is no good solution right now, and pouring boiling oil on teachers is hardly encouraging.

OP here. I'm concerned that teachers are going to quit or take LOA if the entire school year is going to be virtual. I work one virtual conference per month and it is extremely exhausting, not to mention all of the planning and preparation that goes into preparing virtual conferences and exhibits. And I'm working with ADULTS! I can only imagine how difficult and mentally draining this will be for teachers, especially for those in the younger grades.

I'm confused. Teachers were adamant that they needed DL, now they have DL but they can't do DL, that's too hard.

Nope. That is not what it says. Point is, no teacher would choose DL for an elementary school class as a first, second, or third choice. Given the choice of DL or being stuck for hours in a room with a bunch of asymptomatic vectors who, by virtue of being normal young humans, will not be able to follow safety protocols adults are expecting of them, the choice becomes DL or find other work. While hoping this pandemic is eventually managed, DL becomes the imperfect short term solution for those intending to remain teachers. The animosity toward teachers, who did not create this virus, is disheartening.

Teachers lobbied ferociously for 100% DL, insisting how effective it is notwithstanding the obvious truth. Even a part-time hybrid model was viciously attached with doom and gloom exaggerations.

And now you're whining about DL? Will ever stop? Now lie in the bed you made!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about the parents putting in 15-18 hour days due to DL supporting their young children, meals,meals,meals, and then 7-9 hours of office work, calls, deliverables.

It’s called parenting. Why did you become a parent if you didn’t want to take care of your kids?

[Anonymous]

OP, thank you for bringing this up, and I’d appreciate any advice or resources you would be willing to provide.

I found distance teaching enormously stressful and exhausting, even just during the single daily lessons in the spring. I have manageable anxiety (general and social), but the performative nature and knowing that the parents were watching/listening made teaching online so much more difficult than in person. Plus my families have no or limited English, there were major tech issues, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers spend all day with 20+ children crammed into a room. There is absolutely nothing more draining than that. I understand it is a very different type of energy utilization but it will be a huge relief compared to what they are used to in terms of energy requirements- if they didn’t burnout in the classroom, they won’t during DL...

No. In over twenty years of teaching in a number of significantly different districts, countries and SES student groups, nothing was as draining as teaching on line last spring. Every nerve in your body is tense with an effort to connect with the classes. Hours and hours of preparation were essential because the things that we know work in a classroom don’t necessarily work on line. I’m thinking the reason teachers are just waking up to the fear of teaching face to face covid-ridden classes is because after the spring everyone who taught ( I don’t mean those in districts who were limited to Not introducing new material or grading) were too fried to even think about the next year. We really hoped things would be improved and we could safely return to classes. Now , we’re being told to plan for four different scenarios, and it’s hard to even determine a route. Even half time synchronous teaching is living hell. And, frankly, my students were great; they made an obvious effort to make things work. Even kids who talked over each other in class tried to listen to each other on line. There is no good solution right now, and pouring boiling oil on teachers is hardly encouraging.

OP here. I'm concerned that teachers are going to quit or take LOA if the entire school year is going to be virtual. I work one virtual conference per month and it is extremely exhausting, not to mention all of the planning and preparation that goes into preparing virtual conferences and exhibits. And I'm working with ADULTS! I can only imagine how difficult and mentally draining this will be for teachers, especially for those in the younger grades.

I'm confused. Teachers were adamant that they needed DL, now they have DL but they can't do DL, that's too hard.

Nope. That is not what it says. Point is, no teacher would choose DL for an elementary school class as a first, second, or third choice. Given the choice of DL or being stuck for hours in a room with a bunch of asymptomatic vectors who, by virtue of being normal young humans, will not be able to follow safety protocols adults are expecting of them, the choice becomes DL or find other work. While hoping this pandemic is eventually managed, DL becomes the imperfect short term solution[b] for those intending to remain teachers. The animosity toward teachers, who did not create this virus, is disheartening.

A year or two is not short term.