What can be done for FCPS teacher BURNOUT right now?

[Anonymous]

I get why. They have huge classes, to many varying needs in the class, demanding parents, etc. Then, it's near impossible to get a sub for a mental health day let alone a doctor's appointment.

I was volunteering at the library and it was so clear to me a teacher who is a nice, decent and good human being was going to the dark side due to stress. One of my kids had her years ago and I know she's a good person. What I saw wasn't her. She was threatening kids with all sorts of punishments, snapping at little things and she looked exhausted. She made 2 kids cry with her retorts. I know it's just a moment in time. I could not step in and ask if I could help because that would seem like I was judging her and that would not be my intention. I understand her job is very difficult and I understand why she would be so stressed. I don't want to say anything to anyone and risk getting her in trouble. Honestly, she just seemed like she needed a mental health day. I don't think any kid was damaged by anything she did.Heck, as a parent I know I have days I wish I could erase where I over-reacted and let stress get the best of me. It just seems like there needs to be SOMETHING to help make sure a stressful, no good, very bad day doesn't turn into a bad week, month and a good teacher going bad from being pulled too far.

So what can be done other than encouraging parents to have empathy and show support and encouraging teachers to recognize the signs they are burning out. I'm sure most of them see the signs, but then don't have many options. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I was a teacher. She may have something else going on that is disturbing her. One mental health day usually is not that much help. After all, we've had a few days already this year and more coming up.

She may have not felt well. She may be having trouble with her own children, husband, etc. Or, she may be losing it.

Was she sarcastic with the kids? I remember one colleague who I saw being sarcastic with the children and I realized then that she was in trouble. I had taught at the same level as her the year before and she had asked for a different grade level. When I worked with her, she was fine--but, when I saw her in the hall the next year one day, I was stunned at her sarcasm--as that was not her usual behavior with kids. Shortly after that, she had a breakdown and took off the rest of the year. It actually was personal problems--not the teaching. But, certainly, when you are having problems, teaching is not a particularly good place to be.

[Anonymous]

I am in a non-classroom based school position right now. I started teaching 23 years ago. I'll tell you -- I couldn't stand it now. Useless requirements that do nothing g to help children have easily tripled since I started teaching. I came from APS to FCPS and it is SO much more bureaucratic. Every single year eithe math or reading programs totally change, so there has literally not been a single year I've been in FCPS when teachers could just improve their craft building on what they did the year before. Every year it's a new program, new textbook, new training, new new new, and what was essential a few years back is almost completely abandoned. Testing requirements are OUT OF CONTROL. In upper ES, they did hours of iReady testing, now they're doing the mandatory ecART testing these three weeks before break (and they added a new required Science eCART in 4th and 5th on top of Math and Reading.) then as soon as we get back from break, they have to start winter IReady testing. Then the optional Assessment 2 eCART tests (which mny schools require), then iReady again, the on SOL's.

So, let's compare with when I was teaching in the 90's. Let's just be very, very conservative and say each one of these tests takes just one class day for each subject, even though many kids need 2+ Hours for eCART or iReady, so multiple days. But even at just one day, that's 7 instructional days lost for Math and 7 instructional days lost for reading. That doesn't count practice tests and retakes and kids who need more than one class period to finish. So realistically, kids are now losing at least two weeks of instructional time per subject. But they keep cramming more and more and more into the pacing guides.

Then, there are parent emails. When I was teaching in the 90's, parents had to call the school and leave a message with the main office if they wanted to talk with me. I'd return the call before or after school in the teacher's lounge. I didn't get many calls every day because parents had some perspective and only called for really important things. I taught 125 or so kids each year and would get maybe one or two calls a day, tops, many days none. Now, a teacher might have 20 or 30 emails a DAY from parents!!! And some parents have no, no idea how toxic and destructive it is to send a 10 paragraph email about your concerns about some thing their kid said happened that day. It's CRAZY. Some
Parents write EVERY day with a question or concern. Everything is micromanaged. The volume of incoming that has nothing to do with just teaching kids is overwhelming and demoralizing. If you're working 12 hours a day, you want to believe all that time away from your kid or home is really helping kids. But so often it's just bullshit.

SO! Thank you for volunteering! That helps a lot. Try to limit yourself to one email a month, and then only if it's really necessary. Let your kid handle her own missing homework assignments or make up
Work from absences. No, you don't have to write in to check your child's answer on #4 or math problems. No, you don't need to write an 8 paragraph email about your child feeling left out at her lunch table yesterday. Maybe send in a note saying your child wS excited about a project. Maybe buy the teacher a coffe and leave her a note saying her kid loves your class.

Talk to the school board about reducing teacher workload. Talk to your SB rep and let them know that teacher stress and burnout are a concern. Advocate for higher teacher pay and benefits. (We've had so few step increases for the last decade and all of that $ has been eaten up with increased health care costs, so most of us are making less each year!) talknto your SB rep about class sizes. We had 27 and 28 kids in our kindergarten classes last year! That's so, so far from best practices.

FCPS teachers have had to do so much more with so much less instructional time, more kids, lower pay, more non-student-related paperwork (like SIIP Plans and evaluation documentation logs), less help like IA's. Less individual planning time. More requirements. Teachers are being squeezed from all sides. The SB needs to know and stop the constant piling on!

Thanks for asking and caring. Thanks for FBI investigation this teacher the benefit of the doubt! Thanks for presuming the best in her.

[Anonymous]

(and sorry for the typos! I'm on my phone and typing quickly!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher. She may have something else going on that is disturbing her. One mental health day usually is not that much help. After all, we've had a few days already this year and more coming up.

She may have not felt well. She may be having trouble with her own children, husband, etc. Or, she may be losing it.

Was she sarcastic with the kids? I remember one colleague who I saw being sarcastic with the children and I realized then that she was in trouble. I had taught at the same level as her the year before and she had asked for a different grade level. When I worked with her, she was fine--but, when I saw her in the hall the next year one day, I was stunned at her sarcasm--as that was not her usual behavior with kids. Shortly after that, she had a breakdown and took off the rest of the year. It actually was personal problems--not the teaching. But, certainly, when you are having problems, teaching is not a particularly good place to be.

OP here. YES, she was very sarcastic. Even after a girl was in tears she continued to be sarcastic and annoyed that the girl took her so seriously. I know this woman. My kid loved this woman. This is NOT her. Maybe it is personal issues. I know if any of us were observed on a bad day things could seem way worse. She was one of those socially aware teachers who really cared about building a community of kindness. The "her" I know, would not approve of the "her" I saw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in a non-classroom based school position right now. I started teaching 23 years ago. I'll tell you -- I couldn't stand it now. Useless requirements that do nothing g to help children have easily tripled since I started teaching. I came from APS to FCPS and it is SO much more bureaucratic. Every single year eithe math or reading programs totally change, so there has literally not been a single year I've been in FCPS when teachers could just improve their craft building on what they did the year before. Every year it's a new program, new textbook, new training, new new new, and what was essential a few years back is almost completely abandoned. Testing requirements are OUT OF CONTROL. In upper ES, they did hours of iReady testing, now they're doing the mandatory ecART testing these three weeks before break (and they added a new required Science eCART in 4th and 5th on top of Math and Reading.) then as soon as we get back from break, they have to start winter IReady testing. Then the optional Assessment 2 eCART tests (which mny schools require), then iReady again, the on SOL's.

So, let's compare with when I was teaching in the 90's. Let's just be very, very conservative and say each one of these tests takes just one class day for each subject, even though many kids need 2+ Hours for eCART or iReady, so multiple days. But even at just one day, that's 7 instructional days lost for Math and 7 instructional days lost for reading. That doesn't count practice tests and retakes and kids who need more than one class period to finish. So realistically, kids are now losing at least two weeks of instructional time per subject. But they keep cramming more and more and more into the pacing guides.

Then, there are parent emails. When I was teaching in the 90's, parents had to call the school and leave a message with the main office if they wanted to talk with me. I'd return the call before or after school in the teacher's lounge. I didn't get many calls every day because parents had some perspective and only called for really important things. I taught 125 or so kids each year and would get maybe one or two calls a day, tops, many days none. Now, a teacher might have 20 or 30 emails a DAY from parents!!! And some parents have no, no idea how toxic and destructive it is to send a 10 paragraph email about your concerns about some thing their kid said happened that day. It's CRAZY. Some
Parents write EVERY day with a question or concern. Everything is micromanaged. The volume of incoming that has nothing to do with just teaching kids is overwhelming and demoralizing. If you're working 12 hours a day, you want to believe all that time away from your kid or home is really helping kids. But so often it's just bullshit.

SO! Thank you for volunteering! That helps a lot. Try to limit yourself to one email a month, and then only if it's really necessary. Let your kid handle her own missing homework assignments or make up
Work from absences. No, you don't have to write in to check your child's answer on #4 or math problems. No, you don't need to write an 8 paragraph email about your child feeling left out at her lunch table yesterday. Maybe send in a note saying your child wS excited about a project. Maybe buy the teacher a coffe and leave her a note saying her kid loves your class.

Talk to the school board about reducing teacher workload. Talk to your SB rep and let them know that teacher stress and burnout are a concern. Advocate for higher teacher pay and benefits. (We've had so few step increases for the last decade and all of that $ has been eaten up with increased health care costs, so most of us are making less each year!) talknto your SB rep about class sizes. We had 27 and 28 kids in our kindergarten classes last year! That's so, so far from best practices.

FCPS teachers have had to do so much more with so much less instructional time, more kids, lower pay, more non-student-related paperwork (like SIIP Plans and evaluation documentation logs), less help like IA's. Less individual planning time. More requirements. Teachers are being squeezed from all sides. The SB needs to know and stop the constant piling on!

Thanks for asking and caring. Thanks for FBI investigation this teacher the benefit of the doubt! Thanks for presuming the best in her.

OP here. Thank you for sharing this perspective. Yes, I am absolutely for higher teacher pay and smaller class size and reducing workload. I have emailed our school board rep about the first 2 several years ago and I got the canned response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher. She may have something else going on that is disturbing her. One mental health day usually is not that much help. After all, we've had a few days already this year and more coming up.

She may have not felt well. She may be having trouble with her own children, husband, etc. Or, she may be losing it.

Was she sarcastic with the kids? I remember one colleague who I saw being sarcastic with the children and I realized then that she was in trouble. I had taught at the same level as her the year before and she had asked for a different grade level. When I worked with her, she was fine--but, when I saw her in the hall the next year one day, I was stunned at her sarcasm--as that was not her usual behavior with kids. Shortly after that, she had a breakdown and took off the rest of the year. It actually was personal problems--not the teaching. But, certainly, when you are having problems, teaching is not a particularly good place to be.

OP here. YES, she was very sarcastic. Even after a girl was in tears she continued to be sarcastic and annoyed that the girl took her so seriously. I know this woman. My kid loved this woman. This is NOT her. Maybe it is personal issues. I know if any of us were observed on a bad day things could seem way worse. She was one of those socially aware teachers who really cared about building a community of kindness. The "her" I know, would not approve of the "her" I saw.

I don't know but if FCPS figures it out, please make sure they share it with the other school systems. At my school today I was the 2nd to last person off my wing and it was only 20 minutes after school ended. People were shaking their heads and muttering to themselves. It was not a good day. The custodian for our area looked up at me and asked if "even" I was leaving. Yup, I sure was.

[Anonymous]

I am also tired of the new new new, but have a different perspective. The teachers at our school spend most of the day at their desk possibly answering emails or creating lesson plans for their new new new initiatives while the kids do independent work and they typically do that work wrong. There are no materials to help them out. I guess with all this new new new teaching method no one decided to prepare anything to help teach it. I like assessments at the beginning, mid year, and at the end and the rest is too much. When did common sense leave the classroom. Public schools have been around for over 100 years. Why are things still so difficult?

[Anonymous]

I thought the whole point of I-Ready was so that the test would give a full evaluation for each child. It doesn't sound like its helping the teachers if it creates more work rather than less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the whole point of I-Ready was so that the test would give a full evaluation for each child. It doesn't sound like its helping the teachers if it creates more work rather than less.

My principal purchased the iReady toolbox (I think that's what it was called). If a child is having trouble with X, the toolbox gave lesson plans and activities with worksheets to help remedy it. That was last year. This year, she stopped paying for it so now we are back to digging up our own stuff. She told us she was renewing the subscription but then she didn't so we couldn't make tons of copies before it expired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the whole point of I-Ready was so that the test would give a full evaluation for each child. It doesn't sound like its helping the teachers if it creates more work rather than less.

My principal purchased the iReady toolbox (I think that's what it was called). If a child is having trouble with X, the toolbox gave lesson plans and activities with worksheets to help remedy it. That was last year. This year, she stopped paying for it so now we are back to digging up our own stuff. She told us she was renewing the subscription but then she didn't so we couldn't make tons of copies before it expired.

That work is lesson plans though. What other evaluation work does a teacher need to do because of the tests?

[Anonymous]

This is the problem with education policy. There are so many swings on everything.

Testing--no testing
Phonics--no phonics

open classroom-traditional classroom

etc.etc.etc.

But, no one listens to the teachers--only to the "experts"........

[Anonymous]

I need less preps. I'm a secondary math teacher with 3 different courses on my plate, along with an intervention group 3 days a week and an after school remediation session 1x per week. I took yesterday/today off, and was at school until 8 pm on Wednesday trying to organize sub plans effectively.

Add on committees, department chair (I tried to turn it down, but 9/11 teachers in our department are new this year, so there really was no one else), mentoring those new teachers, parent meetings, emails all day long...I'm just exhausted.

That isn't even touching disciplinary issues...

[Anonymous]

In elementary we are expected to have reading and math workshops every day, and projects for science and social studies. Then you need differentiation for every lesson and no textbooks or only ineffective online books. The testing is out of control and iReady is ridiculous. Once the kids realized they could play a game they just kept clicking to get enough questions to get the game to pop up. Our school insists on 90 minutes of reading and math so there is no time for social studies and science.

[Anonymous]

Our kindergarteners took that online test today. I forget the name of it but it starts with the letter “n.” It’s a screener for gifted services. Anyway, it was hysterical to watch these 5 and 6 year olds click their way through a test so they could finish and play Starfall. What a waste of time.