Burnout and Educators
As globalization and technology continue to change the way businesses operate, the need for highly skilled workers
with the ability to synthesize, analyze and communicate will be the litmus test that separates successful economies
from those that fail. . Where does the United States fall in light of this? Can the United States produce enough
highly-skilled workers to meet the demands of an ever-evolving society? If the 2010 results of the Program for
International Student Assessment (PISA) are any indication, then the US was judged to be deficient.
Burnout and Educators
The test results showed that US students lagged behind many of their peers from other countries in core subject
areas. This understanding has once again strengthened the constant on and off debate around quality education in
American schools. In the wake of the report, the brainstorming sessions that follow will once again seek to uncover
the impediments to creating a better education system. What will be discovered? A review of previous measures
revealed to address the shortcomings of quality education to date seemed to consistently focus on educators as a
causal element.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (2002), as well as research suggesting that a high-quality teacher is the single
most important factor influencing student achievement, lend credence to the above statement. These avenues that
seek to focus on ways to increase academic achievement seem to suggest that educators are the most critical element
impacting students’ ability to perform academically. This conclusion has led to extreme pressure on educators to
increase academic achievement. These pressures, while not new (since, as Popham claimed, they existed before
NCLB (2004)), will increase in magnitude as the world continues to change. Can this ongoing and insistent pressure
produce adverse effects for educators? What are the implications for the teaching and learning environment, and
invariably for society?
Burnout and Educators
Incessant pressure to perform in highly volatile environments often leads to burnout. This exhaustion is a nemesis
for the creation of an educational system that is capable of producing students equipped to meet the challenges of
the 21st-century workplace; skills that are critical to any country that wants to maintain or achieve a competitive
advantage. Drucker made this point when he coined the term “knowledge workers” and highlighted its importance to
the success of 21st-century businesses. This paper examines the principles of rest and highlights the value of rest for
educators operating in contemporary educational settings.
The document points out the challenges facing the contemporary American educational system that can inhibit rest
and clarifies the dangers of burnout, a condition created by lack of rest. Leaders in education, as well as stakeholders,
are given clear guidelines that can be used to prevent burnout and promote rest. The article ends with a call for
educational leaders to adhere to the need for rest to build learning environments capable of creating students with
the analytical, synthesizing and communicative skills that are critical to meeting the demands of contemporary and
future organizations.
Burnout and Educators
The day started with an Individualized Education Plan for one of my students. After the meeting was over, I analyzed
the results of the summative evaluation of forty students from the previous day. I realized that fifteen of my students
did not grasp some of the key concepts in the lesson and so I began to plan intervention strategies. Two strategies
had to be different to accommodate two of my students who needed modified assignments. This activity took almost
fifty minutes. So, I had enough time to adjust my lesson plans for the day. Now it was five minutes until class started,
and as I was going through my calendar, I realized that I had a meeting at the end of the day with the teachers in my
department. I made myself a note: “Just before I go to the meeting I must remember to call the parents of three of
my students since they were not finishing their homework and had started to misbehave in class.” As I jotted down
the note, I glanced at the other meetings and forms that needed attention at the end of the week. When the bell rang,
a teacher walked by my door and I smiled politely and asked “how are you?” she looked at me and said “I’m
overwhelmed, it seems like there’s a lot to do and