Teachers’ burnout: Woes of educators

There are many factors affecting public teachers’ burnout resulting from related woes, so to speak.

We enjoy teaching and nurturing young minds into solid formation and foundation. But we also push for reforms in education and shout for salary increase (including the salary of principals and schools division superintendent).

We are emphatic in encouraging high school graduates that only the top of the class should take up Education in college. If you are the best, then become a teacher. When you are a teacher, you transform the students physically, emotionally, and academically. You can transform only if you are the best example.

Teachers (especially in public schools) experience burnout because they have more students (50 and above) in a small classroom without enough chairs. Sometimes books do not come on time and if some are lost, teachers are obliged to pay. Teachers are obliged to prepare credible lesson plans, update their class records and grade sheets, and expected to make miracles by not failing the non-performing students in class.

The K to 12 textbooks are complicated compared to the Secondary Education Program Development (SEDP). Probably, the teachers are not trained properly or the resource persons during the training did not anticipate the outcome in the field. Teachers have also their own economic and personal problems (as human beings). Just like us, they are also parents with young children. Teachers who are wives have husbands with biological needs. Upset teachers sometimes treat the house like a classroom.

Teachers are bombarded with activities related to book week, language week, nutrition month, parents-teacher’s activities, drug problem seminar, tourism week, cultural activities, and alumni homecoming. Teachers are not wonderwomen or supermen. They could become easy prey for lending institutions and “take-now, pay when able” agents of doom.

Teachers’ physical and mental pressure sometimes occurs when politics sets in. It could possibly cause trauma to teachers who have to cope with their financial needs much that the promotion and assignment of some teachers have monetary considerations.

May all educators join in a collaborative venture to create an impact in the lives of the teachers to address burnout and their woes.