Here is Your Permission to Stop Doing So Much

One day, you realize that you’re not on fire for teaching anymore. Instead, you’re burning out.

Photo by Bruno Aguirre on Unsplash

Let me be clear from the outset: I am a huge fan of phenomenal teaching and learning. It’s a great joy to host the Teachers on Fire podcast and hear what amazing teachers and education leaders are doing to change the game and move the needle for learners.

I’ll never get tired of the conversations, the ideas, the strategies, and the stories of overcoming adversity. Because fire spreads. And as more educators ignite their practice, kids benefit.

So this piece is not a call for mediocrity.

I suppose in some ways, I’m writing this post for my 2001 self.

I was a rookie at the time, the only seventh grade homeroom teacher in a small school. I was teaching almost all subjects with few resources to work from. I had no laptop, no smartphone, no wifi.

A couple of desktop computers were available for teachers to access the internet over dial-up connections. But online teaching resources weren’t really a thing at the time. This was still the age of binders, filing cabinets, overhead transparencies, and photocopies.

Teachers were considered progressive if they created learning materials on a computer at all, so that’s what I often…