We Need to Talk About How Mentors Can Help Prevent Teacher Burnout
Six strategies for helping our newest colleagues find success and stay in the field.
My overly-pragmatic brain looks at birth announcements as job security. “Nice work with those babies, America! You’re filling up our classrooms nicely!”
But I’m not as cheerful when I look at the serious teacher shortage in our country. The Economic Policy Institute recently reported that, as of this fall, public K-12 education employment is 890,000 below where it needs to be in order to keep up with student enrolment. With the additional stressor of covid-related early retirements and resignations in 2020, the teaching shortage has increased another 500,000 beyond where we were a year ago.
Even before the covid-related stressors of this school year, our newest teachers have been experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress. They’re acclimatizing to a new community without the benefits of having someone consistently at their side to guide them. We’re talking about classroom management. Who to ask for help with the craptastic copy machine. How to print out progress reports. What to do when a kid is being bullied. The location of the nurse’s office. The best way to handle “that” parent. Access to the super-secret cache of office supplies.
Really now, it’s no wonder that they’re quitting.
As experienced teachers, it is our responsibility to help them. Yes, yes, I know that many districts have mentoring programs and that inexperienced teachers are paired with a veteran from their department. But it doesn’t always work, does it? There must be a disconnect if these inexperienced teachers are still quitting, even when they have been paired with a mentor.
My call to action is this: even if an inexperienced teacher hasn’t been assigned to you, it is still your responsibility to help them. Our profession is slowly dying out and we need to help retain and support these new teachers. They are the future of education.
Let’s begin.
1. Take their concerns seriously.
Julia, a second-year teacher in my high school’s foreign language department, confided in me that two of our colleagues were sexually harassing and bullying her. I was shocked and sickened by the allegations. I was very fond of both men and I didn’t want to believe that they had harassed a colleague, but I put my personal feelings aside and reported the incidents to HR. As it turned out, one of the men was harassing three other new teachers in our department and they came to me when they realized that Julia had reported him. I was suddenly in the middle of a mini #MeToo moment before it was a national thing.
Unfortunately, our HR department did not handle the incidents well. The women’s identities were leaked to the faculty and soon they were being asked questions like, “Why don’t you just let up on this? I mean, he’s a good guy. Why are you trying to ruin his career?” In a female-dominated profession, it was horrifying to *still* be hearing garbage like that. I pushed back when I heard these types of exchanges and reminded them that it is our responsibility to believe the victims, whether they are children or adults.
After HR interviewed one of the men for a leadership position within our department, I requested a meeting and laid out the reasons why it was unconscionable to reward serial harassers with even the possibility of a promotion. The meeting ended with the HR director shouting that I was out of line in questioning his decision of who to interview, but I didn’t back down.
Due to my unrelenting pressure, the HR director transferred both of the men to other schools with the understanding that they would be fired if there were any more incidents. I’m sure the director still resents me for forcing his hand, but I don’t care. I am protected by tenure, a strong union, and, quite frankly, my reputation as an excellent teacher. I will always give zero effs about what that guy thinks of me.
But more importantly, all four of these young women stayed in the profession, even after they had each privately told me that they wanted to quit. Knowing that someone had their back — someone beyond their obligatory union rep — made the difference. They have all earned tenure and are excellent teachers in their own right. Their students are lucky to have them.
2. Encourage their financial literacy.
Many young teachers leave the field because they are concerned about their salaries. They might hear about corporate-matched 401Ks and ask themselves if going into teaching was a poor financial decision. In addition, several states do not permit teachers to contribute to Social Security and they may feel unsure about the viability of their state-run pension. Thus, it’s critical that experienced teachers explain how to play the financial game in education.
403b accounts
It’s important to explain the benefits of having a 403b account — or to at least get a new teacher connected with a financial advisor who can walk them through the process. During my first year of teaching, my mentor, Caroline, put a financial investment company’s brochure in my hands and said, “You should look into this. It’s weird to think about now, but you’ll be grateful down the road that you did.” I thanked her for the advice and put the brochure on my desk…where it didn’t move because, really now, what first-year teacher has time to schedule an appointment with a financial advisor?
Caroline must have anticipated that I would feel like I was too busy to make the call and she gently nudged me a few weeks later with, “How did it go with calling the financial advisor? Were they helpful?” When I admitted that I hadn’t called yet, she offered to cover my after school club meeting so that I could call before their offices closed for the day. No joke, that phone call changed my financial future and has helped me feel more prepared to retire six years from now.
Continuing education raises
If your district rewards teachers for continuing their education, show them how it works. In my district, we call it “going down and to the right.” With the completion of fifteen hours of approved graduate coursework, these young teachers can earn a raise. Yes, they’ll probably have to pay for the courses themselves, but they’ll see a nice return on this investment with better raises within just a few years.
Not only does this incentivize continuing education for our new teachers, but it will expand the intellectual capital of our faculties. Quite frankly, veterans like myself are probably a bit too comfortable with our tried-and-true ideas. We need these young teachers to stick around and show us some new tricks.
3. Explain the benefits of a Plan B Master’s degree.
Related to the issue of continuing education, we need to advise our mentees to earn their Master's degree(s) in certificated areas. Having a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction is all well and good, but it’s important to have our Plan B (and Plan C) in place. At the start of our careers, we may feel like teaching a particular subject or grade level is ideal, but our preferences may change with time and experience. And there’s always the chance that an unfunded mandate for a new special program will come along and, suddenly, the principal will be forced to RIF teachers who don’t have the necessary certification.
When we are talking with our mentees about Master’s degree programs, we need to encourage them to seek those that will give them another certification. Here are some possibilities:
- Reading Specialist
- Special Education (LBS1)
- Educational Technology
- Educational Leadership or Administration
- Bilingual Education / ESL
- School Counseling
- Library Science
- Early Childhood Education
- Chief School Business Officer (CSBO)
- National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT)
I’m sure there are plenty more certificated programs, but this list is a good start. The bottom line is that we need to help our new teachers adopt a flexible mindset, which may help prevent the trapped feeling that leads to burnout. It’s a lot easier to get through a school year with “that class” if you know you have a backup plan for staying in the field but in a different capacity.
4. Adopt a personal shift from “Leader” to “Amplifier.”
As veteran teachers, we need to use our positions of leadership to amplify the good ideas of our less-experienced or less confident colleagues. These teachers have the freshest ideas in the room and were in school the most recently. They have been exposed to research, instructional strategies, and educational apps that we may have never heard of.
Bottom line? Veteran teachers need to be quiet. And then they need to be loud.
First, we need to listen when our new colleagues share new ideas that they have picked up from their recent coursework or education blogs. These teachers have the freshest ideas in the room and we need to respect that, particularly if they are sharing research, instructional strategies, and educational apps that are unfamiliar to us old folks. Even if these ideas may not initially appear to fit into the school’s current culture, we need to hear them out. Their ideas can be the inspiration for a faculty to review, revise, and adjust current practices.
However, it’s important that we support these new ideas by publicly voicing our support for them. For example, if a less-experienced teacher shares an intriguing new approach to cooperative learning, it is our responsibility to 1) try their idea and 2) publicly support them by sharing our experience and giving them the credit.
It could go something like this at a faculty meeting:
- Principal: “Those were the topics that I wanted to cover today. Does anyone have anything else to add?”
- Veteran teacher: “Yes, I wanted to share with everyone a collaborative learning platform that our newest colleague, Ms. Reynolds, recently demonstrated to our department. Ms. Reynolds showed us how we can use Scribblar to make student teamwork fun and interactive. I encourage all of you to take a look at this and to touch base with Ms. Reynolds about how you can implement it with your own classes. She knows her stuff.”
It’s as simple as that. You have the ability to use your position as a respected leader in your building to amplify the great ideas of your less-experienced colleagues. Not only have you validated the risk they took in sharing an idea, but you have affirmed to the principal that they were a good hire.
5. Share your Google Drive with them.
Do you remember how overwhelming your first few years of teaching felt? Did anyone help you by sharing their materials? Pay it forward by freely sharing your materials with the newbies. Even if their ideas are more innovative, letting them see your scope and sequence will help immeasurably. We don’t want our new teachers to feel like they’re drowning in work every weekend. If they have the Sunday Scaries every single week, they’ll be looking for a new job by February.
6. Discreetly explain the culture.
Every school district is like a miniature city with its own set of cultural norms. Within my own professional experience, I remember being surprised when I started at my current school and all of the students addressed me as “Miss.” That was it. No last name, no Mrs., no Doctor. One of my colleagues finally explained that when the Latino students started kindergarten, they were told by their parents to address their teachers as “Señora.” This was translated to “Miss” by the rest of the students and was considered the normal way to address their teachers and it continued on through high school.
These cultural norms can seem sweet and charming or overwhelming and ridiculous to our less-experienced colleagues. Take the time to help them learn what’s what and who’s who.
Decode the dress-up obligations.
My school district is big on Spirit Week, which usually occurs three times a year. In the days leading up to one of them, a newer colleague worried aloud that she didn’t have anything for Sports Day and didn’t want to have to buy something at Wal-Mart that evening. I privately approached her afterward and told her the dress-up spirit days were completely optional for faculty. I also gave her the option of borrowing one of my extra jerseys or just wearing a combination of colors that would evoke a particular team. This immediately reduced her anxiety levels and she simply wore an orange and blue top the next day with a little sign that said, “Go Bears!”
Remove the mystery surrounding the Board of Education.
There are these strange misconceptions that school boards have the ability to hire and fire, to reduce a union contract to ashes, or to slash special programs at whim. Now while there may be districts whose superintendents are unduly influenced by individual interests on the Board, this is not the norm. Instead, a school board is simply a group of elected community members who work with the chief school officer to ensure that district operation remains in compliance with state and federal regulations.
After our less-experienced colleagues have become more acclimatized to their school’s culture, it’s worth their time to become familiar with the Board of Education. Show them where the meeting minutes are on the district’s website. Go with them to a Board meeting — I’m serious! — to help them gain a better understanding of the members’ personalities and backgrounds. When Board member seats are up for re-election, encourage them to assist in campaigning for candidates that are dedicated to the district’s best interests.
Show them that the Board is simply a cohort of dedicated elected officials and not a malevolent special interest group.
6. Keep Things Real…and Humble
When I was a new teacher, I remember looking at the veterans and feeling a little starstruck by them. Their accomplishments were awe-inspiring: they didn’t seem to have any classroom management issues, they had stayed in the field for literal decades, and they still seemed energetic and good-humored every day. How on earth did they do it?
Walk the Walk
If the less-experienced teachers in your building are being encouraged to work with an instructional coach, you should join them on that journey. Too many school cultures require new teachers to work with instructional coaches while the veterans are simply given the option of consulting them when necessary. Fellow veterans, I am here to tell you that it is necessary. We could all benefit from a fresh pair of eyes in our classroom, regardless of whether it’s tech-related or just a particular student we can’t seem to reach. A little self-awareness goes a long way.
Share Your Struggles
With classroom management, in particular, it is important to create a safe space for less-experienced teachers to express their frustrations. Share your own (brief!) stories of successes and crash-and-burn failures. Let them know that they’re not alone in feeling exhausted by the mental gymnastics that differentiated classroom management often requires. Depending on the teacher, well-timed advice might be enough, but you may also want to offer to visit their classroom to see the issue in action. Sometimes another pair of non-evaluator eyes is all it takes to find a new management strategy.
Avoid toxic positivity
During these strange days of remote learning, classroom quarantines, and inconsistent mask compliance, the last thing any teacher needs is to hear “Smile, it’s a great day!” Regardless of our years of experience, we are all stressed out and exhausted by the current reality in education. The last thing we need is what I call positivity gaslighting.
I recently saw a calendar of ways that teachers could be more positive and I thought to myself, “If anyone ever put that nonsense in my mailbox, I would be screaming WTF? the entire drive home.”
Instead, veteran teachers need to keep things real, but supportive, with our less-experienced colleagues. Acknowledge the stress and insane workload, but also ask our colleagues how they are doing.
Takeaways:
The best teachers are those who cultivate meaningful relationships with their students. When we show our students that we value their limitless potential, they thrive. The same can be said for school communities that support and value their newest teachers. By giving them the appropriate support and validation that they need for this stage in their careers, we are setting the stage for them to become tomorrow’s veterans.
And the bottom line is this: would you want your hypothetical child to be educated in a school with high teacher turnover? I didn’t think so. So let’s do what we can to support our newest colleagues and the profession as a whole.
