PREVENTING TEACHER BURNOUT
Self-care alone won't fix teacher burnout. Mariposa Education addresses the root causes to protect educators and education's future.
WHAT DOES TEACHER STRESS LOOK LIKE?
Many teachers have reached a point where the demands of their work are no longer sustainable, and in some cases, are jeopardizing their health and overall well-being.
Two teachers share their personal accounts of the moments that pushed them to the brink of burnout:
1) The back-to-school staff meeting
A senior kindergarten teacher was asked about her stress levels in a staff meeting. The entire staff’s response was unanimous – their stress levels were alarmingly high. Yet the administration had no solutions. It appeared that, if anything, more tasks were being added to their already overwhelming workload. Frustrated and overwhelmed, this kindergarten teacher resigned the following day.
2) The fire-drill emergency
Another teacher found herself alone with a student who refused to leave the classroom during a routine fire drill. The piercing sound of the fire alarm filled the air, yet she was stranded without any assistance. This incident left her with a chilling realization: in a real emergency, there might not be anyone to help her.
WHY IS TEACHER BURNOUT ON THE RISE?
Teacher burnout is reaching alarming levels, driven by factors such as challenging student behaviors and ineffective response strategies. Traditional methods often fail to address the root causes of these behaviors, leaving teachers feeling overwhelmed and unsupported.
Administrators respond with more tasks
Many administrators respond to teacher burnout by asking teachers to do more, like:
- Documenting challenging student behaviors
- Implementing time-intensive programs like behavior charts
- Adopting traditional social emotional learning (SEL) curricula that yields minimal results
- Practicing self-care through yoga or meditation
These solutions often just perpetuate teacher burnout and eventual turnover.
There are no science-backed solutions
The Mariposa approach is grounded in the neurological response to stress, identifying current teaching strategies that may be intensifying stress, as well as strategies that can alleviate it.
This approach also helps teachers with:
- Understanding of the underlying causes of difficult behaviors
- Learning science behind stress
- Adopting research-backed language to manage these situations more effectively
Teachers are asked to work harder, not smarter
At Mariposa, we equip teachers with tools and language that you need to respond effectively to children's behavior in the moment, that will significantly reduce both teachers and students’ stress levels, all without adding more tasks to your already busy schedule.
EXPLORE OUR ONLINE COURSES FOR TEACHER BURNOUT PREVENTION
Social-Emotional Learning That Actually Works: Reducing Stress and Unlearning Misguided Approaches
If you want to build social-emotional skills in your students but typical SEL courses aren’t working, this course is for you.
The teaching field has changed dramatically:
- Challenging classroom behavior is on the rise
- Teacher burnout is higher than ever
- Even experienced teachers are at a loss
Most social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies focus on fixing childrens’ behavior without addressing the needs of teachers. At Mariposa, we give you the language, tools, and science behind childrens’ behavior that you can use to inform every student interaction, making SEL a built-in part of your teaching rather than an added burden.
Our introduction to the Mariposa Method is an online, self-paced course created by educators for educators.
Defusing Classroom Power Struggles: The Balance Between Compassion and Control
If you’re struggling to gain control in the classroom while also building trusting relationships with their students, this course is for you.
If you’re struggling with:
- Setting effective classroom boundaries
- Defusing stressful power struggles in the moment
- Hiding your own frustration and finding compassion through understanding
Most teacher training on diffusing power struggles ignores the most important factor: teacher needs. At Mariposa, we give you a transformative new approach to communication so that you can both lower your own stress and your students’ at the same time.
This course is online and self-paced, created by educators for educators.