In 2007, my mom, an educator of over twenty years at the end of her career, fell asleep on her hour drive to work, drove off the road, and flipped her car about a dozen times.
For as long as I could remember, she would get up at 5 AM to prepare for her long day at work. In the evening, she’d spend hours grading papers, teaching extra online classes, or even working second jobs (especially around the holidays).
It was no surprise that she fell asleep at the wheel, as she’d been burning the candle at both ends for a long time.
You’ll be happy to know that after a long recovery from a traumatic brain injury, she returned to work as an educator for many more years before moving into a different field.
My mom wasn’t just a full-time educator. She was a wife, a mom, an active member of a study group with friends, a pet parent, and, unsurprisingly, constantly overwhelmed by the multitude of responsibilities she had to balance.
I wouldn’t know until I became an educator myself just how much emotional and physical energy it takes to be a teacher, especially when you care deeply about your students. Any career with as much caretaking is susceptible to rapid rates of burnout.
Now, I’m no longer a teacher, but I’m surrounded by educators who continue to balance an incredibly difficult job with their own lives.
An elementary school principal. A special education teacher. A college adjunct who spent this Thanksgiving grading papers.
This blog is for the educators, but it’s also for those who know someone who continues to show up for students every day. This isn’t just my experience. This blog features the experiences of former educators and family members of educators at Eduphoria.
Here’s how you can protect your loved ones and safeguard their love for this career, especially during the difficult holiday season. First, a bit of research. Then, some real advice.
Teachers are burning out quickly, and here’s why
Teachers are burning out more quickly than ever before. According to an NEA article, the reasons are a “lack of administrative support, excessive workloads, inadequate compensation, and challenging student behaviors.”
In one survey, 78% percent of teachers had thought about leaving the profession since the Pandemic.
It’s hard to explain to those who have never been an educator the unique exhaustion that comes with running a full-time classroom, especially when coupled with other personal responsibilities.
One expert cautions against even using the word burnout because it doesn’t accurately address the cause of this bone-tired, deep dissatisfaction teachers experience:
“Burnout is a systemic problem, and the burden is not on the individual educator to prove they can navigate through the enormous pressure placed on them…People should take care of themselves, but you can't just yoga, breathe, and self-care yourself out of burnout."
One teacher described the work atmosphere as so overwhelming that even adding one “little” thing to a teacher’s plate can be the straw that breaks the camel's back and sends them out of the classroom.
The situation is dire. As people who care about educators, it’s our responsibility to see the overwhelming burdens they carry and do what we can to lighten the load so that they can take care of themselves.
Many teachers are also parents
From caregiving at work to caregiving at home, approximately 48% of teachers never get a break from their role as caretaker, guardian, and supervisor. Research is limited on exactly how many teachers are also parents, but estimates show that nearly half of teachers have children still at home (OAsis).
Unsurprisingly, the causes of caregiver burnout are things that educators experience daily, both at work and with their families:
- Emotional and physical demands
- Ambiguity of roles
- Overwhelming workload
- Conflicting policies and procedures
- Lack of privacy
- Feeling they lack the skills to complete the task
- Lack of autonomy
- Incomplete goals
And the consequences of this kind of burnout can lead to depression, fatigue, withdrawal, and health problems among other things.
Experts who advise people on how to avoid burnout often say that work should be separate from home life…that you should have things that are fun and fulfilling to you outside your responsibilities and obligations. If educator parents dont have this time and opportunity to focus on themselves, their hobbies, and their wellbeing, they will burn out.
The holidays are stressful for educators on vacation
Whether the educator in your life is a parent or not, the holidays are a stressful time for them. Not only do many educators take work home to complete over the holidays (some even having to grade on a severe time crunch), but they also are likely dealing with some of the many other stressors that can diminish quality of life around the holidays.
“Holiday stress” can be caused by many things, including financial trouble, grief, and family problems. According to one recent study, around 36% of Americans take on debt just to afford Christmas. Most of these people are parents of small children (CNBC).
Many educators deal with financial concerns year-round, with some research showing that early childhood educators earn at about 150% of the poverty threshold, classifying them as low-income. This same study shows that this financial insecurity is strongly tied to the educator’s psychological well-being.
Unfortunately, the holidays can often feel like the opposite of a vacation, especially for teachers who are dealing with financial insecurity or other forms of holiday stress. They’re fighting burnout, and they’re often working over their vacation. For them, though, this break is crucial for their recovery, so they can return to school next semester ready to finish out the year.
If you want to protect your loved one’s holiday, we’ve got some ideas on what you can do to help.
How to support the educators in your life (tips and advice)
If you’d like some generic advice, here’s a short, but important list of things that might help your educator get some well-needed rest, feel appreciated, and recover from the semester:
- Take on food preparation by cooking meals or buying takeout, food gift cards, grocery delivery, etc.
- Take other responsibilities off their plate, such as providing childcare, doing chores, hiring a maid service, filling up their gas tank, or even wrapping presents
- Give them opportunities to go have fun through recreational activities, e.g. movie tickets, nature walks, hobby classes, nice restaurants
- Make sure they have time to do their hobbies uninterrupted. If you live in a house with an educator and they like to lock themselves away to read or craft, respect the closed door
Finally, here are some real stories from Eduphoria employees that might give you an idea of what makes an impact on educators.
“I am a planner and I enjoy hosting, but when it comes to Christmas day, I fully delegate chaos coordination to others. Tell me what time to show up, what time to eat, and let me have some unstructured play with the kids.” - Terra Weden, Director of Teaching and Learning
“As a principal, my wife best enjoys not having to make any more decisions. Sure we plan things together, but she is so mentally drained from an entire semester of being the final word in the school, that giving her ideas, or planning things for her, is a huge help. So I organize and plan most of the holiday celebrations and activities with the kids and family. Not to mention the head rubs. Always the head rubs.” - Colin McDorman, Senior Director of Product
“As a teacher, the holiday break meant time for my body to recharge and heal. The early mornings and late work afternoons or evening holiday shows, coupled with my sweet students usual ‘holiday time’ behavior (thanks to breaks in routine and candy supplies still running high from Halloween) meant my body needed sleep. I never felt like I could get enough rest AND enjoy my holiday break…that was always hard for me to accept…I either got rest or I got to participate in holiday things. It was quite the quandary of feelings.” - Dr. Allison Ross, Professional Learning and Coaching
“My wife is a paraprofessional and also coaches Drill Team. Over the past two years, she’s been working toward her teaching degree on top of all of that (and will officially become a teacher this May). The weeks leading up to the holidays are always intense for both of us. She’s juggling extra school activities and volunteering, while I’m deep in our busiest time of year managing load and infrastructure.
During the school year, our schedules barely overlap. She’s an early riser and early to bed, and I’m very much a night owl. Holiday break is the one time all year when neither of us has real work responsibilities at the same time.
When that break hits, I try to align my schedule with hers and be as present and supportive as I can — especially since we usually host both Thanksgiving and Christmas for our families. Whether it’s cooking, cleaning, or just tackling things together, we end up spending more quality time supporting each other during those two weeks than at any other point in the year. It’s less about “vacation” and more about finally having space to be in sync.” - Aaron Dulaney, Director of Infrastructure
“As a former teacher, I needed Christmas break to be a recharge time. I wanted as little to do as humanly possible so I could dive into things that recharged me (various hobbies) that I didn't have the time for during the semester. The thing that helped me most mentally was the gift of time.
I also find, especially on a teacher's budget, that the time off and the lack of energy to cook and clean, left us stretching our budget beyond the breaking point trying to go out to eat. It was bad enough that Emily's grandfather started giving us restaurant gift cards on Christmas day as our gift (which we LOVED). It was so helpful for us to not have to worry about affording it and instead just picking a gift card.” - Dr. Jeremy Wagner, Product Manager
“As both a former educator and the family member of many educators, I find that acts of service and money for self-care go a long way. Many educators are also people who tend not to spend on themselves, so giving them the opportunity to buy something they want guilt-free is a great gift. Plus, taking those most dreaded tasks off their plates gives them more free time and less anxiety about those unfinished chores and to-do items.” - Taylor Contreras, Content Marketing Specialist
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