Teacher Boundaries: How to Care Without Burning Out
Setting boundaries is paramount for educators seeking to provide care without succumbing to burnout. In today’s discourse, we elucidate the significance of delineating limits on grading, communication, and additional responsibilities, which ultimately fosters a sustainable approach to teaching. By implementing strategies such as designated office hours and cultivating a mindset of healthy detachment, we can replenish our energy and maintain our passion for education. Moreover, we underscore the importance of prioritizing one’s well-being, as this not only benefits the individual but also enhances the learning environment for students. Thus, the establishment of effective boundaries is not merely a personal necessity; it is a professional obligation that enables educators to thrive in their vocation while imparting valuable lessons in self-care and resilience to their students.
A profound exploration of the necessity for establishing boundaries within the teaching profession is presented, emphasizing the imperative that educators must prioritize self-care to avert the debilitating consequences of burnout. The discourse articulates the inherent inclination of teachers to give selflessly, often at the expense of their own well-being, thereby underscoring the criticality of delineating personal limits. By fostering a sustainable approach to care, educators are better positioned to support their students without compromising their own health and vitality. The episode further elucidates practical strategies for implementing these boundaries, such as adopting an office hour mindset that delineates when communication should occur, thereby allowing teachers to dedicate time to their families and personal lives without the encumbrance of professional obligations encroaching on their personal time. This episode not only resonates with seasoned educators but also offers invaluable insights to new teachers, who may find themselves overwhelmed by the demands of the profession. The overarching message is unequivocal: without the establishment of robust boundaries, both educators and students ultimately suffer.
Takeaways:
- Establishing boundaries is essential for teachers to maintain their energy and passion for teaching while avoiding burnout.
- Effective boundaries allow educators to provide quality care to their students without sacrificing their own well-being.
- Teachers must learn to say no to additional responsibilities that do not align with their primary mission of student success.
- Implementing office hours can significantly improve a teacher's work-life balance and personal time management.
- Having rituals to transition from work to home life can help teachers mentally detach from job-related stress.
- Healthy detachment is crucial; educators should care for their students without internalizing their burdens.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Be a Funky Teacher
Transcript
Yeah, he's Mr. Funky.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Mr. Funky Teacher inspires greatness, makes you feel good.
Speaker A:Like your favorite playlist.
Speaker A:Keeping that fresh and funky.
Speaker A:Yes, he does.
Speaker A:He got some funky cool ideas to share for all you teachers.
Speaker A:He can empower others, students and teachers.
Speaker A:It's all about hard work and creativity.
Speaker A:He brings out the kindness in everyone.
Speaker A:He's got the passion to teach.
Speaker A:You hear it when he speaks.
Speaker A:He knows how to build strong relationships.
Speaker A:If you're seeking the best bunkiest, he is it.
Speaker A:He will empower you to improve.
Speaker A:You'll be helping others and loving it too.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, he's Mr. Funky Teacher.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:This is Mr. Funky Teacher with Be a Funky Teacher dot com.
Speaker B:I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.
Speaker B:Welcome everyone to today's episode.
Speaker B:We are focusing on teacher boundaries, how to care without burning out.
Speaker B:That's our focus today.
Speaker B:But before we get into it, let's talk about the three things I'm thankful for.
Speaker B:First thing I'm thankful for is days off to do nothing.
Speaker B:We just had an extra day off yesterday where I, I had an opportunity to not do a whole lot of anything.
Speaker B:It was kind of nice.
Speaker B:I, I worked on a few things here and there, but not a whole lot really.
Speaker B:Just some odds and end projects, but nothing I really had to do.
Speaker B:It was nice to have just some downtime where I could just not do anything and, and my kids and my wife, we could just kind of not, not a whole lot planned.
Speaker B:It wasn't a, A busy, rigorous day by any means is really a chill day more than anything.
Speaker B:Sometimes it's nice to have days off like that because rust matters just as much as hard work.
Speaker B:So enjoy those days when you get them.
Speaker B:Second thing, catching up on some paperwork.
Speaker B:I had an opportunity to also over the weekend catch up with some paperwork.
Speaker B:Yesterday was more of a chill day.
Speaker B:But then the, the other two days I got to catch up on some paperwork and take care of some stuff.
Speaker B:And that was kind of nice because tackling those, those paperwork items can feel like a win sometimes, especially when you have certain items and paperwork that you need to get taken care of.
Speaker B:And then the third thing, time with family to celebrate.
Speaker B:It was busy because had some paperwork we had to do.
Speaker B:But then when I wasn't doing paperwork, we had an opportunity to celebrate some family.
Speaker B:We had some birthdays.
Speaker B:We were celebrating by some family in town.
Speaker B:And those are some moments that truly matter.
Speaker B:So I'm just reflecting on the weekend Got that paper, some paperwork done, got some celebrating with family, with, celebrating those birthdays.
Speaker B:And then yesterday, just a do nothing chill type of day.
Speaker B:So really my, my three things I'm thankful for kind of, they, they really kind of capture my three days off that I had here.
Speaker B:All right, so we are getting into it now.
Speaker B:Teacher boundaries, how to care without burning out.
Speaker B:First off, why do boundaries matter for teachers?
Speaker B:Well, we as teachers, we're wired to give, but there's a cost.
Speaker B:When you never refill your own tank, there's a cost there.
Speaker B:Without boundaries, exhaustion takes over and students can feel it.
Speaker B:They can.
Speaker B:And boundaries aren't about caring less.
Speaker B:It's about, it's really about caring sustainability.
Speaker B:We want to be able to care, we want to be able to keep giving the best we can as educators.
Speaker B:But if we don't have any sort of boundaries in place, we're going to burn out.
Speaker B:We are going to burn out and then we're not good for anybody.
Speaker B:And I do worry about that as an educator, as a veteran teacher.
Speaker B:This is, this is top of mind as, as someone who knows that there's a lot of veteran or there's a lot of new teachers out there, I worry about, about new teachers also and try to give guidance when I can about, hey, taking care of yourself.
Speaker B:Because I want to see, I don't want to see the profession of education losing great educators or really teachers that have a lot of potential who could really provide a lot of impact and then they get burnt out and they leave the profession.
Speaker B:That's not helping anybody.
Speaker B:So what do boundaries look like in practice?
Speaker B:Well, when we set boundaries, we set limits on grading and prep time best.
Speaker B:First and foremost, we're choosing how and when to respond and to parent emails or parent phone calls.
Speaker B:We're not taking student behavior personally.
Speaker B:And this one can be hard.
Speaker B:This one that I struggle with actually is, is where if students are misbehaving, I can, I'll take it almost personally sometimes.
Speaker B:And I still 20 over 20 years in the, in the teaching profession and I still sometimes internalize when students are misbehaving.
Speaker B:And I have to be really careful by that to make sure that I'm not taking it personally.
Speaker B:And then saying no to extra roles that don't serve the main mission.
Speaker B:If our main, it can get really easy to get lost in the, the main mission, which is to serve students, to set students up for life, lifelong success.
Speaker B:And we start adding all of these extra things and we can get lost in it really fast.
Speaker B:Whether we're a Veteran teacher or a new teacher, it's so easy to get lost in it.
Speaker B:And saying no is something that we sometimes have to do.
Speaker B:We sometimes have to.
Speaker B:We don't.
Speaker B:Teachers don't like to say no.
Speaker B:They don't.
Speaker B:But it's so important that we do say no sometimes.
Speaker B:And so what does this mean then?
Speaker B:Like what, what are some practical boundaries that practical boundary strategies for teachers for, for moving forward to being successful?
Speaker B:Well, one is have some, have an office hour mindset.
Speaker B:We have some office hour mindset where we kind of create windows for when we'll check or respond to messages.
Speaker B:That's important, having that office hour mindset.
Speaker B:Well, this is my office hours and I will respond to or check messages or you know what?
Speaker B:This isn't my office hours, so I'm not going to check the messages or I'm not going to respond to it or I'm going to deal with that when my office hours are on.
Speaker B:Yeah, because if you got a family at home and you're constantly navigating emails and responding to emails and thinking about school, well, then you're not giving your family the best that you can.
Speaker B:And that can, that can really suck our energy dry.
Speaker B:And so having that just that office hour mindset is so important.
Speaker B:Having a finish line rituals where a way to leave school at school and reset mentally is something that we need to do too.
Speaker B:Where like, hey, once we kind of get through the school day and we get through doing what we need to do, then leave it at school.
Speaker B:And that's sometimes hard too to do where, where we feel like we got to take stuff home.
Speaker B:You can burn out really fast if.
Speaker B:Let's.
Speaker B:One thing that, that, that I'm, I'm focusing on now is as I'm, I've been so busy with starting up at a new school district where I've been going in early, I've been staying late, and then I've been taking stuff home.
Speaker B:And, and, and as a veteran teacher, as a teacher who knows about boundaries and knows about limits, I know that's not sustainable.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So it's possible for a week or two.
Speaker B:And that's kind of what I did here for a week or two as I'm kind of getting traction and getting something, some momentum going.
Speaker B:And, and I talked to my wife about that, but I also told my wife, hey, this is not something I'm going to keep going.
Speaker B:And I'm sticking to that word that, hey, now I'm, I'm kind of have that finish line ritual that I want to Put in place where I think what I'm going to do here is as I'm sorting things out, I think that, hey, going in early to work on some grading and to work on some lesson planning, that makes sense to me.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker B:I can get up and get my day started, go in and work on some of those school items, get up early and do that.
Speaker B:And then when my school day is over and my contract time is over, then I'm done.
Speaker B:And I'm really going to hold.
Speaker B:Try to hold to that the best that I can and.
Speaker B:And try to really be mindful on that because it's.
Speaker B:I was burning it at both ends here for a couple of weeks and I.
Speaker B:You can't.
Speaker B:I mean, you can, but you're going to burn out and you're not going to have boundaries put in place.
Speaker B:So I need to start putting some boundaries up.
Speaker B:As much as I.
Speaker B:As I want to give everything to my teaching, I have to have some stuff for my family too.
Speaker B:I got to have some gas in the tank for my family too, and.
Speaker B:And not burn myself.
Speaker B:How so when I leave at the end of my contract time, it's starting this week, I'm done.
Speaker B:And what, what doesn't get done will be picked up again in the morning when I come in the next morning.
Speaker B:And when I come in early to kind of work on some of that stuff.
Speaker B:And I'm choosing to come and spend.
Speaker B:Spend some time to come in early and work on that, just because then it helped me feel better.
Speaker B:Going into the day I had at my old school district, I had planning time first thing in the morning, and I don't have plan time first thing in the morning where I'm at now.
Speaker B:So that's a little bit that I find that a little tougher not having planned time first thing.
Speaker B:So I'm.
Speaker B:That's where I'm just adapting a little bit to come in early to work on that, to get things taken care of, kind of adjusting to where I'm at, but have that finish line ritual where, hey, I'm gonna leave it at school.
Speaker B:I don't need to take paperwork home.
Speaker B:I don't need to take stuff home to do just to spend an extra hour, hour and a half right at the end of the night.
Speaker B:That's family time.
Speaker B:That's time to focus on my family, whether it be working on projects at home for my family or just spending quality time with my family and loved ones.
Speaker B:And then another, I guess practical boundary strategy is to have healthy detachment.
Speaker B:I care for my Students, but I don't have to carry all of the burdens home.
Speaker B:My worries for my students, my I, I, I worry deeply about my students if they're struggling, if they have a challenging home life, I worry about them, I think about them.
Speaker B:And, and I don't want to have to, I don't have to carry that with me every minute of my evening.
Speaker B:And, and, and so in my mind, so a lot of this is like in my mind, like where I draw the line in terms of what, what I'm willing to, to do or not do.
Speaker B:And, and one of the, the things is a healthy detachment where when I leave, you know what, sure I might think about my students and want good things for them, but I need to separate because we know that teaching is such, it weighs on us because we want so many good things for our students.
Speaker B:We want so many good things for, for their success, for them to be, to thrive in our classrooms.
Speaker B:But if we, if we're thinking about them 24 hours a day, we're gonna burn out.
Speaker B:And if we burn out, then we're not gonna want to be there working with them when we are there.
Speaker B:So that healthy detachment.
Speaker B:I'm not a therapist, but I think I, I think a therapist would probably say that that would be a, a healthy thing to have a healthy detachment.
Speaker B:Where hey now, hey, we're leave school at school now.
Speaker B:Now we're going to go home and focus on family, going to focus on ourselves, our personal self care.
Speaker B:That's such an important thing.
Speaker B:And that ties right into having the, the, the, the finish line ritual where we get through to our, made it through the finish line to our, to our contract.
Speaker B:Time is over now for the day now going home.
Speaker B:The finish line is complete.
Speaker B:I'm over the finish line now.
Speaker B:Now the day is over and, and now this time is for me.
Speaker B:This time is for my family that I have for the rest of the day.
Speaker B:We've got to do that y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:We do because if we don't, we're going to burn out.
Speaker B:And if we're teachers who perform at a very high level in our classroom, we've got to take care of not only our physical health, but our mental health.
Speaker B:And part of taking care of our mental health is having those healthy boundaries in place.
Speaker B:So as I reflect here, there's been times that I haven't set healthy boundaries in my life there.
Speaker B:The I, I will tell you, like the last couple of weeks that I started up the school year in my new school district, there haven't Been boundaries in place and I've been burning at both ends.
Speaker B:What I mean by that is I've been coming in early and when I say early before 6 o', clock, I'm there at like 5, 45, 6 o' clock there and then, and then I've been sometimes staying till 8, 9, 10 o' clock at night.
Speaker B:Now think about that.
Speaker B:Is that sustainable?
Speaker B:I have three children at home, I got a wife at home.
Speaker B:I have a dad and a brother with a disability that I'm very close to also giving everything to teaching but not having anything left for my family.
Speaker B:Is that sustainable?
Speaker B:Is that fair to my wife?
Speaker B:Not at all.
Speaker B:And so short term, if you gotta kind of pack a punch in terms of like get doing what you need to do and if you can get something sorted out with your family, like, hey, one or two weeks here, I need to kind of give it my all here, some long hours can.
Speaker B:My special project is kind of getting traction for the school year.
Speaker B:Yes, but then sustainability, nope.
Speaker B:We got to start setting those things in our heads like hey, let's, let's back off here.
Speaker B:Let's, let's put a finish line in place.
Speaker B:Let's get some healthy boundaries in place, some healthy detachment for when, what, what, what our schedule is going to look like for going forward.
Speaker B:Because I, I'm going to tell you right now, I, I want to perform at a high level.
Speaker B:I want to be seen as a teacher leader in my new school district where I'm, but I'm not going to be.
Speaker B:Being a teacher leader means modeling healthy boundaries too.
Speaker B:And my team that I'm working with, they know that I've been putting some long hours in and that I'm not, I've been talking to them already about healthy boundaries, but I'm not doing it myself.
Speaker B:So how am I supposed to have them take me seriously in a teacher leadership role if I'm not setting healthy boundaries myself?
Speaker B:Heck.
Speaker B:So I, I am bringing in, hey, let's, let's some healthy boundaries, some, some healthy finish line type of mentality where I'm going to actually make sure that I, I follow through with, hey, I'm just not going to work till I collapse at night.
Speaker B:There's been past years too where I, I've kind of gotten burned out where it's tough because like I know around conference time, conference time is a tough time for me because I'm going to put some extra hours and usually I'm going to spend some extra days in putting some extra hours in and then at near the end of the school year, kind of the final push to get to the school year, I spend some extra days and long evenings and early mornings kind of taking care of what I need to.
Speaker B:And those they wear on me, they wear on me.
Speaker B:They kind of tear me up kind of mentally and physically, they're hard on my system.
Speaker B:And I know it's just not sustainable.
Speaker B:So short term, yes.
Speaker B:So it's kind of like we have to negotiate stuff with our loved ones and ourselves.
Speaker B:Like, hey, if we have to do short term, we have to suspend our boundaries just a little bit.
Speaker B:That the, in terms of the number of hours we.
Speaker B:We work.
Speaker B:Short term, yes, that might be okay, but long term, no.
Speaker B:And, and actually.
Speaker B:And that's kind of a boundary too.
Speaker B:We have to set.
Speaker B:If we have to suspend a, like what a work boundary for the amount of work we're going to spend, we gotta, we still gotta say, okay, this is temporary only for maybe these days.
Speaker B:And then back at setting up boundaries, because if we don't set boundaries, school.
Speaker B:Well, I love the districts I've worked in.
Speaker B:I love my prior school district, I love my new district I'm in.
Speaker B:Districts will take, take, take, and take from you.
Speaker B:It's just the nature of the beast of teaching and working.
Speaker B:It'll take from you.
Speaker B:It'll take, take and take.
Speaker B:And that's what.
Speaker B:And so our school districts aren't responsible for putting boundaries up, we are, because school districts are going to do what school districts are going to do.
Speaker B:They're going to take from you.
Speaker B:And I don't care what school district you're in, they're going to take from you if you don't set up healthy boundaries.
Speaker B:And I'm not.
Speaker B:That's not a slam on a school district.
Speaker B:They're just trying to.
Speaker B:They want to get the most they can out of teachers.
Speaker B:But you know, school districts are run by, guess what, flawed human beings too.
Speaker B:And they get excited that teachers are willing to give their best too, but only we can know our boundaries and our limits and what we're willing to tolerate.
Speaker B:And part of what we're willing to tolerate and deal with is, is making sure that we set boundaries and put them in place and actually follow them.
Speaker B:Because I know that times where I have kind of burnt.
Speaker B:Burn out or temporary, temporarily burnt myself out in my teaching, I, I have had to create space for myself where I've had to put some boundaries up.
Speaker B:And, and y' all, guess what has happened when I've set boundaries for, for myself as an educator.
Speaker B:I'M a better teacher.
Speaker B:I show up better for my students, I show up better for my teacher colleagues, for my fellow staff that I work with, and I show up better at home for my family too do.
Speaker B:And I think sometimes our perception can sometimes be our reality in that sense too, where it's like, maybe it doesn't seem like I'm getting as much done as I know as I would if I was burning it and putting those extra hours in, but really I think I am getting as much done, if not more because I'm feeling stronger, I'm feeling healthier and, and I'm working.
Speaker B:I, I'm using the time that I have allocated to being there and dedicating towards my students and towards my prep work.
Speaker B:I'm being smarter with that time.
Speaker B:I think I'm being a lot smarter trying to avoid getting caught up in just chit chat conversations in the hallway or in the classroom.
Speaker B:I'm trying to be mindful with the time.
Speaker B:Not, not that that stuff isn important, but I'm trying to be more mindful of the, the time that I do have.
Speaker B:So that way, hey, I have a certain amount of time here.
Speaker B:I got to make the most of it.
Speaker B:So why do boundaries help kids?
Speaker B:When you think about bound, when you set up boundaries for yourself as a teacher, how does that help kids?
Speaker B:Well, arrested teachers have more patience, energy and joy.
Speaker B:You can't be a funky teacher if you don't have patience.
Speaker B:If you don't have energy and you don't have joy, that's a part of being a funky teacher, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:And so healthy boundaries means that you're going to be more patient, have more energy, have more joy when working with kids, that's part of being a rested teacher.
Speaker B:And then kids learn from example, setting boundaries, model self care and resilience.
Speaker B:If you're talking to your students about, oh, I was here so early in the morning and I was here so late at night, I've noticed, I've said that to students sometimes, oh, I was up here late working last night.
Speaker B:You know, my next thing is, oh, that doesn't happen very often.
Speaker B:I should be saying not, oh, I'm here every night working till 10 o' clock or I'm here till, till, till 9 or 8 or 11 at night working.
Speaker B:And that's just my normal, that's not good to model that for kids because they need to see that, that I have a healthy work life balance too, or that I'm going home with my family.
Speaker B:And that is not every second of my Waking breath and waking mind space is dedicated to teaching because I love teaching.
Speaker B:A huge part of who I am is teaching, but not.
Speaker B:But teaching is not every part of me.
Speaker B:I'm first and foremost a husband and father, which is most important to me than anything else.
Speaker B:And then, and then teaching comes in.
Speaker B:Is teaching a major part of me?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:But I'm a husband and father first and foremost.
Speaker B:And that'll always, that'll always win out more than.
Speaker B:Than anything else.
Speaker B:Being a husband, father, family man.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's the most important thing.
Speaker B:Besides my.
Speaker B:Well, the order of priority is my, my, my faith, my Christian faith is very important to me first and foremost.
Speaker B:The most important thing to me, my family is priority.
Speaker B:And then third is being the best teacher that I can be for my students.
Speaker B:That's kind of the order of it.
Speaker B:And that.
Speaker B:And I think that's a hope that's very healthy for me to have that.
Speaker B:That prior the.
Speaker B:The three priorities in my life in that order, because then they can really.
Speaker B:And when they really work nicely together and in sync together, as long as I do follow through with setting up the boundaries in, in my teaching structure, with making sure that, hey, if I'm coming in early, I shouldn't be working my butt off late at night then either.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And so kind of going into this week here, yo those boundaries go into place where I'm not going to be staying late now this week because I am coming in early so I can, so then I can leave and not.
Speaker B:Not have to.
Speaker B:To worry about.
Speaker B:And I'm the time that I have there.
Speaker B:I'm gonna really make sure that I prioritize the time here.
Speaker B:And that's going to be my, my, my new going forward here with in.
Speaker B:Unless there's like a special one or two day one off type of a thing because I need to take care of some stuff.
Speaker B:And that's okay once in a while or once a semester or once a quarter, but that you got to talk about that with your loved ones too, if that's going to impact them.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Like me staying late impacts my wife and kids and family.
Speaker B:So I better have that conversation.
Speaker B:So I'm respectful to them because I need to give my best to them too.
Speaker B:And I want to encourage that for you as well.
Speaker B:All right, well, that, that is a pretty powerful topic.
Speaker B:Very powerful episode here that we've talked about Boundaries, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:They don't mean shutting people out.
Speaker B:They mean creating space so you can keep showing up with love and consistency for your students, for your school.
Speaker B:But protect your energy and your students will benefit from the best version of you.
Speaker B:Well, with that being said, that brings our episode to a close.
Speaker B:Remember to inspire greatness in young people.
Speaker B:And don't forget to be a funky teacher.
Speaker B:Bye, now.
Speaker A:He's Mr. Funky Teacher yeah he's Mr. Funky Teacher yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Sam.
