No matter how much we love our work or how much meaning we find in our profession, most teachers struggle with burnout from time to time. Often, encouragement from our teacher bestie, a particularly rewarding success with a student, or some much-needed downtime over the summer is enough to help us recharge and for us to regain our enthusiasm for a job we love.

But sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes, despite our best efforts to dig deep and find our joy, despite our determination to embrace the positive, we still find ourselves weighed down by boredom, discouragement, or frustration. If you are experiencing burnout or worry you’re headed there, consider one of these strategies to reignite your love for teaching. Obviously, not all of them are feasible for all teachers, but before giving up on a profession you once felt called to, making a change, even a radical one, might be worth a try.

1. Become a mentor.

It might seem counter-intuitive that, as a teacher struggling with the profession, you would be a good candidate to help someone just starting out, but your experiences (both positive and negative) could be a real asset to a new teacher. For example, a new teacher feeling overwhelmed and discouraged by all extra duties and requirements of teaching might actually feel encouraged knowing that even successful veterans feel the same way sometimes. And just because you are feeling down on the job doesn’t mean you don’t have years’ worth of success stories to share and meaningful wisdom to impart. Recalling these can be a boon to a sagging morale. Not only that, a new teacher’s enthusiasm can be contagious, and sharing with your mentee all the things you’ve loved most about teaching might just be the inspiration you need to keep going.

2. Become an activist.

Is there something you’ve tolerated for years that you feel is a real thorn in the side of education? Maybe it’s an over-emphasis on rigor for young children or obsession with standardized testing. Maybe it is the lack of play in education or decreased recess. Do you feel your school could benefit from a different scheduling system or more electives? Is there a population in your school you feel is being under-served? Whatever it is, maybe now is the time to re-energize yourself through fighting for a cause. After all, sometimes it’s the teachers who have the most experience who are the most willing to buck the system.

3. Re-invent your curriculum.

You’ve taught Lord of the Flies for the last 15 years. You have it down, and you are good at it. Or maybe you have a go-to system for teaching fractions or a cool history project you assign year after year. There’s nothing inherently wrong with sticking to what you know, as long as it works. However, even though replacing a book or lesson you’ve become an expert in is a lot of work, the challenge of bringing that same level of expertise to new material can be inspiring and exhilarating. And if you are interested in changing your curriculum and state or school-wide level, take a look at this guide.            

4. Teach a different grade or subject.

Sometimes burnout happens when you feel stuck in a teaching pattern. Can you switch from 3rd grade to 6th? Can you teach social studies next year instead of English? The fun part about starting over in a new grade or subject is that you have all the good teacher tricks up your sleeve for things like discipline and organization, but you get to try them in a new setting and with new material. In my own experience, switching from high school to 6th grade was like becoming a brand new teacher all over again—except in so many ways I already knew what I was doing.

5. Change schools.

Switching schools isn’t likely to make much difference in your experience unless you choose a school that offers something meaningful to you that your current school doesn’t. If you are religious, you might find deep satisfaction in teaching at a parochial setting. It might be that your educational philosophy is better suited to a private or charter school. Would you feel inspired teaching in an inner-city? Maybe you would enjoy teaching in a small school. In other words, is there a teaching experience or situation you’d like to have that your school doesn’t offer? It might be worth looking outside your district.

6. Explore part-time options.

Part-time positions are a rarity in our profession, but they do exist. There were no part-time teachers in my district when I asked my principal if that might be an option, and while it didn’t happen right away, when he saw a need for a part-time position in the schedule, I got the gig!  Knowing you are interested might be the inspiration your administration needs to create a part-time option. After all, it’s a way for the school to save money while still keeping an experienced teacher on the faculty. It can be a win/win, especially when it relieves you of burnout and gets you back on track.

7. Take a year off.

If you are truly burned out to the point that teaching is affecting your mental or physical well-being, taking a year off might be your best option. Talk to your administration about a sabbatical. If paid leave is not an option, consider alternative employment for a year, like teaching online or even something totally unrelated to education, like waiting tables or working in retail. This might mean exploring alternative health insurance options. You might face putting off retirement for a year. But to maintain your health and regain your enthusiasm for teaching, the time off might just be time well spent.

Teaching is exhausting, overwhelming, underpaid, and under-appreciated, so it’s no wonder teacher burnout is real. Yet, teaching is also a gift. We get to devote our days to a subject we are passionate about while shaping and influencing young lives. A career in teaching is hard, but it’s definitely worth fighting for.

reignite your love for teaching