Latest / New Teacher Talk / Ep 174: Breaking the Burnout Cycle Through Boundaries and Self-Care with Dr. Jameelah Wright

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Ep 174: Breaking the Burnout Cycle Through Boundaries and Self-Care with Dr. Jameelah Wright · New Teacher Talk

My name is Dr.
Jameelah Wright,
and I am a teacher education professor at William Paterson
University in New Jersey.
Today,
I'm going to talk about teacher wellbeing and self-care.
This episode is one I consider essential,
not just for new teachers,
but for anyone who cares deeply about their students.
So we'll be talking about sustaining your wellbeing as an
educator, what that really looks like, why it matters,
and how you can protect the parts of yourself that brought
you into teaching in the first place.
Let's start with the truth we rarely say out loud.
When you become a teacher, it is so easy to lose yourself.
Think about it.
You've spent years preparing.
You finally have your own classroom.
You want everything to be perfect.
The lessons, the bulletin boards,
even your teacher wardrobe.
Maybe you're scrolling Pinterest for hours.
Maybe you've imagined yourself becoming a teacher
influencer, a teacherpreneur,
or the person whose classroom always seems picture-ready.
And none of that is wrong.
It comes from a place of passion,
but passion without boundaries?
That's where burnout begins.
When I was in my teacher education program,
I came across words that have stayed with me to this day.
They're from educator Hyam Junoo,
and they stop me in my tracks every time.
It goes,
I've come to a frightening conclusion that I am the
decisive element in the classroom.
It's my personal approach that creates the climate.
It's my daily mood that makes the weather.
This quote is a mirror.
It reminds us that teaching is not only about what we do,
but about who we are, our energy, our stability,
our emotional availability.
And you can't offer steadiness if you're running on fumes.
You can't offer inspiration when you're exhausted,
bone tired,
and you can't humanize children if you're dehumanizing
yourself.
We often hear that teachers should put students first.
We hear about it all the time.
We hear about it in our teacher education programs.
But here's the real truth.
You cannot put students first if you never put yourself
anywhere on the list.
Teacher well-being isn't selfish.
It's a condition for good teaching.
When you show up rested, supported, and centered,
students feel it.
Likewise, when you're overwhelmed, depleted, or anxious,
they feel that too.
If we truly believe we are the decisive element in the
room, then caring for ourselves becomes an act of service.
So let's talk about practical ways to sustain your well
-being.
These are five small practices with big impact,
simple habits that make teaching more humane and more
sustainable for you and your students.
So grab a pen or a pencil and a piece of paper and write
these down.
Number one, set boundaries.
Say no without guilt.
That means no grading papers at midnight,
no signing up for every committee.
No doesn't make you less dedicated.
It makes you sustainable.
Said another way, you can't say yes to everything.
You're one person.
You have only so much energy.
You cannot expend it on every single thing.
So set boundaries.
Number two, prioritize rest.
Leave school at a reasonable hour.
Give yourself evenings without guilt,
an evening where you're not grading anything,
evening where you're not planning the next lesson plan,
an evening just for you.
Rest isn't wasted time.
It's recovery time.
Okay, let me say that again.
Rest isn't wasted time, it's recovery time.
And I know it's hard to break out of that mindset.
We live in a capitalistic society where we're taught that
we need to be productive at any moment that we're not being
productive is wasted time.
Well, let me say that is false.
Rest isn't wasted time, it's recovery time.
Number three, find community.
Teaching can be lonely, even in a building full of people,
right?
But even in this building full of people,
we go into our individual classrooms, we close the doors,
and now we're kind of alone with all these children.
So I say find community, connect with colleagues,
laugh in the teacher's lounge.
So I know if it gets a little messy in teacher's lounge,
you know, with lots of, you know, negative energy,
then do not go there.
But also find a community that you can vent safely to,
to celebrate loudly.
Community is a form of self-care.
We were designed to be in community with one another as
human beings, right?
So teaching can be lonely,
but the solution is to find a community that will support
you.
Number four, protect joy outside of teaching.
Give yourself permission to have hobbies, passions,
and a life beyond your classroom.
And I know in the early years, you know,
so much of our time and energy is consumed with becoming a
teacher, learning the ropes,
and it's so easy to let those hobbies and other passions
fall to the side.
But I'm saying do not do that.
When your whole identity is tied to teaching,
your well-being rises and falls with every tough day.
And I'm telling you this from someone who experienced this
for the longest time, my main identity was teacher.
Someone asked me what my job was, I would say,
I am a teacher versus I teach, right?
It's a very small difference,
but it makes the world of a difference.
I am a whole person before I became a teacher.
And so I need to hold on to that whole person that I am,
even still as I continue to teach.
So find joy outside of school because it helps to refuel
you for inside of school.
And our fifth and final tip is practice mindfulness.
This doesn't have to be complicated.
It can be something as simple as journaling, as praying,
as having a moment of silence,
or just three deep breaths before between and after
classes.
These tiny pauses create huge emotional shifts,
the calm ripples outward.
Okay,
so those are the five tips and hopefully they are helpful
and beneficial to you.
Many of us grew up believing that a good teacher is the one
who stays late, gives everything and sacrifices constantly.
Remember, that's again,
that's a part of this capitalistic society mindset,
we need to move away from that.
So here's the truth.
A good teacher is a sustainable teacher,
a teacher who knows when to stop,
a teacher who knows how to say, I've done enough for today.
A teacher who understands that being well is a part of
being effective.
And remember this, when you care for yourself,
you are caring for your students.
When you protect your well being,
you're protecting theirs too.
We cannot separate teacher wellness from teacher success.
When teachers thrive, classrooms flourish.
So let's reflect for a moment.
As you move forward this week,
I want to invite you to slow down and ask yourself,
what do I need in order to feel whole again?
What boundary can I set to protect my energy?
What small practice can I commit to that will help me
breathe easier, feel steadier, or reconnect with joy?
Because you deserve support, balance and renewal.
Not Sunday, not over winter break, not over summer,
but right now.
Your students deserve the version of you that is well,
not the version that is barely holding on.
So I thank you for joining New Teacher Talk podcast.
And remember to teach well, we must first be well.
So be well.