Rebooting a Teacher's Mind
November 09, 2009 
Novels by James Patterson were teacher Brenda Dyck's indicator that she was suffering from classroom burnout. In the midst of a period of heavy stress, the middle school teacher would leave school as soon as possible to escape to Patterson's fictional world, leaving behind papers to grade and a long list of professional literature she should otherwise be reading.
"I knew I was suffering burnout when intense fatigue set in and I lost the joy I previously had experienced in my teaching job," says Dyck, author of The Rebooting of a Teacher's Mind. "All I could think about was what I had to do and what I hadn't done (or hadn't done well). I recall feeling stressed when even the smallest extra task was added to my plate."
It was during this time that Dyck wrote an article for Education World on teacher burnout and created a web page on the topic where she and other educators could find advice in the company of professionals who had experienced burnout. This camaraderie may be more helpful than looking to school administration for help, as shrinking budgets have management asking more and more of teachers.
"This discussion helped me"just to know that others were struggling with burnout, helped me and made me address my own challenges in this area," says Dyck.
Instructors writing in to Dyck's MiddleTalk listserv group have made the following suggestions on avoiding burnout:
"¢ Sleep
"¢ Exercise
"¢ Spend time with family
"¢ Choose to be around optimistic people
"¢ Allow forgiveness for not being perfect"both for yourself, and those around you
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