Real Talk
Teacher burnout is real. When the stessors of the job become too much, many of us are tempted to leave the profession and the students we love so much. However, teachers are not quitting because we don’t like our students or solely because we are tired of teaching. In reality, many teachers stay because we love to teach and we love our students. When teachers choose to leave the classroom, it’s because of everything else involved in the job. The door principle explains this trend perfectly.
How does the door principle impact teachers?
If you think of a classroom door, there are two sides. On one side, teachers are, well, teaching. On the other side of the classroom door lie professional development, meetings, and other meaningless hoops that waste our time and exhaust us, contributing to teacher burnout.
The first side is where teachers thrive. We get to create engaging lessons, make games and activities, have discussions with our students, and watch the kids grow and learn over the school year. We love coming up with new and creative ways to meet the educational needs of our students when we’re on this side of the door. The little family formed over the duration of the school year in our classrooms is what makes it all worth it. This is what most teachers envision for our careers as we get our teaching licenses.
Unfortunately, there are two sides to the door in the door principle. Outside our classroom door, work constantly piles up. Meetings, formal observations, parent complaints, constant curriculum changes, and political expectations cut into the time we are able to be with our students. It also takes away from the time we have to do the work of teaching that happens when no students are present, including vital time to prep lessons and grade assignments. The workload added by this side of the door is the real reason so many teachers cave under the stress of the job and burn out.
Staying, leaving, and making a change
Despite the dreaded parts of the job, the love many of us have for our students keeps us showing up in our classrooms every morning ready to change the world. Students everywhere can thank their lucky stars that what happens on the classroom side of the door is so rewarding that many of us can live with the other side of the door.
For those teachers who have burnt out and left, we also see you. We know that the door of teaching has two sides, including the side that slams into you on your way out without so much as a thank you.
And for any administrators reading this, remember that your staff is dealing with the door principle every day. Anything that you can do to make your side of the door a little less burdensome will go a long way to preventing teacher burnout and improving school morale.
