Teacher Burn Out

It's the first day of school at Vantage Career Center, so why would I be writing about teacher burnout?

Check out the blog post, The Answer Sheet, by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post, for some inspiring thoughts from Angie Miller, 2011 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year, a TED speaker, and a National Geographic Teacher Fellow. Strauss' blog, The Answer Sheet, features education topics--"what's important and sometimes what's not", as she describes herself in her Twitter biography.

This article resonated with me, ESPECIALLY since it's the first day of school! Being a former teacher, and a working mother, I immediately identified with Angie Miller's article, featured in Valerie's blog. Read it, you'll enjoy it if you're a teacher.

It reminds us why we do what we do every day in education. Whether you are a teacher or an administrator, you will be inspired, and perhaps have renewed purpose, as you tackle the work ahead of you this school year. Everyone who works in any occupation, can identify with Angie's thoughts.

Valerie Strauss also mentions David Whyte and his book "Consolations". I copied a quote of his for my bulletin board:  Work, among all its abstracts, is actually intimacy, the place where the self meets the world. . .it is the inside made into the outside. . .we stay alive and our work stays alive." The meaning in his words (for me) is: "Take care of yourself and you do your best work--for you and for others."  Today Matters. Use it wisely.

P.S.
As an avid "list maker", I found Angie's words refreshing:  "I need to remember this list is here because it is who I am"!