Preventing Burnout: 12 Self-Care Strategies for Middle School Science Teachers

How to Put the Joy back in teaching and Prevent Burnout

For the last 10 weeks, it’s been dark when I get to work in the morning. After school, my life is consumed by prepping for dinner and then, by the time dinner is served, the sun is down again. It was really starting to feel like my whole life was work and sleep – and definitely too much of one and not enough of the other. And, of course, my students were feeling it too. We’re all slogging through the winter in what feels like the longest break-less stretch of the year. In the interest of preventing burnout, I started to look into some self-care strategies that I could implement to bring some joy back into teaching. Here are 12 ways I’m making work better for myself.

The little things are the big things. Focus on small victories.

The day that Liz said science was her favorite class. The day Ella told me she wanted to be a science teacher because I make it look fun. The day Ben (finally) got a passing grade on an assessment. Those are the little things that make my day brighter, and those are the things I want to focus on.

Re-read letters from past students.

I have a drawer of an old filing cabinet filled with letters and cards from students (and parents) that make me feel good. It’s an odd collection of holiday cards, notes from students, and emails from parents but rereading them reminds me of how much I (usually) love what I do.

Remember your WHY.

We all teach for the same reason – to make a difference in the lives of children. No one goes into this profession because it looks glamorous, easy, or well paid. It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae of teaching – the paperwork, IEP meetings, grading the piles of lab reports. But there’s no joy in that. Even after decades of teaching, I still love the conversations I have with 12 year olds. They fascinate me, challenge me, and delight me. When I’m feeling a little out of sorts, I find a student or two and sit with them for a few minutes. Ask them what’s up, how’s life. Tell them a story about something in your life. It rejuvenates me every time.

Let yourself, and your students, be silly.

My 30 second dance parties from the pandemic virtual learning days were infamous. Whether we were hybrid or on zoom, everyone had to get up and dance for 30 seconds to some 80s rock song I blared. Some kids were more shy than others, but that didn’t stop me – I danced as wildly as I could and we all had a great laugh.  Have a rock-paper-scissors tournament (it takes less than 5 minutes) and crown a winner. Last week, we had a 5 minute round of balloon volleyball – winning team got to pick their own seats for the day. We lost a negligible amount of instructional time, but we gained a lot of fun.

Add competition.

Have students compete with each other or with different classes for whatever goal you want them to achieve – 100% homework completion, highest test average, fewest beakers broken during lab. Have them compete with you – who scores the highest in Kahoot, can they finish the bellringer before you take attendance, can they guess the vocab term before you write it on the board? Let students pick reward if they win – my students always pick no homework, but bigger competitions deserve bigger prizes – they get to pie you, you must drink hot sauce, you have to sing a song. 

Gamify your lessons. Make it fun for you and for them.

Kahoot, escape rooms, Blooket, Quizlet live, I have Who has. Just play a game. Whether it’s 5 minutes or the whole class period, give some time for play within the content. They won’t even know they’re learning but they’ll have a great time and so will you.

Take a break – with or without students.

We had 9 days of cloudy weather. On the 10th day, the sun came out for about 45 minutes and, despite the cold, my class went for a walk outside.  Just 10 minutes to circle the building, but we all came back refreshed. It’s also a great idea for your own mental health to get out of the building on your lunch or prep! I don’t like to go far – I need time at my desk to keep up with prepping and grading – but it’s important to take a break. Whether it’s a walk, a drive to run an errand, or even sitting on a bench, it’s much easier to focus when you’ve had time to unfocus. If you’re really swamped, take your laptop to the school library or to a bench outside if it’s nice out. A change is as good as a break, they say.

Ask for help – from admin, coworkers, parents, friends.

When it’s bad (and it’s often bad), make sure you have a support system to get you through. As a coworker to cover your hall duty today and then cover his or hers tomorrow. Ask admin for support with challenging students. Send an email to parents asking for tissues, glue sticks, whatever your class needs. Tell your friends you need an evening out. No teacher is an island.

Build relationships with students.

Talk to your students. Find common ground and have actual conversations. Let them know that you believe in them and that you’re here for them. Everyone wins when students and teachers genuinely like each other.

Use music you love during transitions.

I played a lot of Taylor Swift these last few months, but my students also recognize Boston, Luke Bryan, and Queen. Sometimes I choose a song with a science theme, and other times I pick a song that makes me happy. Play songs between class periods or as students are collecting materials for lab or doing the bellringer.

Catch up days – for you and for them.

Before every unit test, I build in a catch up day.  I usually provide an outline of things students must do – make up missed work, complete review sheets, etc – and some choices of things they may do – enrichment activities or games. Lots of opportunity here for extra help and for relationship building.

Say no.

It really is ok if you don’t chaperone the spring dance. It’s ok if you don’t stay late on a Friday to provide extra help for the student who took a vacation last week. It’s ok if you don’t check emails over the weekend. It’s ok if you close your door when you’re eating your lunch. Although there sometimes is a culture that expects teacher availability 24/7, you don’t have to support that culture.