The Teacher Burnout Podcast

Rekindle Your Passion for Teaching with Mike Anderson
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Teacher Burnout Podcast, where we explore the challenges of burnout for teachers and share practical strategies to support teacher well being. I'm your host, Barb Flowers. If you're a teacher looking for ways to prevent burnout or an educational leader searching for strategies to support your team, this podcast is for you.
Let's dive in.
Welcome everyone to the teacher burnout podcast. I'm here today with Mike Anderson, the author of rekindle your professional fire, powerful habits for becoming a more well balanced teacher.
And I am so excited to have him on the show with us today. So I just want to start by having Mike tell us about his background in education and how he came up with the idea to write this book. Hey Barb, , thank you. It's great to be here. I'm really happy to join you. Yeah. Well, I have a long history in education now because I'm wicked old.
I was a classroom teacher for 15 years. I taught third, fourth, and fifth grades in public [00:01:00] schools in, , when I left the classroom, I joined a nonprofit organization and did some consulting and program development for them. , and now I've been out of my own as an independent education consultant for about 10 years.
Yeah, but I've also had a bunch of other experiences in education or with kids anyway. I mean, I started working with kids first when I was about 15 years old. And I had, , I got a job teaching swimming lessons at the local YMCA. I'd walk down from high school to the YMCA and teach kids swimming lessons.
And that was the first time that I thought, Oh, this working with kids thing is pretty fun. Up until that point, there was no way I was going to be a teacher because my mother was a third grade teacher. My father was a college professor. So no way was I going to do that. And then I started working with kids and found I really liked it.
, so I've worked in a preschool program when I was in college, I've taught graduate level classes through the university of New Hampshire summer literacy Institute. , I've been a high school and age group swim coach. So I've done all kinds of things in education over the years. All your experience in education, [00:02:00] 15 years is a long time.
So what about that 15 years made you realize that, you needed to write this book about rekindling professional fire and becoming a well balanced teacher? Yeah. It's an interesting question because it's got kind of a complex answer. When I was A brand new teacher. I was completely swamped and overwhelmed.
I was working between the swim teams. I was coaching in the fourth grade teaching job. I had, I was working over a hundred hours a week. Yeah. Cause I was young and didn't have anything else to do anyway. And so all weekend I was at the pool at swim meets and I would get to school two or three hours before kids showed up and then go back to the.
school after I coached swim practices in the afternoon. And I loved it. It was all good. I was completely exhausted, but energized too. When I really started to feel burnout was when, , I got married and my wife and I started a family. And I guess I had always thought that being a dad would make me a better teacher and being a teacher would make me a better [00:03:00] dad.
And instead, I felt these two things were in conflict with each other. I had some work habits that weren't all that efficient. I would often go to school on the weekends and just sort of putter, and rearrange furniture, and clean, and that was when I would often get inspired to start working on a new social studies unit, and I would spend all weekend working on a social studies unit.
Yeah, I couldn't do that when I was a parent, , and I remember many times bringing my kids, when they were really little, to the school. I would like flip tables over to basically build a playpen, put math manipulatives in for them to play with and try and get work done. It rarely worked. , so it was when I was a relatively still new teacher, but a young dad, that I really started to feel like I, I couldn't hold it all together.
And I felt my own professional fire starting to dip. I started trying to figure out what to do, cause there was no way I was going to turn into one of those grumpy old teachers who is complaining about kids and parents and waiting out retirement, you know, with 20 years still to go. I started a research project to figure out how to better [00:04:00] balance my life.
And that actually turned into a book called the well balanced teacher, which came out. Oh, probably 15 years ago now. , and it's been really well received and a lot of teachers have told me how much they've enjoyed the book and how much it's helped them, but the book is getting a little dated now. So fast forward a bunch of years.
My latest book before this one was called, , tackling the motivation crisis. And it was all about boosting student motivation through tapping into kids needs for autonomy and competence and purpose and belonging and curiosity and fun. These sort of really fundamental psychological needs we have. So many teachers, when I was doing work in their schools on that book, would say some version of, , yeah, autonomy and purpose and competence, yeah, those are important for kids, but we need those too as teachers.
And I heard that over and over again, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that boy, the standards movement over the last 10 or 20 years has really been robbing teachers of autonomy. Purpose has [00:05:00] shifted, you know, purpose in schools is often now about test scores or being compliant to programs.
That is not what got us into this profession. That's why we entered. So our purpose has shifted or dimmed. It feels like it's not as much fun anymore. So this new book came out. It's almost like a mash up of that old book, The Well Balanced Teacher. And this new book, Tackling the Motivation Crisis. So I really look at professional engagement through the lens of not only physical health, that's still there, but also these six intrinsic motivators that we as adults need, if we're going to have any chance of, of keeping our professional fires burning bright.
Yeah. And I love that because I think that that's such an important topic, especially after you've been in education for a while, because like you said, I remember being that brand new teacher and working in my classroom was also my hobby, you know, like you said, it was so fun, but then things happen, right?
You have a family or you've been doing it for a while and you're just like, okay, it's no [00:06:00] longer a hobby. I need to be doing other things in my life as well. And so then you do have to shift that. Yeah. Balance and that doesn't last forever that you can work in your room for 60 hours and, you know, feel, , Feel refreshed when you go to work, I could connect with what you were saying about like puttering around in your classroom.
I could spend hours. I don't even know what I was doing, just doing nothing, but it felt so productive to me because I enjoyed every minute of it. So I think that. , thinking beyond that and after people get to that stage of their career where they're no longer willing to do that anymore, how do they navigate that?
I think it's a good topic. It's so important. And, and I think that sometimes when we think about teachers who are burning out the immediate sort of knee jerk reaction, and it's probably often the right one is the teachers need to work less. And sometimes that's absolutely true, but that's not always the answer either.
So in this new book, I do have some suggestions for [00:07:00] disconnecting a bit. And for making sure we're taking care of our most basic physical needs, like eating well, and getting enough sleep, and carving out time for exercise, and making sure we're hydrating, and you know, those are all so important. But then there are also some things that we can do with our daily lives in school to keep ourselves really fired up.
So for example, we often have extra responsibilities outside of classroom teaching. That's just part of the deal. So a question to ask is, Are those extra responsibilities ones that get you fired up and excited? Or are they ones that you dread and that bring you down? I remember at one point when I was in the classroom, somehow I ended up on the scheduling committee.
This group of people who decided when third graders were going to have lunch and when fifth grade would go to art. I don't know how I ended up on this committee. Somebody probably asked me and I just said yes because I wasn't good at saying no as a new teacher. But I didn't care about when these things happened.
I mean, of [00:08:00] course there were some times that were better than others, but as a general rule, I was happy to let somebody else speak. figure that out and just tell me when to bring my kids to music and when my lunch period was. , so I remember I got off of that committee when I realized how much of a soul suck it was.
And I got myself onto the committee that was revising our report card, because that was something I was passionate about. I was really, I did not like the report card that we had at the time in my school district, and had some really strong views about what we should be assessing and how we should be reporting to families.
And so that was a committee I could get fired up about. So one thing I often say to teachers is, it's not just about doing less. It's about making sure that the things you are doing, are feeding your needs for purpose and competence and autonomy and belonging, , and curiosity and fun, because when our work meets those needs, that's when we can stay fired up.
And engaged and vibrant in our work. Yeah. And I've talked about that on the podcast before with committees. Because I think that's so [00:09:00] important. When I was a teacher, early on, I knew I wanted to be a principal. And so I always thought about what committees aligned with my future goals of being a principal, but there are people who don't want to be a principal and they might not want to be on a leadership team.
You know, there's other committees like. I always give an example. We had a spirit committee. I'm the worst at that. Planning fun activities and, bringing fun to events. That's not me, but there are people who are so good at it. So finding those things that you are passionate about and can really bring a lot to that committee, I think is really important.
Yes, yes, that's huge. And finding the people who you want to work with, and maximizing your time with people who bring you good energy. One thing that I came across as I was doing research for this new book, have you ever heard of the crabs in the bucket phenomenon? It's really interesting. So apparently crab fishermen can leave a bucket of crabs out on the dock without a lid on it, and the crabs can't get out of the bucket.
Okay. Because what happens is when one crab starts to climb out of the bucket, [00:10:00] the other crabs look up and see something above them that they could leverage to like pull themselves out of the bucket. So they grab onto the crab that's climbing out and they pull it back down as they try to pull themselves out of the bucket.
So you don't have to cover a bucket of crabs and the crabs can't get out because they always pull each other back down. The same thing happens in social situations. Mm hmm. And in schools, it might sound like this. A teacher at a grade level meeting or in a department meeting shares something that they're thinking of trying because they're really excited and they can't wait to try out this new teaching strategy.
And someone in the group will say, Oh, that'll never work here. Oh, I tried that once. And it didn't work with our kids or, Oh yeah, we used to do that back in the nineties. It's called whatever, you know, is just swinging back around. So in social situations, the crabs in the bucket are the people who bring you down when you've got a good idea.
So you might need to be on a grade level team with those people or in a PLC with those people, but you don't have to eat lunch with them, and you don't have to sit next to them at faculty meetings. [00:11:00] So another recommendation I make to teachers is not only find the work in school that fires you up, but make sure to spend as much time as you can with the people who are going to , feed your good energy.
You know, for the people who are going to get you fired up and not bring you down, , and avoid the crabs in the bucket whenever possible. , I think that's such good advice because you are who you surround yourself with. And there's times where you can't choose if you want to be a third grade teacher and that's the job you get and the team is negative it is what it is but like you're saying.
Find those other teachers in the building that you can surround yourself with in other times, because you're right. They will really bring you down. , it is so disheartening as a first year teacher, I'll never forget. My first principal said to me when I went to him and I forget what we were talking about, but something where I was basically sharing what a teacher ready to retire had told me, and he is like, just remember that I hired you for your skills.
I didn't hire you to learn to be like her. , that's such good advice. And I always think about that, right? Like when [00:12:00] they hired me as a brand new teacher and I wasn't always confident, but they did hire me for my enthusiasm and my new ideas and me wanting to try these things. So I needed to bring that to the profession with me instead of being drugged down by other teachers.
Such good advice. Yeah. There were a few years at one school I worked in where I was often surrounded by crabs. I felt like I was, I was the one trying to climb out and people kept grabbing me and yanking me back down. I was just on grade level teams that tended to have a lot of negative energy and they were rough.
So one thing I did was I scheduled a Wednesday morning breakfast with my buddy Cindy. Almost every Wednesday of the school year, Cindy and I would go out to this local diner and have breakfast before school. She taught first grade. I taught fourth and fifth. , so we rarely saw each other during the day, but she had such positive energy and we were really good friends.
And so that was what I did to make sure to carve out a little time with a positive colleague. because I really needed that some years. And so that [00:13:00] was something intentional I did that I built into my schedule so that I knew at least once a week I was getting to have some time with a really positive, awesome colleague.
, that's so important to be intentional about it. And I've been in some Facebook groups too, where I've seen that people will post to try to get some intentional positivity. So finding if you're in a school that's maybe negative, finding some other teachers outside of your school that could bring that positive energy, because I think it is easy to get sucked into that negative energy and there is so much negativity around teaching in general.
You really have to protect that. Yeah, well, and you have to be careful that you don't get caught in this habit where you're getting your sense of belonging met. Through negative interactions. Because often when teachers are complaining about kids or complaining about families, you think, why are they doing that?
What are they getting out of that? They're often getting a sense of connection and camaraderie with each other. You know, it sort of feels good to suffer with other people, and so they're meeting their needs for belonging. But through a really negative [00:14:00] behavior that has a negative impact on, other people and on themselves because we know when we complain, we actually re experience what we're complaining about.
We dose our brains in more stress chemicals every time we complain about it, we relive it. And so it actually, makes it so we're experiencing that negative event or that trauma over and over and over again every time we complain about it. So we know it's good for us, but, but we also do get something out of complaining, which is the sense of connection with others.
So we need to make sure we're getting our needs for belonging met in positive, not negative ways. Yeah, and I will say if you find yourself getting sucked into that, just be aware and don't beat yourself up, but then move out of it because I've seen exactly what you're saying, where I've gotten into a situation, not even just at school, but, I'm talking and I say something and I think, wait, I don't want to be negative like that, or I didn't want to say that, , and so it's just that awareness so that you don't do it again, because it is easy, like even in a conversation with other parents or, , circumstances where you get caught up in this negative conversation where [00:15:00] people are complaining and you're like you said, it's that sense of camaraderie and that connection.
So, yeah, well, that sort of , brings us to, I think one of the most important ideas in this new book that I have, which is about, , paying attention to habits and patterns. Because of course, every now and then you're going to have a bad day and you're going to need to unload with a friend. You know, to talk about something that happened.
It's not that we should never complain. That's okay to do every now and then. Where it becomes problematic is where, when it becomes a habit or a pattern, something that just starts happening automatically. And as you said, bringing awareness to it is a really important first step. So what I recommend in the book for teachers is to pay attention to sort of all of the little habits we have.
And to think about how all of those little habits, for better or worse, really accumulate over time. Here's a really simple example that I often share with teachers. And it's a simple example. It's a health example. , so let's say that every morning you have two cups of coffee, and every morning you put two teaspoons of sugar in each cup of [00:16:00] coffee.
Over a 30 year teaching career, having four teaspoons of sugar every morning, times 365 days, times 30 years, equals 45 pound bags of sugar. Gosh. 200 pounds of sugar. We ingest having four teaspoons of sugar each morning in our coffee. So, so consider a very small shift in habit you could make. Have one teaspoon of sugar.
In your coffee instead of two and you'll save 100 of sugar that you've taken in over the course of a 30 year career. And so that's something I really encouraged teachers to think about is to identify. a need, something that's not going well, something you want to work on, something you want to make better.
And think about a really small shift in behavior, a small way you could tweak a habit you have, or a small habit you could adopt that might not feel like a big deal overall, which is actually part of the point, because when we take on really, really big goals, we often fail. Like, think [00:17:00] about how many times you've set this giant New Year's resolution.
Only to have it fade away by January because it was too big and it required too much of a lifestyle shift. If we can find really small ways of tweaking our habits and our patterns so that they pile up for good, that's something that can really help us stay fired up and energized in the long run. So, going out to breakfast once a week with a positive colleague, it feels good once a week, but over the course of a school year, that's 30 or 40 positive breakfasts with Cindy that I had.
Right. It's good. Making sure to have a really tall glass of water every single morning when you first get up. Really, really simple habit that makes your hydration and overall health so much better. Writing down three positives at the end of each day. Three things that went well during the day. can help you shift your mindset away from all the things that didn't go as well as you wanted to what were some of the things that did go well, which boost your sense of competence.
So that's a really good idea about the book that I encourage teachers to think [00:18:00] about is how small shifts and behaviors, , can be really powerful in the longterm. , I love that making those tiny tweaks. And as you're talking about gratitude, I loved, when I was a principal, I'd end the day with my assistant and we'd think about three things that went well.
When we're talking about negative interactions, that'd be good if you have a colleague to do that with a colleague and it also promotes those positive interactions. So not only are you doing it yourself, but , you're practicing that with a colleague as well, because. We laugh and joke about it because sometimes we'd be like, hmm, you know, if it was a hard day, like, what is the positive?
But we could always easily come up with three. Yet something interesting happens when you start doing it too, which is that during the day you start looking out for the positives that you might share at the end of the day. It automatically starts once, not automatically, it does take a little bit of time, but once you get in that habit, you, you now are starting to seek out what are the positive things I could share, which shifts your energy during the day, instead of always focusing on the things that aren't going as [00:19:00] well as you'd like.
You start to bring more positive energy looking for the positives and boy, what an amazing change that is. Well, and you could even do it with your students. What a great way to end the day with them. I'm thinking elementary where you have them all day, but you could do it with any age where you're like, what's three things that went well today.
And you share out really quick. And it's also shifting that for them as well and teaching them that habit of gratitude. Yeah, I mean, even in a high school class, you could have learning partners, you know, at the very end of class, turn and talk with your learning partner. What's one positive thing you're taking away from today's lesson?
Or what's one thing you did today that you're proud of? Or what's one thing that you want to keep thinking about as we move forward with this content? That ending class with just one real sort of positive noticing could be a really powerful habit. And then not only does that help your students, but then that also helps you because you hear those positive things your students are saying and you end the day or end the class period on this really , high note, which is great.
, yeah, that's great. . Thanks so much, Mike, for being [00:20:00] here. Lots of great tips, and it sounds like a great book. So where can people get the book? What's the best way to get it? it's available on Amazon. So it's called Rekindle Your Professional Fire by Mike Anderson. Another easy way to get it is to go onto my website, and then you can see links to that book as well as other books I've written and some of the other work I'm doing.
My website is Leading Great Learning. , and so that's another place people might go and I'll put the links for both in the show notes so that people can find you on your website and if they want to order the book there or on Amazon, but it definitely would be a great book. I think a great book study to even do with colleagues to help build this more positive climate.
Since you mentioned a book study, another place people could go, and you can put it in the show notes, is , ASCD. org. That's the publisher that published the book. And on the book's page on the ASCD website, there is a free study guide for teachers. So that if people want to use this book as a study guide at [00:21:00] school, , I've created a study guide that people can use as a starting point.
Oh, nice. So that's perfect. All right. Well, thanks again, Mike. We appreciated having you on the show. I hope you got a few tips out of this that you can take with you into the school year to really build those powerful habits, have a positive mindset, , and just rekindle your professional fire.
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