4/30/2010

Teacher burnout is on the rise but there are ways to avoid this stress early on. Five minutes is all you need.

New teachers fresh out of teacherrs college often feel isolated in school. Many end up quitting teaching due to a lack of proper support. Mentor teachers, as willing as they are, try to make the time to observe a new teacher. If you find however, you and your mentorrs schedules coincide, there is always the option of teacher journals and diaries.

Why journals and diaries?

New teachers spend a lot of time expending emotional energy around issues of classroom management and lessons that didnnt succeed. They need a quick pick-me up from another mentor that will give them support and encouragement they need. Sometimes a new or any teacher just needs time alone to reflect on the lesson.

The writing alone is already a panacea and can later serve as a dialogue between another teacher. Writing your journal daily or even weekly will help develop that critical reflective eye that is necessary for further teacher development and growth.

What should go into the journal?

In the beginning, virtually anything. A new teacher is busy transferring all the theoretical knowledge acquired and putting it into practice. It can be the lesson plan itself, describing what went wrong, what worked successfully. This bit is especially important for new teachers since they donnt have the objective eye for examining all that went on during an activity. Read more at Suite101: Five Minute Activity for Teachers: Journal Writing for the New and Experienced Teacher's Soul http://teacher-mentorship.suite101.com/article.cfm/five_minute_activity_for_teachers#ixzz0lYh3Paz0