I committed a cardinal sin of teaching: I broke my contract. After nearly four years, I walked away for good in the middle of January. I gave my principal my two weeks notice through tears, but immediately felt the relief I had been longing for since July. When the pandemic first hit I wrote about […]
Teacher Burnout
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The “Great Resignation” Is Hurting Teacher Diversity and That Matters More Than You Think
My first teaching job was at a very small private school, where I was the only English teacher for all four grades. I made very little money, our health insurance was threatened by financial woes, and I was severely overworked. I almost left teaching after my third year and I have been forever grateful for […]
Posted inMental Health
First-Year Teachers: Raise Your Hand If You’ve Been Bullied Too.
By Lanee Higgins Teachers should share our workplace bullying experiences in shouts instead of whispers, but I understand why we don’t. Seven years ago, I kept a record of the workplace bullying that I endured as a first-year teacher in 2014. Seven years later, rereading it leaves my stomach full of needles, my thoughts racing, […]
Posted inCOVID-19
A Year Later After I Resigned From Teaching in a Pandemic
I’m one of those people who liked the app called Timehop that shows pictures and statuses from social media from prior years. This morning, there was one of my little dogs, Emerson, before we had to put him down due to health complications. The image was of him sitting in my garden, tilting his little […]
Posted inTeacher Burnout
Take a Sigh of Relief: End of the Year Reflection
Can you feel it? Can you see it? The end of the year is almost here. I can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from my fellow teachers everywhere. This past school year has been exhausting. For some – the halls have been dark and full of terror – literally and metaphorically. I do […]
Posted inCOVID-19
#PandemicPedagogy: It’s Time to Break Up With This School Year
As the school year comes to a close, it is common for educators to reflect on the last ten months and think about how they’ll make next year even better. But as this whirlwind of a year winds down, many of us have not even an ounce left to give – for reflection, improvement, or […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
“It’s Time To Make The Donuts:” Teaching in 2020-2021
In 1984, Dunkin Donuts released a commercial starring Fred the Baker. Fred becomes somewhat famous, and his one-liner resonated among workers who related to his daily grind-“it’s time to make the donuts.” As the 2020-2021 school year continues on an endless repeat, I have begun uttering: “It’s Time To Make The Donuts,” as I drag my […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Opinion: Prepare for the Mass Teacher Exodus in Georgia and Around the Country
What a year it has been. Last week made one full year since schools across the country moved to remote learning. As of a month ago, there were half a million lives lost in the nation due to COVID-19. There are many countless Facebook arguments about whether students should be in school. Parents are making […]