Pre-Teacher Burnout

Pre-Teacher Burnout

They always talk about teacher burnout – especially for new teachers. 

The endless hours of grading, planning, managing a classroom, and then actually teaching are grueling. 

Now, add in the pressure of teaching in the era of AI, the threats to the DOE, and new DOJ policies that make discipline nearly impossible to enforce. 

But I was prepared for all of this. We’ve spent hours talking about it. I knew what was to come as a new teacher. 

We always hear, “We need teachers” and “People are leaving the profession in herds.”

What no one tells you, though, is how resilient you have to be just to get a teaching job. 

What they don’t say is that you’ll pour your heart into fifteen interviews, only to be told you lack the experience they are desperately seeking. 

This weekend I wanted to quit. 

I’ve joked about dropping out several times, but this weekend I was so close to just going through with it. 

I’m exhausted.

I’ve spent hours mourning opportunities  that I didn’t even know if I necessarily wanted. 

I’ve polished my resume,

I’ve chased connections, 

I’ve practiced my interview questions. 

And for what? Not a single offer.

The constant rejection wears you down.

And right now, it feels like that’s all I’ve known. 

I’ve always been told that people admire my strength. 

But I’m not strong, And it feels like I’m failing. 

“Have you decided on a school yet?” 

“You graduate soon, are you excited to be in your own classroom?”

“How is the job search going?”

Each conversation seems to carry one of these questions.

Each question a reminder of everything I don’t have yet.

I know teacher burnout is real. 

I’ve watched friends endure it, talk about it, and somehow push through. 

But this – this pre-teacher burnout – it feels demoralizing.

And it makes me wonder: if I’m barely surviving this part, how will I make it through the next?