When Teachers Lose Their Joy

A Call to Action Why I Wrote "The Joyful Educator" and How We Can Support Our Educators

From Burnout to Balance: Creating Sustainable Careers for Passionate Teachers

After church on a recent Sunday, I ran into a teacher that I hired 14 years ago. I've only seen Matt a few times in the past six years; since I left the school, I hired him to teach math and coach football. Matt always had a friendly disposition and a big smile. When we shook hands, Matt still had the same big smile and told me he was leaving education. My eyes widened when he told me this, and I asked him why. He shared that he just felt burned out and didn't feel valued. He puts in all the extra work and stays late helping his students, and the teachers who leave at 3:00 pm are getting paid the same salary. He decided his time would be best spent working for his brother's roofing company.

When I met Matt, it was just another example of another excellent teacher leaving the field and another reinforcement of why I wrote my book, The Joyful Educator. For over 30 years, I have worked alongside teachers in the role of teacher, principal, and Head of School. In all my leadership roles, the first thing I would tell all my teachers was this:

"If you ever have anxiety on a Sunday night about starting your week, or you have a pit in your stomach driving to work, please see me and let me help!"

I knew this was the first sign of "teacher burnout," and my goal was always to nurture and grow my teachers' hearts. It didn't matter how much knowledge a teacher had; if they didn't have the heart to be a teacher, they could not connect with our students. I have always been a big believer in what Theodore Roosevelt stated: " People don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care."

I've always been proud of the high teacher retention rate at the schools I've served. I never opened a school year with a teacher vacancy. My priority has always been supporting my teachers, who, in turn, take care of our students.

After 30-plus years in education, I saw the challenges and tribulations of a first-year teacher who lived in my house. My daughter had just graduated from an excellent school for education and was more than prepared for the teaching profession. While I felt her excitement as she told me stories about one of her students, her excitement sometimes felt diminished by the challenges she was having. My daughter inspired and motivated me to write The Joyful Educator, which provides action steps for teachers to have joy throughout their careers and sustain a healthy work/life balance. This book is for teachers everywhere who are called to nurture, challenge, and grow our next generation of leaders.

Welcome to The Joyful Educator and the network of teachers like you, who are some of our world's heroes!

With joy in education,

Dr. Edward J. Spurka

"Supporting teachers today shapes tomorrow's leaders."