Teacher Burnout Turnaround: Strategies for Empowered Educators

by Patricia A. Jennings

Overview

Selected as a "Favorite Book for Educators in 2020" by Greater Good Magazine.

Stress and burnout are eroding teachers’ motivation, performance, quality of classroom interactions, and relationships with students, as well as their commitment to the profession. Principals are leaving in droves, and teacher shortages are becoming the new normal. Our teachers are underappreciated and our schools underresourced. But, as the author of Mindfulness for Teachers and The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom points out, educators themselves have the power to alter this downward spiral.

Educational psychologist Tish Jennings presents a matrix of stress-causing factors that lead to burnout, and shows how teachers can tackle the sources of stress at each pressure point. From the development of social and emotional competencies—so important to teachers and students alike—to the achievement of systemic change through collective efficacy, she offers hope and practical remedies for overcoming a toxic trend in education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393714258
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Patricia (Tish) Jennings is a professor of education at the University of Virginia and an internationally recognized leader in the fields of social and emotional learning and mindfulness. Her honors include the 2023 Distinguished Researcher Award from the University of Virginia and the 2018 Cathy Kerr Award for Courageous and Compassionate Scientific Contributions from the Mind & Life Institute. With more than 22 years of experience as a teacher, school director and teacher educator, Jennings has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and chapters, as well as several books. She is the editor of Norton Books in Education’s Social and Emotional Learning Solutions series.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Part I Addressing Teacher Stress and Burnout

Chapter 1 How Did We Get Here? Where Can We Go? 9

Chapter 2 The Stress Matrix 21

Chapter 3 Building Inner Resilience 43

Part II Preparing For Transformative Change

Chapter 4 Changing the Way We Think About School 65

Chapter 5 Mind Traps 79

Chapter 6 Design Thinking 99

Part III Empowering Teachers

Chapter 7 Taking the Lead 119

Chapter 8 Teacher Professionalism 139

Chapter 9 Empowering Students 157

Conclusion The End and the Beginning 175

References 177

Index 191

Editorial Reviews

"Dig deeper into the lives of people who eventually 'beat the odds,' and you'll likely find human relationships that helped. And quite possible, one of those relationships will have been with a teacher: one who helped them believe in themselves, whatever their life circumstances— a teacher like Patricia Jennings. After reading Patricia's new book, I'm reminded that our greatest source of strength may actually be each other."

Mark Katz

"A critically important read for all educators and staff in this time of unpredictability."

Lori Desautels

"Timely, relevant, and necessary. In these unprecedented times, Patricia Jennings provides readers with a valuable resource steeped in history, research, powerful anecdotes, and illuminating frameworks that help to support teachers."

Tyrone C. Howard

"Teacher Burnout Turnaround empowers teachers to change the education system from within in ways that will improve both their own and their students' well-being."

Christi Bergin

"Jennings’s primary tool of transformation is 'design thinking'—seeing the school as a multifaceted system with the student 'user' at its heart. She emphasizes the value in putting the learner-user first, practicing empathy by putting ourselves in their shoes...Teacher Burnout Turnaround is more about thinking than feeling. Jennings urges a cognitive shift in our awareness that is refreshing, inspiring, and even collectively empowering."

Greater Good Magazine