Why Teachers Are So Tired
Big Education Ape: Why Teachers Are So Tired – Teacher Habits (Site Is Working Again) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/02/why-teachers-are-so-tired-teacher.html
Editor's Note: I heard from the author of this piece: Thanks. I wondered how so many people found it. I've rebuilt the site and upgraded my hosting. Barring further unforeseen problems, it should all be back up and running tonight or tomorrow. Go ahead and reblog it when you can. Thanks again.
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The Site Teacher Habits Seems to Have Crashed - Too Many Teachers Are Trying to Find Out Why Teachers Are So Damned Tired Try Again Later If You Are Not Too Tired!
Better question: When was the last time you weren’t tired after teaching?
If you’re like most teachers I know, including me and my wife, being tired at the end of the day is a way of life. We’ve become so used to it that it’s hard to imagine how it could be any different.
Our non-teacher friends have a hard time understanding how we could be so exhausted. After all, we’re not building houses or working under tight deadlines or competing with co-workers to sell the most widgets or working in some ultra-competitive office with an unreasonable boss breathing down our necks. We work with kids! We work seven-hour days! We have a lot of control over our own schedules.We have summer vacation! Some teachers have these thoughts themselves and wonder what’s wrong with them. How in the world can we be so tired?
There are three reasons.
Decision Fatigue and Willpower
Psychologist Roy Baumeister coined the term “ego depletion” after he found that humans have a limited supply of willpower. He compares willpower to a muscle, which can strengthen but also wear out with use. Ego depletion has a general effect, meaning that using self-control in one area of your life erodes your ability to self-regulate in other parts of your life. Baumeister has found that exerting self-control results in a significant drop in blood-sugar levels. Low blood-sugar leads to physical fatigue, which is why you’re so tired, even though the heaviest thing you lifted was a textbook.
As a teacher, think of how often you use willpower. We censor ourselves all day. We hold back a sarcastic remark, walk away from a lazy student when we what we really want to do is lecture her, keep our honest thoughts about the principal’s latest idea to ourselves, respond professionally to a disrespectful email from a parent, work with a Why Teachers Are So Tired ~ Teacher Habits: