I didn’t get into education to monitor detention, dish out consequences, or manage lunch duty. I got into this work to motivate, inspire, and engage my students. I got into this work to build a bridge between their dreams and their realities. All these thoughts and more hit me as I experienced our first ever Latino Leadership Summit this past March. I watched our students talk, laugh, and have fun with one another as they shared their experiences about being Latinos. I helped bring their culture to the forefront and showed them it was something to be proud of. This is when it hit me – this is the impact I hoped to have as a Latino educator, but it isn’t what I experience on a normal basis. Sometimes, the day to day operations required to sustain and build a school can be far removed from the ultimate purpose that brought you into education in the first place. If you allow yourself to forget why you got into education in the first place, you can easily start to get burnt out.
Two years ago, burnt out is exactly how I started to feel; I was unsure of what my future held for me. I came to a crossroads and wondered if this was really for me. Coincidentally, that year is when I started Leading Excellence Insight, a leadership development fellowship within YES Prep Public Schools, and was coached by Dustin Peterson throughout that time. Dustin pushed me to discover my strengths and reflect on how I could leverage them on a daily basis. Something that didn’t resonate until this year, however is that it’s not just about putting my strengths to work but about remembering the passion that originally brought me into this work.
Here are some strategies that have worked to keep me energized by helping me remember why I got into education, even during my roughest stretches:
- Visual cues. Put up pictures or quotes around your workspace that could serve as visual cues for the purpose that brought you into this role. I have a corkboard in my office that I like to keep updated with notes from others and pictures of students.
- Passion projects. Find or create projects whether they be big or small that are fully aligned to your purpose and give you energy just by thinking about them. Earlier in the year, I wrote cards to students on Harvard stationary telling them this was a possible college option for them if they continue to keep up their hard work.
- Accountability partners. Find individuals who can push you to focus in on what matters most to you. I joined Dustin Peterson’s mastermind group this year and knowing that they will be there to hold me accountable to actions I set for myself pushes me to complete them before we meet.
- Set up deadlines. Anytime you want to make a change, there has to be a clear end in sight. I have wanted to start a blog for the past year or so but it didn’t happen until a few weeks ago. I set a clear deadline with my mastermind group and made a commitment to myself and to them that it would be done on time.
By keeping an eye on what drives you to do this work, you can help prevent yourself from ever getting burnt out. This will not only help you continue to do the work you love, but will ultimately help our students by providing them with passionate and experienced people to guide them.
