Dealing with feeling burnt out?

[zachmokpo]

I'm two months into my third contract and I'm having a very hard time in Korea. I spent two years in Mokpo and generally did enjoy it but thought moving to a new city would help me feel better. I moved to Suncheon for my third contract and found myself feeling burnt out and generally unhappy. There are always good and bad days here but I've never quite felt this low before.

If you've experienced burn out here, what did you do to come out of it?

[jehall]

Well first off you need to identify what's making you feel burnt out. Is it purely teaching or is it living in Korea? I know I'm burnt out right now with only 2 days left in my English summer camp. Camp for me has been 100x more work than regular school so I've been hoping for the summer to end for awhile now. 

It's pretty common to get burnt out as a teacher. Back home in Canada 30% of teachers quit in first 5 years. If that's the case, sometimes I just take some time off from everything teaching even if that screws me later. That may sound dumb, but rather than doing some work every day for the week ahead, I might just decide to do nothing for the day and just do double the work tomorrow. That way I feel more refreshed having given myself some "me time". I wish I could offer something better but if you're burnt out with a job, but the only remedy is time away from it or to somehow reduce your time spent on it.

You say you're on your 3rd year? You could just be burnt out with living in Korea. Some people get very home sick and I think I would if I was into my 3rd year. Hope you feel better soon.

[masterdirector]

Talk to people.  Gripe about your problems to friends.  I find talking to others always helps when I'm burdened with anything, whether is stress or burn out from work, relationships, or other life problems. 

If you're staying up too late, try sleeping more.  Maybe a new activity or hobby could help.  Oddly enough, working out, running, cardio helps me, and I really wouldn't say that I like running or working out.   

Try figuring out what's missing from your life, then maybe work toward adding it to your life.  Think about how you'll get whatever is missing in place. 

Good luck. 

[alexrathy]

hey buddy.. i've been here only 9 months so you'd probably know a lot more than i do.. i was lucky to come over here with a friend from back home.. the first few months were slow.. but once i found a good group to hang with.. its been good times since then.. maybe it was going from the high of having a clique in mokpo.. to now coming to suncheon.. where you kind of have to start over again?  anyway.. i live in suncheon but i don't think we've met.. My name is Ben.. if ya ever want to vent or get some coffee.. feel free to send me a message.. hope all works out bro..

[pez]

I go through cycles with this, and always have in any job I've ever worked.

The best cure for me is to change up my routine, to try and do something fun and different... like, maybe you could get permission to do an art project or make a book or something with the kids (or maybe you don't even need permission, you can just do it), or look for new games and activities. If you're a little bored with your teaching, chances are so are your students... like the saying, "If mom ain't happy, nobody's happy...", I think it is also true with teachers.

Also, sometimes I get tired of my social group... try and fine some new friends (and keep the old ones too!). Have you heard of Couchsurfing.com?  Maybe there are people in your area who would like to hang out... I love couchsurfers and find a nice social group, and ever changing social group everywhere I go.

Lastly, I agree that it's good to complain and get things off your chest, but avoid overly negative people who are also burnt out because it just makes for a gripe fest every time you hang out.  It's like sitting in the teacher's lounge in the states... I avoid it because everyone sits around and talks about all their problems and how much they hate their job...  I find it's best to avoid it.

Korea doesn't give nice-long-refreshing vacations... I think good vacations do a lot for teacher quality, you need to refresh your self as much as the kids do, and vacations here are just long enough to make you dread coming back...

Good luck!

[zachmokpo]

Thanks all for the info.

[zachmokpo]

The primary cause of feeling burnt out is just my school situation. I teach at an all boys high school where there is constant student abuse happening. Students are being hit, punched, and kicked here on a daily basis in the office I'm in. I try to leave to avoid seeing it and I just come across the same thing happening in the hallway. There's no getting away from it here.

I'm also teaching 16 classes of 38-40 boys a week. In each class, there are no working computers and the mic and amps in most classes are barely functional. I also have no coteachers in class, only teachers who speak no English whose sole job is to yell and hit students. They do not effectively keep classes quiet.

I've tried suggestion to my school that my classes be broken up into half classes to make them more manageable and beneficial for students. It's nearly impossible to get anything done in classes so large. My school said no to that idea.

I try doing handouts and discussion but the handouts end up as paper balls being thrown. I've tried talking to homeroom teachers about their classes behavior. They tell me their students will better behave but nothing ever changes.

This is my third year in Korea and I really did enjoy teaching and being here. But this school has really changed my feelings about being here.

[monmonchan86]

Hey,
I completely know what you mean. I am teaching high school to, and it is overwhelming with the class sizes and the likes. Sometimes i get frustrated, but at the end of the day you can only focus on the students that want to be there, and make the lessons fun for them and build up your raport with them!

I have started turning a blind eye to the bad behaviour as all it does is raise my own stress levels, and no one elses. And sometimes turning the behaviour back on them works. If a student is cheeky to you, be cheeky back and ask how they like it.

I'm lucky that i do have some really understanding teachers who think the same way i do about stuff. But try not to let it get you down. You have been here for 3 years and have enjoyed it so far, don't let 1 school change that for you.

Sorry i can't be anymore help