| For Immediate Release: April 7, 2010 |
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NAEYC Radio presents…
Three causes of teacher burnout
(Washington, D.C.) – This month’s NAEYC Radio segment segment features Dr. Joshua Sparrow, author and assistant professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who discusses the reasons behind teacher burnout and how to prevent it from occurring.
Rae Pica and Mark R. Ginsberg interviewed Dr. Sparrow in this month’s segment of NAEYC Radio, a program brought to you by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the BAM Radio Network.
In this segment, Dr. Sparrow says that a major reason for teacher turnover is burnout and that it can happen to anyone. He says that if teachers start to feel diminished accomplishment, they are headed toward burnout.
“The sense of diminished accomplishment also comes from lack of recognition and lack of appreciation,” Dr. Sparrow says. “The lack of times when people look at what you’ve done and say, ‘thank you.’”
Dr. Sparrow says that a teacher might be feeling burnout if he or she starts to feel emotional withdrawal from students or other faculty, or lose control over emotions. Once a teacher acknowledges that he or she may be headed toward burnout, Dr. Sparrow suggests talking to other adults about it, finding a mentor, and if necessary, maybe taking a break from teaching. Dr. Sparrow says there are several things administrators can do as well, such as acknowledging that burnout is common and making an effort to prevent it by holding regular staff meetings and frequently acknowledging staff accomplishments, no matter how small.
Dr. Sparrow is also the director of special initiatives at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Children's Hospital in Boston and co-author with Dr. T. Berry Brazelton of eight books on child development. Dr. Sparrow has also written a weekly New York Times syndicate column, "Families Today.” Dr. Sparrow will also be one of the keynote speakers along with Dr. Brazelton at the 19th National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development taking place June 6-9, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D., is the executive director of NAEYC.
The BAM Radio Network was originally launched as a resource for parents, aimed at delivering the most reliable information on early childhood development and developmentally appropriate parenting to busy moms and dads. Created by leading early childhood experts, the programming quickly became a popular resource among teachers and educators and was expanded to include an Educators' Channel.
Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children has nearly 90,000 members worldwide. The association is the largest and most influential voice for early childhood education professionals and the field of early childhood education in the United States.
Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children is the largest and most influential advocate for high-quality early care and education in the United States.
