6 months in and i'm burned out and not sur ei want to go on
Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2022 1:05 am
Hi, i just want to thank this website and Lorina. YOu have been very helpful to em in my study.
my background-, I spent the past 11 years teaching English as a second language abroad from kindy age to university students but primarily in an IB international primary school with either G1 or G2 aged students. I recently returned to Aus with the majority of an ECEC diploma completed, looking to complete my workplace assignments and become a fully qualified educator under the EYLF.
If i wasn't trying to study 4 hours a day afterwork, with half closed/opened eyes, perhaps I could work more at home but, I just feel that everything always seems to be so busy! i have so many work place assignments left but i have neglected them due to the amount of responsibilities I must complete each day, as well as not being afforded enough opportunity to do them during work hours (the majority must be done in the work environment) I have to create a weekly program,create,print or make resources and each day set up play experiences and observe children in their spontaneous play, lead intentional teaching experiences, set up outdoor activities like climbing apparatus and then pack them away. I must document learning stories to post online, add them to the online curriculum, prepare extension experiences and do a reflection. I need to do three meals with the children, document who ate and who didnt and clean up floors and tables each time, sweep and mop the floors, vacuum the mats, wash the windows, wash the toys, keep the room presentable and inviting, fill out incident reports (if needed- and call parents if to head/face), wash dishes, speak with parents, record each time I enter and leave the room (for breaks, bathroom, child collection). I need to do mandatory online training once a week (was told i shouldn't ever need to do it in my own time) each time we go out, i need to take a thermometer and test all the outdoor surfaces and document it, i need to help the children put sunscreen on twice a day, change some nappies, soiled clothes, toilet train some,check and document ratio and presence 8 times a day. there are more daily responsibilities but my brain is too mush right now to think of anymore. Each week, I get 2 hours off of the floor to prepare and its always last thing on a friday when im just physically and mentally exhausted. I started tracking my steps and i have been doing 12-15 thousand steps a day while at work.
My older children have graduated recently and the toddlers (2y5m) have just come up. the average age of the room has gone down a lot and I'm struggling to do what i need to as they are so much less independent and less emotionally and socially mature (working on it)
Another thing that I am struggling with is that the outdoor area and bathroom is mixed with kindy and toddler. the toddlers are always interrupting our activities and , for lack of better words, trashing the things that i set up for the kindys. it feels like too many children and at way different of an age and developmental level that it just gets chaotic. some times the toddlers are just wondering around our kindy room when i want to give my childern the choice of outdoor or indoor play (when I have another staff member with me.
I am struggling with a child that has severe behaviour concerns, and i fear for the safety of the childen when the child is around. today the child kicked someone in the face, scratched someones eyes, pushed someone over a rock as well as 5 or 6 less severe incidents.
Im struggling with a child with severe learning disability (went from our babies room to kindy room without anyone talking with the parents and trying to involve inclusion support- until i recently pushed management to initiate this
We have new manager that micromanages everything and expects all of the above done without compromise. if its not done, it reflects poorly on my performance i was told. I asked for help and was told I can be put on a time management and improvement plan. i feel like she has no idea what its like actually being in the room all day and having to do that. I feel that she is not realistic. I feel like this profession is way over regulated and my once extreme passion for education is waning.
Finally, the pay isn't the best. its good enough for me but considering the workload, stress and responsibilities, i feel its not adequate enough.
Sorry for this long rant, i need to express this and if no one reads it, then that is fine with me, but if you do, can you say anything to make me feel better about this?
I'm lucky enough to be very popular with the children, they seem to really enjoy playing with me, but since my new manager has laid down her hammer, I often have to say 'sorry, i cant play with you/ i cant do that with you because i need to do this form etc. i feel its so counter intuitive and forces me to neglect the children. or when something serious happens or a toileting accident occurs, i neglect one of my other responsibilities and then I am satisfying the requirements set out by my companies policies and procedures.
my background-, I spent the past 11 years teaching English as a second language abroad from kindy age to university students but primarily in an IB international primary school with either G1 or G2 aged students. I recently returned to Aus with the majority of an ECEC diploma completed, looking to complete my workplace assignments and become a fully qualified educator under the EYLF.
If i wasn't trying to study 4 hours a day afterwork, with half closed/opened eyes, perhaps I could work more at home but, I just feel that everything always seems to be so busy! i have so many work place assignments left but i have neglected them due to the amount of responsibilities I must complete each day, as well as not being afforded enough opportunity to do them during work hours (the majority must be done in the work environment) I have to create a weekly program,create,print or make resources and each day set up play experiences and observe children in their spontaneous play, lead intentional teaching experiences, set up outdoor activities like climbing apparatus and then pack them away. I must document learning stories to post online, add them to the online curriculum, prepare extension experiences and do a reflection. I need to do three meals with the children, document who ate and who didnt and clean up floors and tables each time, sweep and mop the floors, vacuum the mats, wash the windows, wash the toys, keep the room presentable and inviting, fill out incident reports (if needed- and call parents if to head/face), wash dishes, speak with parents, record each time I enter and leave the room (for breaks, bathroom, child collection). I need to do mandatory online training once a week (was told i shouldn't ever need to do it in my own time) each time we go out, i need to take a thermometer and test all the outdoor surfaces and document it, i need to help the children put sunscreen on twice a day, change some nappies, soiled clothes, toilet train some,check and document ratio and presence 8 times a day. there are more daily responsibilities but my brain is too mush right now to think of anymore. Each week, I get 2 hours off of the floor to prepare and its always last thing on a friday when im just physically and mentally exhausted. I started tracking my steps and i have been doing 12-15 thousand steps a day while at work.
My older children have graduated recently and the toddlers (2y5m) have just come up. the average age of the room has gone down a lot and I'm struggling to do what i need to as they are so much less independent and less emotionally and socially mature (working on it)
Another thing that I am struggling with is that the outdoor area and bathroom is mixed with kindy and toddler. the toddlers are always interrupting our activities and , for lack of better words, trashing the things that i set up for the kindys. it feels like too many children and at way different of an age and developmental level that it just gets chaotic. some times the toddlers are just wondering around our kindy room when i want to give my childern the choice of outdoor or indoor play (when I have another staff member with me.
I am struggling with a child that has severe behaviour concerns, and i fear for the safety of the childen when the child is around. today the child kicked someone in the face, scratched someones eyes, pushed someone over a rock as well as 5 or 6 less severe incidents.
Im struggling with a child with severe learning disability (went from our babies room to kindy room without anyone talking with the parents and trying to involve inclusion support- until i recently pushed management to initiate this
We have new manager that micromanages everything and expects all of the above done without compromise. if its not done, it reflects poorly on my performance i was told. I asked for help and was told I can be put on a time management and improvement plan. i feel like she has no idea what its like actually being in the room all day and having to do that. I feel that she is not realistic. I feel like this profession is way over regulated and my once extreme passion for education is waning.
Finally, the pay isn't the best. its good enough for me but considering the workload, stress and responsibilities, i feel its not adequate enough.
Sorry for this long rant, i need to express this and if no one reads it, then that is fine with me, but if you do, can you say anything to make me feel better about this?
I'm lucky enough to be very popular with the children, they seem to really enjoy playing with me, but since my new manager has laid down her hammer, I often have to say 'sorry, i cant play with you/ i cant do that with you because i need to do this form etc. i feel its so counter intuitive and forces me to neglect the children. or when something serious happens or a toileting accident occurs, i neglect one of my other responsibilities and then I am satisfying the requirements set out by my companies policies and procedures.
,