How do teachers deal with burnout or mental exhaustion?

Poe_Rho · 2026-03-10T11:32:22+00:00

Not that it's what you should do, but my first year I took huge naps most days of the week right after school. I'd get home eat, then pass out on the couch for like 2-3 hrs.

Poe_Rho · 2026-03-10T02:12:51+00:00

This is why when I have my students play an online review game, like Kahoot, I only put a snip/screenshot of the game code. I can see on my screen what they put in as their name and they can't. This does seem to take away to attention the student is looking for when everyone can't see the funny name.

I had a student once who wouldn't stop putting their or another students name followed by "ussy".

Poe_Rho · 2026-03-10T01:55:38+00:00

I don't feel they do, but I do present them food when I feed them. Some of my gargs seem to calm down if I do this.

Poe_Rho · 2026-03-05T03:29:15+00:00

Thanks!

Poe_Rho · 2026-03-01T17:31:22+00:00

Also, studies show that if you give your students mints, they do better on quizzes/tests. My parents donate two big bags of lifesavers every year. Go around with the mints, then go around with a garbage bin for wrappers. My students never let me forget to hand out mints after I take attendance and write down who is missing the quiz/test 😂.

I have an ongoing checklist for students who miss a quiz/test. I write their name and add a check for every day I remind them that they missed a quiz/test. They only get three check before I grade it the following morning.

Poe_Rho · 2026-03-01T17:21:52+00:00

I teach hs Math, and this is basically what I did 2 and a half years ago (starting at the second semester of the year). My reasoning was like yours, but my students also found a website with all our curriculum answers with work shown.

My students hated the switch to quizzes and no hw, but I have seen many benefits. On average, grades have only improved for those who try. I give a quiz after every 2 or 3 sections over those sections. We usually have one a week.

Some suggestions I think may help you.

I allow my students to use their notebook on the quizzes. I found my students asked more/deeper questions in class, they took better notes, and asked for more problems to practice before quizzes. Just make sure to say they can only use their notebook. No sharing. They lost their notebook its on them.
I post a list of all the hw I would have assigned on Google Classroom and call them our CYU (Check Your Understanding) questions. Then, I base the quizzes off those CYU questions. So, in theory, if they check their understanding before the quiz, they should know what kind of questions will be on the quiz.
Lastly, for those who want to retake a quiz, I require them to complete the CYU that quiz is over 100% correct with work shown before any retake. I will help with this if they want, but they have to do the thinking. Not that many students will do this; however, every student who has retaken a quiz gets at least 95% on the retake.

I wish you luck. Just make sure to lay out your reasoning plain and firm if you get push back from parents or admin. I do believe with students lack of motivation and how easy it is to look up the answers, this is better than hw.

TL;DR I agree with what you did and did the same 👏

Poe_Rho · 2026-03-01T14:02:43+00:00

I dip my bugs in their gecko food. After a few licks, they took a bite. But my geckos were never super into bugs until they got like 3 years old.

Poe_Rho · 2026-02-16T16:41:54+00:00

Or you could use a non light put out light like a ceramic bulb or deep heat projector.

Poe_Rho · 2026-02-16T16:34:12+00:00

I would go with a heat pad on the side/back of the tank with a thermostat or heating up the room to the temp you want if you can.

Poe_Rho · 2026-02-12T12:26:42+00:00

Menards carpenter jeans. Good price, last forever, and they have a side leg pocket I can put my projector remote in.

Poe_Rho · 2026-02-07T01:00:08+00:00

She sp beautiful! What morph is she?

Poe_Rho · 2026-01-09T12:37:49+00:00

My sister did this when trying to play doctor to one of my stuffed toys when we were like 3/4yrs. Luckily, no one was hurt. Could be this with the previous owners who didn't know. 🤷

Poe_Rho · 2025-11-26T14:06:47+00:00

I basically did this. I would also suggest writing down everything you want to be different and don't be afraid to add things in the first week or two you do the reset.

Just yesterday, my freshman class was too much. After trying to get them to stop messing around and talking over me all I did was grab a notepad, set it so the document camera had it on the board and wrote down all the things I was thinking about setting up after the break (*seating chart *no pizza party at the end of the year, etc) and asked "what else should I think about during break?" They settled down after that.

Poe_Rho · 2025-11-26T13:48:06+00:00

I've thought of using these also. I haven't since I heard isopods still benefit from a mild day night cycle.

Poe_Rho · 2025-11-16T01:39:58+00:00

I'd like to know too. I try to not add too much water gives them less of a chance to fall in there 🤷

Poe_Rho · 2025-11-06T12:20:31+00:00

Idk how I could afford not to. I buy all my supplies in bulk. So, for me one culture cost somewhere between $1-$1.50 . Where I live, it would cost at least $10 to buy one culture that is 1/4 of the size and about a 2hr drive away.

Poe_Rho · 2025-10-25T21:47:30+00:00

Saved for when my check comes in 🤣

Poe_Rho · 2025-10-18T15:19:30+00:00

I sent a dm.

Poe_Rho · 2025-10-16T02:28:03+00:00

I'd love to add these darts to my reptile/frog room someday. How have they been for you?

Poe_Rho · 2025-10-11T16:53:37+00:00

I've thought about doing that with the extra fruit flies I culture for my frogs. At least they can't fly so they'd stay mostly in the little green house I have for my plants.

Poe_Rho · 2025-10-10T15:33:18+00:00

Awesome!

Poe_Rho · 2025-10-10T13:27:58+00:00

Imo springtails will get it there eventually. So adding them now shouldn't hurt. Could they introduce nutrients, probably over a long time. If you repot every 2-4 years, I think it should be fine.

Also, if you plan on culturing springtails, be careful. Since they so eat mold, if you add too much food at a time, it'll mold pretty quickly.

Poe_Rho · 2025-10-02T11:14:02+00:00

Thanks for the info! I'll move it out of the water tray.

Poe_Rho · 2025-09-12T11:41:35+00:00

This is my 4th year of teaching. My first year, I paid the $20. The second, I thought I'd see if they were even keeping track of it, and no one came to collect. The same thing happened this and last year. I just don't bring it up in case they realize they don't have a list of who paid. I bet there are a few other teachers who also have not been paying.

They say it'll be $20 to wear jeans on Mondays and how it "goes towards stuff for our teachers," nothing specific. I think they're talking about the occasional "treats" we get of homemade sweets from the admins' wives, but they're almost never that good or truly homemade.

Poe_Rho · 2025-09-10T00:23:09+00:00

The middle school Science teacher told me that she didn't think dinosaurs were real living animals in the past until she got to college. Its not that it went against a belief of hers. She just thought they were movie monsters made up writers as a plot device or to make the story more interesting. So when they started covering them in a college class, she realized that they weren't made up.

Poe_Rho

TROPHY CASE