Share
October 14, 2025
Feeling burned out? In her latest blog, Amber Chandler shares three unconventional but refreshing ways to reclaim joy and sanity—by letting go of made-up deadlines, finding release through music, and embracing the happiness of others. Stay gold and rediscover your spark, one small act of grace at a time.
Share
This blog was due on Wednesday. I never like to hand things in late, but I had a crappy week; I was so tired, and as I was worrying about making a bad impression, I realized something really important: I have written for Share My Lesson for nine years. I’m not making a first impression here. I’m a proven commodity, and it isn’t like the world would stop turning if I didn’t hand my blog in on time. Instead, I emailed Susan Yousoffi at SML: “In true ‘don’t get burned out’ fashion—I need to send you my blog on Saturday.” Do you know what happened? Nothing. She said sure. I’m sharing this anecdote to lay the groundwork for my hot take on avoiding burnout. I’ve written about it before, like “Are You on Fire or Burning Out?” However, this year is different. This year, it feels like we are living in a simulation or a post-apocalyptic movie. How then can we survive, much less thrive in this environment? I’ve got three tips, and if they seem a little unhinged at first, stick with me. Unusual times call for unusual measures.
I’m not suggesting that we ignore deadlines. Not exactly. But I am suggesting that we live with a lot of arbitrary made-up deadlines that stress us the heck out. You wanted to decorate your porch for fall this weekend, as I did? Didn’t work out, as it has not? Not. A. Problem. It’s made up. You didn’t drop the clothes off at Goodwill that have been riding around in your trunk for a month? Not exactly an emergency. You paid a bill a day late? They aren’t shutting off your lights. If you know me, I’m not a shirker of any responsibility, but this year I’ve found that I make a lot of my own anxiety by my obsessive desire to do everything on a schedule, mostly of my own making. I’ve been thinking about this because everyone I know is feeling pretty stressed, and when we can’t change the world (at least not alone or today), we need to control what we can, and that certainly includes how we handle the meaningless tasks in our lives.
I told you this might sound a little unhinged. I am talking about belting it out. Live the lyrics. Say the words. Scream if you have to. Art, and especially music, is an act of resistance. It doesn’t matter if it is joy or anger that engaging with creativity invokes, it allows us to feel. I was recently lucky enough to go see The Outsiders musical, and I connected with it on many levels. First, I’ve taught it for most of my career. You can find my plans and thoughts here and my unit here.
Second, I’ve been “going through things,” just like everyone else. When I heard, “Torn between what is and what could be/ It’s hard to write the story/ When the story’s writing me,” tears ran down my face. I’m not a crier, or frankly even that emotional, but something in me broke open a bit when I decided to let myself engage with the musical. I’m a control freak, not a crier; but damn, it did feel good to just let it out. So, I’m singing “Great Expectations” on my three-minute ride to school, and it feels like a way forward when things are stressful. The reason this tip is working is because our brains are wired this way. If this topic is intriguing, just read “The Transformative Power of Music: Insights into Neuroplasticity, Health, and Disease.” I personally was drawn to the idea that “Music profoundly impacts emotional states, offering therapeutic benefits in alleviating stress, anxiety and depression.”
Have you ever been excited to find a Strawberry Shortcake T-shirt while thrifting, not because you want it, but because your friend will love it? Have you ever purchased the ripest, most perfect mango to put on your co-worker’s desk, simply because you know how happy it will make them? Do you listen with a smile on your face as your neighbor rattles on about how they grew their first tomato? How many memes have you shared at all hours because you know it will make your friends laugh? Finding ways to share in (and even create) your friends’ and families’ joy is a great endorphin boost, and it spreads the kind of kindness this world needs right now. I may sound a little hippy dippy, but I’m hoping that like-minded people read this and engage in the whimsy of loving vicariously. Psychology Today’sarticle, “The Science Behind the Joy of Sharing Joy” by Jessica Schrader shares: “Research by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler has shown that our well-being influences that of those around us, up to three levels of separation.”
Finding ways to share in (and even create) your friends’ and families’ joy is a great endorphin boost, and it spreads the kind of kindness this world needs right now.
This probably doesn’t read like a “teaching blog,” but it definitely is. Every day we walk into a job that can easily cause compassion fatigue and frustration, a job that we are often criticized for—a job that many others who don’t understand one bit are trying to control. Teaching right now is its own act of resistance, but that has a price. According to Devlin Peck, in “Teacher Burnout Statistics: Why Teachers Quit in 2025,” we are experiencing a level of stress that is taking its toll:
The Top Teacher Burnout Statistics of 2025
- K-12 teachers are the No.1 most burned-out profession in the U.S.
- 44 percent of K-12 teachers report often or always feeling burnout.
- 90 percent of teachers claim that feeling burned out is a serious problem.
- Over half of teachers say they will leave teaching sooner than originally planned.
- There are 500,000+ fewer educators in the American public school systems post-pandemic.
- 44 percent of public schools posted teaching vacancies in early 2022.
- 43 percent of educator job postings are going unfilled.
- 30 percent of teachers were found to be chronically absent.
- Compensation isthe No. 1 reason educators plan to quit their jobs.
These statistics make a blog like this—one about beating the burnout of life in general—into a teaching blog because teaching and life are intertwined. We don’t turn off our experiences outside the classroom, and God knows we take the school day home with us. Controlling what we can control by giving ourselves a little grace, using creativity as a release, and sharing others’ joy (or even creating it) can help us realize that “finding beauty in the fold/ It’s the only way to keep from growing old/ My friend, stay gold.”
We are bringing fitness instructors, social-emotional and mental health leaders, and nutritionists together so we can collectively “workout” and de-stress our bodies and our minds.
In this free webinar, award-winning author Jason Reynolds and AFT President Randi Weingarten will explore themes at the heart of his work—truth-telling, empathy, and hope—and how educators and families can use literature to engage students in critical thinking and self-discovery.
