My Worst Enemy
During episode 68 of The PE Umbrella podcast, Sarah mentioned how she experienced a teaching rut during the fall. After listening to the podcast, Naomi messaged Sarah and said that teacher burnout was a topic she had been wanting to write about for a while. Naomi suggested writing a joint blog post about teacher burnout. When Naomi and Sarah mentioned their idea to the rest of the team, everyone quickly admitted that they were either currently experiencing teacher burnout, had recently gotten over it, or struggled with it in the past. As a group, we have been wanting to write about more serious topics within teaching and we think this is a great place to start. During the next month, you will read each of our stories about teacher burnout. Here is a guest post from William Bode, who shares his struggles with teacher burnout in the form of a poem.
SHAPE America Southern District TOY.
Instructional Leadership Team member for my school.
Connected educator on Twitter and Voxer.
Worn down by the rigors of the day.
Doing good things, I am so busy.
I am my own worst enemy.
Lifelong learner still in search of new, innovative ideas.
Perfectionist, always striving for the perfect lesson.
Competitor, always trying to prove something to somebody.
Frustrated with myself when things don’t go as planned.
Isolate my thoughts and feelings, so nobody can see.
I am my own worst enemy.
Work really hard to be a good teacher.
Enjoy building strong relationships with staff and students.
Collaborate to create positive learning experiences.
Seclude myself from my colleagues.
Introvert, naturally that is me.
I am my own worst enemy.
Teaching is my passion.
New school year brings excitement and joy.
Developing young minds and bodies is a calling.
Same struggles appear year after year.
Making a difference I cannot see.
I am my own worst enemy.
Answers I continually seek,
Time is fleeting, Can I have more?
Hope is a mirage, How can I get help?
Struggles are real, When will they stop?
Finding escape from these feelings come up empty.
Why am I my own worst enemy?
William Bode (@BodePE), 2017 Southern District High School Teacher of the Year
PHYSEDAGOGY 
I really enjoyed and related to the poem. A creative way of getting a serious issue across. Thank you for these last few ‘burnout’ posts, they have made me feel better about my own current feelings about my teaching.