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Tenacious Teachers: A Methodical Approach to Burnout Management

home with someone else? You will find value in observ- much adjustment. Take comfort in trusting your qual-
ing other fine performances. ity training and solid record of good teaching.

Favorite music. Choral musicians are often asked, Extra-curricular obligations. During the busiest of times,
“What’s your favorite song?” To be effective, I truly choral directors may be required to put in a significant
believe the answer to this question is found in my ac- number of hours. Reframing our own perspective re-
tive repertoire at that very moment. Successful jour- garding those extra activities is key. Chaperoning the
nalists behave in a similar way: the most interesting homecoming dance is a chore; spending time with
story they’ve ever worked on must be the one they are your singers in a different environment while witness-
researching at that time. Let yourself fall in love again ing their wardrobe and excitement is a joy. Sitting in a
and again with the music. dark concert hall for yet another evening is grueling;
spending time listening to a particular student succeed
The student experience. A public-school principal once in their senior recital is a delight.
encouraged us to attend the class schedule of our stu-
dents, which gave me an opportunity to experience the
classes that bookend my rehearsal: in that case, physics Three. Minimize Sources of Frustration
and gym. I came to realize why, perhaps, it took the The last area of management is identifying and
students a few minutes longer than expected for them minimizing sources of frustration. This can include
to engage with the music and why they might feel a simple solutions to problems that are a hindrance to
little anxious toward the end of rehearsal. The cogni- one’s effectiveness; apply the Stephen Covey adage of
tive whiplash of a traditional high school schedule can “sharpening the saw.” Here are a few implementable
be quite staggering. ideas pertinent to our discipline.

Delegate. Many of us likely discovered our love of cho- Take care of your office personnel and custodians. What would
ral leadership when a trusted mentor gave us an op- we do without the people who keep the program and
portunity to lead during a formative period in our de- facilities running? A twelve-pack of soda is a nice way
velopment. Return the favor often. This not only pays to show gratitude for a custodian. A handful of choco-
tremendous benefit to the student but can positively late when making a last-minute request of the school
influence our own perception regarding their capabili- treasurer goes a long way. When they are happy, you
ties. are happy.

Administration is temporary. If you are experiencing a Keep a clean desk. When the desk is piled high, we can
beautiful period of support, prepare yourself for the spend an inordinate amount of time looking for that
eventual, and unfortunate, expiration date. If the op- one important document, dongle, or pen. Recognize
posite is true, and your present administration is less these moments of frustration and schedule time to
than ideal, remember this is a temporary situation. clean it up. If not every day, make it a goal to leave a
clean desk on Friday afternoons. A similar approach
Adapt with integrity. The companion to a regularly can be applied to our email inbox.
changing administration is the periodic implementa-
tion of new teaching strategies or educational “buzz- Voice preservation. Reminding ourselves to wear a lapel
words.” It seems that each year, a passionate admin- mic and limit the delivery of excessively loud instruc-
istrator will introduce a novel approach that we are tions mitigates feelings of vocal frustration and fatigue.
required to honor. Most of the time, upon reflection, This topic is addressed previously as self-care but worth
I find I’m already effectively executing the proposed mentioning again.
concept. It is possible to apply the new label without

12 CHORAL JOURNAL October 2024 Volume 65 Number 3