![Social science teacher Nick Madrid’s desk and floor are littered by ungraded papers due to burnout. “My desk hasn’t been this messy before and it’s been this way ever [since] I started grading papers,” Madrid said.](https://whshoofprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_1659-900x1200.png)
As the school year draws to a close, I’ve been hit with the hardest case of burnout known to man. I’ve lost motivation to do any schoolwork but still want to continue pushing through until both my Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams are done next week.
This self-centered line of thinking led me to consider how some teachers on campus also face the same problem of burnout. They apply their hardest work, only for some students (like myself unfortunately), to reduce the teacher’s effort.
As such, students need to be more considerate of the way that they handle their classwork, especially towards the end of the year. Scarily enough, I’ve seen some of my own teachers become angry with students (or the class entirely), leading up to exam week.
The only reason I could see this happening is because teachers are burdened by their hope to see their students improve. Speaking to chemistry teacher Garrett Lim helped to clarify this fact.
“I feel like it has worn me out that I’m exhausted at the end of each day. So much so that I need time to just sit and be before I begin to work again. I feel like some of my students are concerned for me but I’m hoping that my work ethic inspires them,” Lim said.
Taking his AP Chemistry class in senior year has shown me clearly of his desire to help students pass their exams. His workload is largely made up of grading tests for one of his largest AP Chemistry classes (three periods worth of students) and his IB Chemistry class.
Another teacher who comes to mind when I think of someone burned out from their work is social science teacher Nick Madrid. While he has not personally mentioned his struggles with his students, having heard him raise his voice at a student who wasn’t paying attention during an AP Government lecture was a serious wake-up call for me. I was forced to realize that students were the root of problems for these teachers.
“I feel my students [are] being burned out and that is burning me out. Since [most of] my classes are seniors, when their grades start to drop, admin and teachers have to go into control mode. It gives me more work when they start to shut down,” Madrid said.
My own friends have also brought this realization to me as every now and then I will hear “It’s the end of the year, why would it matter whether or not I do my homework?” or “Why should I care– it’s only English?” Students don’t realize the effort that their teachers put in to help them learn or prepare for college.
Of this, I urge students to take these next few weeks of school as seriously as you can, regardless of whether or not you have any classwork in any of your classes. Try as hard as you can for the sake of your teachers because just like you, they’re burned out.
