Teacher burnout became an issue for many teachers who tried to survive the chaos of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Drug issues with students made teaching difficult. Social issues with Black militants, the civil rights movement, and student protests became another obstacle for teachers to cope with.

To make matters worse Administrators took it upon themselves to harass some teachers they disliked, whether they were good teachers or not, an favor other teachers who cooperated.

Teachers who had been teaching for 8-10 years had to reinvent themselves in order to survive. It stands to reason that if you teach the same subject, day in and day out for ten years you are going to get burnt out on teaching.

Teaching is a profession where motivation is everything. Teachers have to be self motivated to excel and stay ahead of the student demands. Teachers are often forced to take work home, grading exams, marking essays that are not able to be completed in the school day.

Teacher duties that have nothing to do with teaching can become stressful such as Lunch duty and food fights or student riots. Teachers were not trained to be Police or Security guards and Lunch duty could be very stressful.

For those that survived burnout they learned to reinvent themselves every year or every few years. They learned to embrace technology which aided instruction. They learned to adapt despite the social times of the 1960’s and 1970’s.