Teaching, Burnout & AI
Teaching is human work, but you can delegate the admin.
When teachers talk about burnout, it’s rarely the lessons.
It’s the mountain of admin, the endless decisions, the mental load of retyping, refiling, resubmitting. The work that drains your time and spirit.
This isn’t about teaching better—it’s about teaching lighter. AI, used well, can help you do exactly that, without losing your standards, voice, or magic.
Why did you start teaching?
No one becomes a teacher for the reports. You started to:
Inspire ideas and pass on knowledge.
Build confidence and connect with learners.
But somewhere along the way, that spark got buried under marking, behaviour logs, and emails that could’ve been three bullet points.
What if AI could clear the clutter, letting you focus on the best parts of teaching?
AI as your assistant, not your replacement
AI can automate the repetitive tasks that drain you. For example:
Admin - use AI to draft parent newsletters or summarize meeting notes in seconds. Better yet, turn long PDFs into engaging podcasts for professional development or student use.
Feedback - AI can suggest precise comments on student work, which you tweak to match your voice.
Planning - AI can generate a lesson plan outline, then customize it with your signature activities. For inspiration, try creating AI-generated videos to spark discussions or summarize lessons.
These aren’t shortcuts—they’re professional clarity, saving your energy for the moments that matter.
Reclaim time and rediscover joy
Every minute you save with AI is a minute you choose how to spend. Maybe it’s a proper check-in with a student, planning a creative lesson, or leaving school before dark. The goal isn’t productivity—it’s presence.
Joy isn’t a bonus in teaching; it’s the fuel for stamina, creativity, and connection. When AI handles the admin, you can show up as the teacher you want to be - not a stressed, grumpy version of yourself (which I know I’ve done many times!).
Use AI on your terms
AI can fuel creativity or lead to mediocrity. The difference? You. Stay in control by asking:
Is this helping me work smarter?
Does this reflect my teaching values?
Am I still making the key decisions?
If yes, let AI lift the load. If not, pause, adjust the prompt, and reclaim the process. Need help crafting effective prompts? Explore practical AI techniques for language teachers.
Navigate AI’s challenges
AI isn’t perfect. You might worry about student data privacy, over-reliance, or losing your teaching style. To use it responsibly:
Choose tools with clear privacy policies (e.g., avoid sharing sensitive student data).
Use AI as a starting point—always review and personalize its outputs.
Experiment with low-stakes tasks first, like drafting emails or organizing resources.
Setting boundaries means AI serves your classroom, not the other way around. If you’re interested in AI’s ethical challenges and opportunities, check out my predictions for AI in education over the next few years.
Keep the magic, lose the clutter.
The magic of teaching is practical, daily, human. It’s in the adjustments, the encouragements, the “I knew you could” moments. AI can’t create those, but it can clear the way for them.
Start small - let AI build your next rubric, summarize a term’s progress, or tidy up a draft. Try a tool like ChatGPT or Canva this week—just one task. Then step into your classroom fully present, knowing the magic is still you.
Reflect - what’s one task you could offload to AI to teach lighter? Your spark deserves that space.
If you liked this article, you’ll love my books:
📝 Lesson Planning for Language Teachers - Plan better, faster, and stress-free.
👩🎓 Essential Classroom Management - Develop calm students and a classroom full of learning.
🏰 Storytelling for Language Teachers - Use the power of storytelling to transform your lessons.
🤖 ChatGPT for Language Teachers - A collection of AI prompts and techniques to work better, faster.
💭 Reflective Teaching Practice Journal - Improve your teaching in five minutes daily.