The #1 Thing That Will Make You Lose Your Love for Teaching (And How to Get It Back)
- Erin Sponaugle
- Nov 28, 2025
- 5 min read
If You’re Starting to Lose Your Love for Teaching… It’s Probably Not What You Think
Ask any teacher what makes them lose their love for the classroom, and you’ll hear the usual suspects: student behavior, endless testing, curriculum overload, the Super Moon wreaking emotional havoc on an entire grade level (because of course it does).
But the sneaky, silent joy-killer in teaching?
Resentment.
Yep. That simmering feeling that whispers, “Everyone else gets a life but you.”
It’s not dramatic. It’s not loud. It’s not even something we talk about in faculty meetings (not that we have time to talk about it there, anyway). When you lose your love for teaching, it often builds over time until you just can't ignore it anymore.
But resentment is the #1 thing that drains teachers of joy faster than kids running out the door to catch their bus at the last minute.
Want to listen to this message instead of read? You can hear the audio version in my podcast or click the Mp3 below.
What Resentment in Teaching Actually Looks Like
Resentment doesn’t show up like a bright, shiny Starbucks sign. It creeps, simmers, and collects receipts.
It might look like:
1. Watching Colleagues Go Home on Time
Not because they don’t care, but because they have boundaries that actually function. Meanwhile, you’re staying late… again. And suddenly you’re side-eyeing Karen from across the hall like she’s living a double life you weren’t invited to.
2. Being the “Responsible One” (aka The One Who Gets All the Extra Tasks)
Committees. Clubs. Leadership teams. Morning duty. Afternoon duty. Hallway duty. All the “You’d be great at this!” tasks that were flattering the first ten times and exhausting the next hundred.
Suddenly, that “prestige” starts to feel more like unpaid emotional labor. Which it truly is.
3. Taking Home the Work You Wish You Had Time to Do at School
Grading that follows you to the couch. Lesson plans that interrupt bedtime routines. A laptop that has become your emotional support animal.
This is where resentment really starts marinating.
4. Feeling Too Drained to Enjoy Your Actual Life
Maybe you finally do get home at a reasonable time… but you have zero energy to do anything besides flop on your bed like a stunned Mr./Ms./Mrs. Potato Head. And the things you love doing? They get pushed further and further down your to-do list.
This is the hidden heartbreak for so many teachers.
Why Resentment Is So Dangerous for Teachers
Resentment grows over time. Once it settles in, joy quietly packs its backpacks and slips out the back door. Your classroom starts to feel heavy. Your spark starts fading. And your path straight into burnout speeds up like you’re on the Autobahn of exhaustion.
When you lose that sense of purpose and light you once felt walking into your school building, burnout isn’t far behind. And suddenly, your love for teaching is gone.
Here’s the Hopeful Part: Resentment is Preventable
You can turn this around. I promise, because I was once that resentful teacher myself, crashing on the couch, feeling hopeless and defeated.
• Healthy boundaries
• Changing the lens through which you view teaching
• Letting go of people-pleasing
• Saying “no” without sending yourself into a shame spiral
• Choosing yourself without guilt
These are the pillars that protect your joy. These are the exact strategies that stop resentment before it hijacks your career.
And yes, these are all things I walk you through step-by-step in my book Teachaholic: The 7 Day MindSET Shift to Conquer Burnout, Build Life-Changing Boundaries, and Reignite Your Love for Teaching, because none of us are meant to be martyrs for the job. You’re allowed to love things outside of teaching. You’re allowed to have hobbies. You’re allowed to have dinner with your own family. And you’re allowed—actually, you’re entitled—to a life that feels whole.
When You Choose Yourself, You Protect Your Love for Teaching
Here’s the thing most teachers forget:
When teaching takes less from you, you naturally have more joy to give.
Your spark returns. Your optimism grows. Your energy comes back online like wi-fi after a thunderstorm. And your purpose becomes clear again.
Boundaries aren’t an obstacle to being a great teacher, but they can very well become the reason you stay a great teacher. Your students deserve that chance, and so do you.
Want to Keep Resentment From Running the Show?
Start Here.
If this post hit you right in the “teacher tired,” you are absolutely not alone. Resentment is common, but it doesn’t have to be permanent.
Start with real mindset shifts and simple, actionable strategies inside my book, Teachaholic: The 7-Day MindSET Shift to Conquer Burnout, Build Life-Changing Boundaries, and Reignite Your Love for Teaching — available on Kindle or in paperback.
📘 Grab Teachaholic here (You deserve the easiest “add to cart” of your life.
And to help you implement everything quickly and painlessly, grab the FREE Teachaholic Action Guide — packed with reflection questions, graphic organizers, and step-by-step tools to bring your joy back.
You Matter. The Work You Do Matters.
Every day you’re out there doing quiet miracles that rarely make the news. You deserve to feel whole doing it.
Let’s keep resentment from stealing any more of your spark — and build a teaching life that feels sustainable, joyful, and unmistakably yours.
📚 Teachaholic: The 7-Day Mindset Shift to Conquer Burnout, Build Life-Changing Boundaries, and Reignite Your Love for Teaching is officially a best seller and a top release - get your copy now! Download your free Teachaholic Action Guide to start today with the form below!
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