The Joy of Clarity in Teaching

Daybook December 15

Educators can experience burnout just like bedside nurses.
But one moment of clarity—a learner finally understanding—
can restore meaning and bring joy back into teaching.

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Burnout can happen in education,
just as it happens in bedside care.
Caring takes energy everywhere.

But teaching also offers something precious:
the moment when confusion clears,
and a learner finally understands.

“Your class helped them clear the cloud,”
a manager told me recently.
“You made 'high risk pregnancy care' interesting.”

Learning brings joy—
whether it is our first day teaching
or, like me, thirty years later.

Because clarity is a kind of light.
And teaching is the quiet work
of offering that light again and again.

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One Line for Nurses and Nursing Learners Today:
Clarity heals the educator too.