Positioned outside my classroom door, I take a breath as deeply and subtly as I can manage. Believing that my warm greeting is important to my students is the only thing that pulled me here after the bell rang.

I was a demoralized teacher.

Demoralization differs from burnout because it is rooted in having to face frequent moral conflicts. These dilemmas are rarely “I’m not sure what the right course of action is,” but more “I know the right thing to do, but am unable to do it.”