<![CDATA[Interaction ritual theory explains how classroom order and participation norms emerge through shared attention, emotional alignment, and repeated interaction. Research on emotional labor shows how teachers regulate feelings in accordance with professional and institutional expectations. What remains less understood is how classroom rituals themselves may become emotionally sustainable for teachers who must enact them repeatedly over time. This article introduces ritual sustainability as an analytical concept for examining some of the emotional conditions under which interaction rituals can be maintained without exhaustion, breakdown, or burnout. Drawing on classroom observations and in-depth interviews with teachers, the study analyzes how different ritual styles generate distinct emotional demands and how teachers respond when rituals no longer produce expected engagement. The findings show that, in these cases, rituals may remain interactionally effective while becoming emotionally unsustainable, and that strain accumulates when emotional demands prevent attention from returning to pedagogical continuation. By linking interaction ritual theory with research on emotional labor, the article offers a micro-interactional perspective on why certain classroom practices remain viable over time, while others gradually become exhausting, fragile, or impossible to sustain.]]>
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