Let’s face it: teaching is a difficult job. Every teacher, I believe, will experience stress at some point throughout their career. Education is a selfless and often arduous job, and studies demonstrate that stress-related burnout can convert your beloved profession into such a revolving door. It’s critical to keep work-related stress under control if you want to live a full and healthy life while teaching. We’ll look at what causes teacher stress and how to deal with it effectively in the sections below.
Why Teaching Can Be Stressful
Only a small amount of the overburdened teacher’s plate is dedicated to instructing. Teachers all around the country are accountable for a variety of activities while wearing many hats. If you’re a teacher, you’re also a counselor, a disciplinarian, a statistician (hello, data analysis!), and a lot more. You have to manage multiple personalities and learning styles at the same time.
The aforementioned realities are unpleasant on their own, but unfortunately, these classroom stressors are compounded by outside concerns. High-stakes testing has put a great deal of strain on teachers and has hampered their autonomy. Lesson planning, grading papers, adapting content for students with disabilities, contacting parents, and a host of other obligations are frequently relegated to a small planning period that is monopolized by meetings and professional learning.
How Stress Affects Your Teaching
For educators, the ancient adage “you can’t pour from an empty vessel” holds true. Teachers are naturally less effective when they are anxious. Effective teaching necessitates a complete mental and emotional involvement, which you can’t afford while you’re worried. Students do not receive optimal instruction when teachers are not at their best. This has an adverse effect on student achievement, which should be at the heart of every school’s objective. In the end, our pupils require teachers who are well-versed in wellness and who actively monitor stress.
The Importance of Destressing and How to Destress
Even for a teacher, your health is more essential than your profession, which is an often unacknowledged truth that you should embrace going forward. This is demonstrated by the fact that poor physical and mental health can have a detrimental impact on your teaching. Knowing how to de-stress is crucial not only because your job is crucial, but also because you are crucial. Here are a few suggestions for de-stressing.
Before School
This may appear counter-intuitive, but arrive early. Leave home at a time that allows for unexpected traffic, which will force you to rush into the building. If you arrive ten minutes early to work and spend that time well, you can reduce stress. Starting your day quietly decreases stress, which can be difficult if you enter into the building and quickly assume a duty station or make a beeline for the copy machine. Make a conscious effort to finish key things ahead of time so that you are not rushed in the morning. If overstimulation is a source of stress for you, spend a few minutes in the morning in your classroom in silence, with dim lights if possible. This helps you adjust to the sensory overload that can occur in the classroom.
During School
The most difficult time to de-stress is while you’re in the middle of teaching. This will necessitate forethought. Stress will be reduced greatly if your students are taught to follow classroom procedures. From collaborative work to going the restroom, these routines can cover it all. Have activities on hand to use as needed for brain breaks. These breaks can benefit you just as much as they do your students. Have mechanisms in place to reduce the degree of noise in the classroom as well. Moving a clip around a labeled poster on the wall to indicate the noise level, for example, can be useful. I appreciate the specified quiet period at the start of class. This establishes a peaceful tone for the rest of the class, and kids are less likely to get rowdy later on.
After School
Set and keep to limitations for working outside of school hours. A healthy de-stressing habit is to set aside one night per week when you leave work on time and do not carry work home. Prioritize activities that you enjoy as well. Make time for self-care activities such as exercise and making nutritious meals. Last but not least, get to bed on time. Set a bedtime that allows for a full night’s sleep and try to keep to it as much as possible.
At times, teaching and stress will come as a bundle deal, but there are strategies to prevent and battle stress. Making a concerted effort to understand how to de-stress will make you healthier and more efficient. Destressing is an investment in your well-being and the success of your kids.
