Any teacher will tell you that teaching is a demanding job and that it’s easy to get burned out. The key is to recognize the warning signs and to take action. Elaine Plybon over at Cruel Shoes has a good post dealing with this topic. This post caught my attention because I was just thinking about this and teachers now need to reflect and plan for the final stretch.
“How do we be sure we are not quietly heading toward burnout and completely inappropriate behaviors? Reflection.”
Yes, reflection. Reflect often and not only on what did I do and how could I do it better, but on how could I have done that will less stress. I always try to figure a way to do an activity with less stress. Usually, this is done by being very organized and visualizing in my mind what I will do before I start the class.
Elaine gives threes steps to help prevent burnout: take a break, change your thinking, and to never stop reflecting. These steps are a good way to help reduce the stress and to become a better teacher. Reflecting and thinking of what to do differently will help any teacher to reverse the trickle of negative behaviors.
One thing I would like to add that has helped me to become a better teacher is to reduce the amount of time when changing activities. I thought about this one day a long time ago when I was reflecting on what I could do to reduce the noise level when switching between activities and reduce the stress of changing gears during the day. What I do is on the first day of school, I give just one rule to know for the day. The rule is when I raise my hand the class should 1) stop talking and 2) raise your hand. This one rule has helped me every day to keep my stress levels low by being able to transition between activities during class. Now when the class is working, and we need to move on, I just raise my hand and instant quiet.
The first week of class, someone might test the water and see what happens if they don’t raise their hand. I usually add on a second mini rule so that the last person to raise their hand is the last one out of the classroom. Just keep it lighthearted and try not to be so serious. Give this a try and reduce your stress level.
