According to Roberta Roeach and Sunny Schlenger,”a perfectionist is an individual who compulsively set high standards for himself/herself and fail to recognize how unrealistic his/her expectations are ,believes  his/her  standards are perfectly normal.Because of this,he/she becomes  discouraged,never realizing that what is below average to him/her is perfectly acceptable to others.

The latter is the problem of many teachers as they struggle with high standards not only in their teaching lives but also in their personal lives, too.Many teachers,with the purpose to give quality teaching to learners and to have high rating in their performance forgot to distinguish between high standards and superhuman expectations.

Here are  some tips which Schlenger and Roeach enumerated in distinguishing between high standards and superhuman expectations.

1.Look at the bottom line-Compare your assumption of what’s required to the reality of the   situation.Don’t just rely on your own opinion.Listen to what others say

2.Learn to say NO-Perfectionist people tend to say  yes to request for their time more often than they should for a variety of reasons.

a.They don’t want people down.-it might affect the feeling of the person involved,so never interrupt what he/she is trying to say.

            b.They fear they won’t be liked.

            d.They feel obligated or they really have the desire to help.

            On the other hand,if you always say yes,not only will you have no time to take of your own needs,you will ultimately disappoint other people you’re trying to accommodate because you won’t have sufficient energy or hours to carry through on your promises.

3.These teacher-perfectionists are trying to live up to the expectations of the school head,co-teachers ,parent or other authority figure who wanted them to be accomplished or outstanding.Most probably they  were recorded as children for superior performance.As adults they think that the only way to deserve a reward is to do everything perfectly.It is not impossible that they are also expecting their pupils to do same.

            If you are a teacher,evaluate and ask yourself the following questions:

1.What do I get from this?

2.Am I letting other people’s expectations to control the way I am living?

3.Do I spend a lot of time worrying about what my school head/Principal will think of my performance?

4.Do I feel  as from  though I won’t be noticed unless my performance is exceptional?

5.Am I afraid of being reprimanded for making a mistake?

6.Can I be objective about the quality of my work or do I depend on feedback  from others to tell me how am I doing?

            For our dear teachers,do not believe that you should be able to do everything  perfectly,or else you will end up dangerously close to burnt-out.

By: Gemma V. Sale | T-II | MARIVELES NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL-CABCABEN