Teaching is one of the most stressful jobs there is. What are the causes that make teaching stressful? From being a teacher, there is no margin for error. Students come from preconceptions that teachers know everything. In this changing world we have to stay informed in different changes and in order to do that we need extra time for reading and updating ourselves. Most teachers want to do everything like preparing class activities for the next day, lesson plan, checking of test papers etc. that requires a lot of time, and sometimes they even need to take it home. Many teachers also spend their free time, recess and lunch time in lending an ear to the student who has a lot of baggage because good teachers help students beyond academics. In classroom setting, a lot of students are misbehaved most common for a teacher in charge of a class of 30 to 45 students. Teachers have to constantly move from one classroom crisis to another while at the same time being aware of what is going on in the four corners of the room and this creates a lot of stress. How can we fight this stress? There are simple ways that will help us to become free from stress. Some of these are: Make time to laugh, don’t take life too seriously make time to talk and laugh with your colleagues. Listen to music and sing. Surf the net and discover new and interesting fun things. Make time to read, it is proven that reading is a great escape for stress because you allow yourself in a literary world that distracts your from daily source of stress. Find books, magazines, romantic novel book, or even cookbook that gets your interest. Enjoy nature, simply go outside being in nature, or even viewing scenes of nature, reduces anger, fear, and stress and increases pleasant feelings.Plan or manage time efficiently. “The aim of good time management is to achieve the lifestyle balance you want,” says Emma Donaldson-Feilder, a chartered occupational psychologist. “Spending more time on something doesn’t necessarily achieve more,” she says. “Staying an extra hour at work at the end of the day may not be the most effective way to manage your time.” Another stress reliever is to do things with your colleagues outside of school, you may watch movie ,have a coffee break together after class hour. Find an empty classroom and empty yourself completely too, take time to meditate and free yourself or your mind from any stressor. Always keep a positive attitude, positive thinking does not mean that you are going to ignore your unpleasant situations, it simply means that you face unpleasant situations in a more positive and productive way. Above this all, the most important and effective way to fight stress is to pray, say a little prayer every time you feel stress, you may ask His help and guidance every time you need Him. Always remember that teachers like us will do everything just to see the smile on the faces of our students when they understood a difficult topic and when we see them enlighten in life’s baggage they have. Those are things that can wipe all day stress away.
By: ROCHELLE S. LAMIRE | T-I | Mariveles National High School -CABCABEN
