So, it’s that time of year again where the summer has drawn to a close and we as teachers have started a new school year. We moan a little, maybe even complain that the holidays are over but there is always that sense of renewal in the air and we inevitably set about with the annual back to school obligatory tasks; we top up on our stationery supplies; the shiny new pens and pencils for the desk, the brand spanking new school diary, new lunchbox for the staff room that we vow will be filled with healthy lunches every day from September to June (we truly believe this will happen!) and promises to ourselves that we will stay, and remain calm from day one; that this year will be different.
We won’t get as stressed, we will take things in our stride, we have recharged the battery and so all will be well. We are ready to roll… look out world, super-teacher has arrived and is ready for anything! Right?! Mmm, okay well it’s always great to go back to school with a positive attitude and be prepared, of course it is, but how long will this motivation and enthusiasm last?
I recently worked with three groups of primary teachers over the summer exploring the term ‘self-care’ and looking at how they could make changes that would actually be practical enough to make a real difference in how they approach stressful situations that occur on a daily basis throughout their teaching day.
The following is the work produced directly from these teacher groups, all given with their permission in order to help other teachers out there reading this blog at the beginning of a new term.
| Teaching Stressors | Normal Reactions | Mindful/Practical Solutions |
| Time Management and Work Overload
– Making comparisons with other teachers – Perfectionism – pressure to be the perfect teacher – Curriculum overload – a feeling of neglecting subjects – Guilt over never getting everything done – Endless lists! – A feeling of being so busy that the teacher cannot enjoy the experience of being a teacher!
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– Guilt – Panic – Negative self-talk – Making damaging Comparisons – Staying back late and going in early (wearing out the battery) – Cancelling plans with friends/family to get planning and corrections completed – Stress kicks in – Low productivity – Procrastination – not knowing where to start! – Quality of work dips |
– Connect with others in the same year group for planning – Teach to your strengths – share subjects – Allocate set amount of hours in your week or a set day for planning and preparation so that it does not interfere with you having a life! – Share plans – ask for help! – Focus on what you have done and not on what you have not done – ‘Check-In mindfulness practice: breathe! – Remember that all thoughts are not facts – Principals to consider a ‘Teacher Well-Being Policy’ – Acceptance that as a teacher ‘I am doing my best – I am good enough’ |
| Difficult Staff Relations – Staff members not speaking to each other – Feeling judged for leaving school early – Negative staff room conversations
| – Frustration and anger at times – Feeling tense and uncomfortable around others – Energy drained from worrying about staff room situations – Feeling cranky and ‘trip-wire’ reacting to small triggers | – Acceptance that ‘I have done enough today and that is my choice to make.’ Trust your own professional judgment! – Acceptance that you cannot control the actions or words of others!!! – Gravitate towards the ‘light’ in the staff room; those who tend to be more positive – When faced with a conflict or stressful encounter, put in the mindful ‘gap’ of taking a breath – respond rather than react! Mindfulness gives us this gift |
| Behaviour Management – Persistent noise and disruption in your class – Pre-conception fear (that the class you are getting are a ‘bad’ class!) – Judgments from other teachers e.g. ‘Why can’t you manage that class? Teacher X was fine with them last year’ etc. | – Feeling annoying and holding onto that for the day – Using up valuable energy (depleting your battery life) – Holiday countdown! (wishing your life away) – Guilt over the other children who are behaving well – Avoiding ‘nice’ lessons | – Introduce mindfulness practice every morning and during the day with your class. This may take time to implement but it will help – Pause and breathe before responding – the ‘gap!’ – Ask for concrete support – don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it – Drop the judgments – they are of no use to you. You are doing your best. |
Hopefully you have found this blog useful and will take on board the fact that these mindful solutions have come from real teachers who are dealing with these situations every day. Best of luck with the new school year and remember, in the words of Maya Angelou ‘you do enough, you are enough and you have nothing to prove to anybody.’
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