Stress Management

Micah C. Panlilio

TEACHERS have a very important job of shaping the future of professionals and society members, and are responsible for the education of society. So it’s fair to say that they have a very stressful job and comes with a lot of pressure.

Job stress can take on many forms. Teachers begin to feel that their daily tasks are growing, and that they are not just educators, but some type of social w or ker s.

Stress in the classroom starts when teachers find themselves dealing with problems surrounding their students like poverty, violence, problems at home, among others.

Teachers one way or another are affected by these challenges. Their roles as educators go beyond being educators, because children's lives are being touched by these problems. In view of this, teacher find themselves with problems that are too big to handle, and this fosters teacher job stress.

Of course, it is not just in the classroom where stress can be found. What about dealing with assessments, grading, meeting with parents, conferences with superiors, lesson plans and paperwork?

Teachers can only handle as much. These may be part of the profession, but expect stress when all of these add up.

Dealing with teacher job stress is one of social importance, so this must be handled with care. A stressed teacher means a stressed classroom.

Schools should have a program for stress alleviation and stress management training. Here, teachers can be taught disciplines as meditation, yoga, aromatherapy and guided imagery. This way, teachers can raise their tolerance for stressful conditions and fend off job stress before it even begins.

Teachers have important jobs, with consequences reaching into the future. Because of this, job stress should be identified and quickly removed so that the teacher can impart the knowledge that the children deserve.