At some point of time during our teaching degrees, we have all heard how hard student teaching is — building lesson plans, getting to know a set of students, doing your best to impress the mentor teacher and the coordinator. A lot depends on the couple weeks spent at a school with the population we want to teach. Sometimes the placement does not end up being the right one and changes have to be made. It’s rare but it happens. Teaching is a social activity — many people are involved in it and affect our practice and experience.
I met a classmate of mine while going the library the other day. He is doing his student teaching practicum this term and, while it was spring break for schools, he was at the university to plan in advance for the coming weeks. He told me that in the one week he had been at the school, he hasn’t been able to sleep at night. A friend of his, who is in his final practicum, doesn’t eat the whole day he is at school.
My advice to him was one I am sure he has heard before: he needs to have a routine. It might be easier to say for people who are routine people (like me) and a part of him probably wondered how would I understand: I don’t even start my practicums until November 2018! We chatted about other challenges in his class and things he loved about it. When we went our separate ways, I did not think more about this conversation.
I have been a straight-A student for a long time and like any straight-A student who has gotten used to getting nothing less than 90% in assignments, this term has been particularly challenging for me. It hasn’t been the courses that I had to take which have caused the turmoil but the ones I chose to take. To complete my English literature credits, I chose a 200 and 300 level course over two 100 level courses. These are my first language courses in Canada. Last time I formally studied English was 4 years ago during my undergraduate degree in India.
There are many things I have learned from these two courses and I especially want to mention something I learned about being a perfectionist – when I score less than what I was expecting, I beat myself up for it and have this feeling that it is unfinished business – the grades are in, there is no more you can do! I mentioned this to Amanda that I need to work on the perfection aspect because when I am a teacher, there will be many more factors, other than my effort, affecting what I am able to do. Amanda said that self-care is the way to go! She recently wrote about it on her blog We’ve got this together and mentioned medication, exercise, water and a circle of supporters (cheerleaders) as ways of dealing with stress. I wholeheartedly agree with her!
http://wevegotthistogether.com/2018/04/09/apples-for-the-teacher-how-much-better-could-we-care-for-our-learners-if-we-first-cared-for-ourselves-as-well/
In times of stress
Thinking back to the times when I have been stressed and the things I have not done when I am stressed, I realized how much routine keeps us on track. Recently, my dad was at the hospital for a week. I didn’t feel like going to classes, or studying. It felt like time was passing too quickly and I was letting it slip away because I could not bring myself to hold on. I am sure the many responsibilities of being a teacher will feel similar when I am overwhelmed.
As a preservice teacher, I believe practicums are the most important time of our teaching degrees when we have this safe space – a period of couple weeks – when we can test out our own resilience and evaluate how we deal with stress. Rather than letting ourselves have sleepless nights and avoiding food (I absolutely cannot avoid lunch, by the way, my stomach groans very loudly), we should be taking the time to talk to our mentors and learn from them – how they manage teaching, lesson planning, cooking, grading – all of it! We should not let sleeplessness and going without food become regular habits. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it – for us, and our students because we serve as role models to them.
After my dad was feeling better, I reflected on the past few days. I realized that it was the habits that I have instilled in myself which are part of self-care, were the ones that I ended up giving up under stress.
- I use a bullet journal for planning the day and week. Bullet journaling takes about 20 minutes every night when I reflect on the day and express gratitude for something or someone. I did not want to plan anymore or check off things I had completed.
- Being with my family or on my own what all I wanted to do. I did not feel like socializing or even talking to friends I talk to regularly.
- Listening to music was no longer a fun experience. Usually, music is something I can listen to while I work.
- I am on a mission to read teaching books and I did not want to pick up any book, even a novel or an old funny novel I have read 15 times.
It is the things that help us care about ourselves that we give up first. Instead of saying “no” to extra work being assigned to us, we tend to give up the little habits that excite us the most and keep us refreshed. I have seen that with my friends who are currently in their practicums. I have not heard from them since the day they started as a student teacher. How do we expect to have a normal teaching life when during our student teaching life we do not treat it as normal? I do not undermine the effort that goes into those first few weeks of doing the job you want full-time one day but I question the length to which we deviate from our routines rather than build a new one that keeps the habits which make us happy.
Stress and The Teaching community
I have a wonderful support group that consists of my family and many teachers around the world whom I have met through Twitter interactions and my writings. Thinking of all these steps that I am taking as a preservice teacher, I still worry if I will get a job. I interact online and often I introduce myself to new communities and get such heartwarming responses. Affirmations play a major role in reminding us why we want to do what we decided to pursue and that other people see the potential in us… just like we see the potential of our students. Here are two that I absolutely love:
I’m impressed with how much you’re getting out there as a preservice teacher! 🙂 Brava… I’ve had a few over the years with your kind of initiative but it’s definitely the exception and not the rule.— Amanda
“You sound like someone who is already on her way to be a great teacher. :)” — Deb, Building Understanding in Math Community
There are teachers who know I will be a great teacher! They are teachers who have never met me and yet have faith in me based on my interactions with them! What more can I ask for from the teaching community? No matter where we are, we are in this together. If I feel stressed, I can talk to my peers, mentors and cheerleaders.
No matter where you are and whether you are a teacher already or have just started your journey to be a teacher, find your support circle, identify the habits that you drop the moment you feel too much stress, and do not let them go!
They make you who you are and they make you stronger, saner and excited in the great work you do and are meant to do! When you feel your best, you will be able to give your students your best.
Be First to Comment