Even with these tips you have to understand your limits as a whole. I can remember my second grade teacher taking her frustration with her job out on the classroom. The only problem with that is your students feed off of your vibe and they display what they see. If they see a negative reaction between the teacher and students it discourages them from interacting with the teacher.
"Teacher Stress Tip Number 1 - Understanding Stress""Teaching can be one of the most stressful careers. Normally, the stress does not come from the students that you are teaching, but the before school and after school meetings and overwhelming paperwork. As teachers, we have so many responsibilities and so little time to accomplish them. When we can't complete our daily tasks and responsibilities, this can often translate into failure, stress and teacher burnout. Let's take a moment to understand stress that you as the teacher may be experiencing."
Take what would normally be a stressful situation and turn it into something positive and fun! This does not mean, however, to be lazy and have no discipline. It's just an example.
Let's go over the feelings associated with stress, thoughts that go along with stress, and behaviors that you may be experiencing if you are stressed. Then we will discuss 10 ways to reduce teacher stress.
Feelings Associated with Stress:
• Anxious
• Scared
• Angry
• Frustrated
• Moody
Thoughts You May Have If You Are Stressed:
• Forgetfulness
• Fear of Failure
• Low Self-Esteem
• Worrying About the Future
• Can't Concentrate
• Complaining About Work
Behaviors You May Show If You Are Stressed:
• Crying
• Grinding Your Teeth
• Increase of a Normal Habit or Addiction
• Losing Your Appetite or Overeating
• Increased Heart Rate, Breathing or Sweating
• Trouble Sleeping
• Headaches
• Neck and Lower Back Pain
Ways to Reduce Teacher Stress
1. Become Aware of How You React In Stressful Situations
2. Be Positive, Speak Positive, Think Positive
3. At the end of the school day, think about all the things you achieved and finished rather that what you didn't have time to get done.
4. Learn to say NO to certain requests and after school duties. You can't do EVERYTHING, and you shouldn't!
5. Understand and Accept that a teacher is not a SUPER HERO and we do have limits. (Well, except for that crazy teacher in Kindergarten who stays until like 6pm every night!)
6. Find a Hobby and Ways to Relax at Home.
7. Exercise Regularly.
8. When you talk about your problems or issues regarding school, students, staff and administrators, make sure you are not complaining, but rather trying to figure out a solution.
9. Use Your Time Wisely. Evaluate how you spend your day, then make a weekly schedule and try to STICK TO IT.
10. Set Priorities and Realistic Goals.
**(These tips above came from http://suu.edu/ed/fso/resources/teacher-stress-tips.pdf)**
