Control Stress and Enhance Your Teaching Experience
Being a teacher means more than just teaching. You have to handle a classroom where stress can build up quickly.
Everything you have to do every day can be overwhelming and draining, whether it is dealing with difficult students, administrative tasks, or parents’ high expectations.
I have been a teacher for more than 13 years and have been through a lot of stress, anxiety, and self-doubt. I almost gave up teaching because of it.
Eventually, though, I learned useful techniques that not only helped me do well as a teacher but also made my life better in general.
Here are some ways I used what I learned in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and from my own life to deal with stress and make my classroom a better place to be.
1. Implement Mindful Pauses
In Jiu-Jitsu, having control means having peace.
That is how I learned the value of taking mindful pauses.
Before you do something about something stressful that happened in class, take a deep breath.
This break helps you calmly look at the situation and respond better, which lowers the chance of reacting badly because of stress.
Clear your mind and concentrate on your breathing to get ready for the lesson and handle every stressful situation with ease.
2. Cultivate a Positive Classroom Environment
I focus on the good things instead of the things that are making me stressed.
Oh, man! The positive atmosphere I always try to create in my classroom has helped lower stress and tensions between students, making it a better place to learn.
This good mood not only makes me feel better, but it also makes the classroom a more fun and interesting place for the kids.
3. Regular Physical Activity
Taking care of your body is important for your mental health.
Regularly doing things like yoga, Jiu-Jitsu, or even just a short walk during breaks can help you feel a lot less stressed.
They assist your body in creating endorphins, which are chemical messengers that improve your mood.
Therefore, make sure you schedule time each week to work out. In addition to making people feel better, this helps reduce stress.
4. Build a Support Network
Sharing experiences and strategies with other teachers can help you build a support system that can give you both practical advice and emotional support.
Sometimes, just knowing that you are not the only one going through a hard time can help you feel a lot better.
Set up a monthly get-together with coworkers to talk about how they deal with stress and help each other in both their personal and professional lives.
5. Continuous Learning and Development
Always be looking for new ways to get your students interested and make your lessons better to keep the spark alive.
You could go to workshops, read books that teach, or start a new hobby that is related to your subject.
This keeps you motivated and excited about your job as a teacher and keeps you from getting burned out.
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Wrapping up!
It takes practice and persistence to get good at managing stress in the classroom, just like it does to become good at a martial art.
Implementing these tips into your daily life can significantly improve your teaching experience and help you handle stress better.
Every challenge is a chance to grow as a person, and every day is a chance to get better, both in and out of the classroom.
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