Stress is not only bad for your health, but it makes you a worse teacher.
It causes you to . . .
Lose your cool.
Raise your voice.
Be unlikable.
Worst of all, however, is that stress brings tension and excitability into your classroom, which is one of the biggest causes of misbehavior.
Show me a stressed-out teacher and I’ll show you students bouncing off the walls. They go hand in hand like hot weather and mosquitos. But is it really possible to teach in a perpetually calm state?
Yes, it is.
Here’s how:
Rely on your plan.
To avoid stress, you must allow your classroom management plan to do all of the dirty work of curbing misbehavior for you. Your only job is to follow it.
Visualize.
Before every school day, take a moment to visualize yourself keeping cool inside and out no matter what happens—even if a troop of flying monkeys were to swarm into your room.
Refuse friction.
When you refuse to create friction with students (i.e. lecturing, questioning, berating, glaring, etc.), you remove a massive amount of stress. You’ll also build effortless rapport.
Tidy up.
It’s no different than your own home. Get rid of the clutter and you’ll breathe easier. A tidy room has also been shown to calm students and help them focus.
Be ready.
If your personal life is a mess, so too will be your work life. Get your sleep. Eat well. Exercise. Prepare efficiently so you’re not in a rushed and harried state.
Simplify.
Simplify everything. Your lessons. Your routines. Your directions. Your objectives. Clarity and certainty soothe the mind and free you to slow down and enjoy the job.
Breathe.
Forcing yourself to meditate can bring on its own stress. All you really need to do is breathe through your nose and allow your exhales to linger. This stimulates the parasympathetic system and relaxes the body.
Get away.
To be at your even-keeled best, you have to get away from school. As soon as you leave the parking lot, shift your focus to family, friends, and hobbies. Get away early if you can and keep your mind on other things.
Unrealistic?
No, it’s not unrealistic. Staying stress free, or nearly so, takes some discipline, to be sure, but it’s doable for anyone.
SCM is built for you to enjoy teaching. It’s specifically designed that way.
Classroom management is key, after all. When your students are well-behaved and appreciate the learning experience you’ve created for them, life is so much better. Teaching is fun. The kids are cool to be around.
And each day you can leave it all behind, and get on with your life.
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