By Deer Roberts
One can hardly think of another profession where Mother Nature must be timed to take her doo, precisely between 9:11 and 9:14 a.m. Or, missing that, she can wait until between 10:56 and 10:59 a.m., unless, of course, one gets up at 4:30 a.m. to give her a dignified calm for her morning business.
No other profession, except perhaps a parole officer, has clientele as enthusiastic about the day’s work, as its system runs against the grain of the nature of the client. And while a parole officer always has the default of jail time to hold over the client’s head, this profession is totally at the whim of higher authorities, some who are afraid of that authority, caught in a web of first rung politics, districts caught between uninformed and emotional voter bases and federal and state governments. What other profession gets whipped up and down through Congress with the same ferociousness as taxes between the political extremes, especially as voting campaigns begin?
This same profession requires a college degree, licensing which must be constantly updated, academic courses upgraded, constant meetings, unpaid overtime and work brought home daily, yet can be reduced to ashes with a single potent question of an indiscrete parent to a misbehaving child at risk of losing face, “Is that true?”.
Yes, you guessed it; I’m speaking of teaching.
For the past year I’ve been substitute teaching in a few school districts in the area and have been getting an eyeful. The only other job as difficult (and I’ve had some doozers) was being a parent to young children. At that time I looked upon school as a demand that stole my children from me. It seemed they took over my time with my kids, character development, the family table, sleep schedules, etc. And in truth, they did. But my heart now goes out to my counterparts of those years as I see the stress and disregard for their investment. Somehow, despite all the middle management, both jobs (parenting and teaching) have to accommodate. My kids kept their heads and turned out well. Of course, in parenting you can’t burn out and walk away, as a lot of teachers are currently doing, but it still leaves the kids at risk as they deal with parental stress as well as their own.
Let’s talk about the kids. Some are away from home as much as twelve hours, from the time they get on the bus ’til the time they get back home. As districts pile on more and more academic time trying to meet state standards, an hour of time playing or being close to Mother Nature is nearly unheard of. Elementary. Many home schoolers advance faster, by comparison, in one third the amount of time.
This week, one difficult middle school student told me she doesn’t get enough time socializing with her friends. We figured it out. She gets a half hour each day and must split it between two groups of friends: one positive and one not so positive. This decision is an important one. As she is a gifted socializer, something every community needs as it puts on community fairs and celebrations, networks disciplines and professions, etc., I had to agree with her. No wonder she acts out, talks too much in class, and gives lip. She’s frustrated in what she needs to be developing on a primal level. She basically has to stuff it. And she’s getting aggressive, a sign of stress. And stress releases hormones into human bodies. Hormones regulate everything from emotional states to weight gain or loss (where do you think that middle aged spread comes from, ladies?) Guess which group she is gravitating toward. Not so good for us. I suggested she speak with her parents about more time with good friends. Her teachers can tell her which ones they are.
So where do we end the round robin of hormone release and aggression, in teachers, administrators, parents, kids? I don’t really know, but loyalty to our communities and neighbors and families are essential to meaningful living. I suspect a beginning might be to detach the educational system from the political system, which is being whipped about by the economic system, which is beholden to God knows who. Let school boards be a haven of professional educators focusing on education alone. Politicians can cut their first teeth in other areas. It’s time we took our kids back without completely throwing out the bathwater (character and ethical development, home economics, humanities, reading, writing, arithmetic). They are ours. Not theirs. And they are precious. So are our teachers.
More later, if time allows . . .
A neat interactive for assessing stress:
http://www.teachhealth.com/#stressscale
The 10 Commandments for Reducing Stress*
1. Thou shalt not be perfect or even try to be.
2. Thou shalt not try to be ALL things to All people.
3. Thou shalt leave things undone that ought to be undone.
4. Thou shalt not spread thyself too thinly.
5. Thou shalt learn to say ‘No.’
6. Thou shalt schedule time for thyself and support network.
7. Thou shalt switch off and do nothing – regularly.
8. Thou shalt be boring, inelegant, untidy and unattractive at times.
9. Thou shalt not feel guilty.
10. Thou shalt not be thine own worst enemy but be thine own best friend.
Prolonged Unhealthy Stress Effects*
· Many and various health issues (e.g. hair loss, headaches, fainting, eating disorders, etc.)
· Lack of concentration/ability to think rationally
· Easily distracted
· Reduced memory
· Increased errors
· Organization & planning deteriorate
· Tension increases
· Change in personality
· Irritable/Aggressive
· Depression/Isolation
· Reduced self-esteem
· Speech problems
· Less enthusiasm
· Lower energy levels /Sleeplessness
· Absenteeism
· Burnout
*Joseph, Russell. Stress Free Teaching, A Practical Guide to Tackling Stress in Teaching, Lecturing and Tutoring. London: Kogan Page Limited, 2000.
