As the school year draws to an end, teachers at Middle College High School reflect on the stress and challenges they faced. From adapting to rapid technological advances to setting boundaries, these pressures take a toll on the educators both inside and outside the classroom.
For instance, World History, College Career Readiness and Digital Media teacher Edward Valenzuela experiences stress when managing students using technology in class.
“Well, easy on the cell phones. Okay, that’s why, in my classes right now when we’re doing notes and stuff, they do it with paper and a pencil. Okay, just even an open computer causes me stress, because I think that you’re watching ‘Spongebob’ or something like that, which is probably more right than wrong. Sometimes people are actually taking notes, but it looks weird when the students aren’t looking at you the whole time so that causes me some stress,” Valenzuela said.
For many educators, technology is a double-edged sword. While it does provide a way for students to be more involved and engaged it also presents distractions that can make it difficult to ensure students are truly learning. This uncertainty with the use of technology contributes significantly to teacher stress and burnout.
To address this evolving issue, teachers may need to consider different strategies to minimize distractions, such as using paper and pencils more during the school day. By doing this, teachers know that the students are paying attention and learning, which in return reduces their stress levels as they won’t have to worry about their students becoming distracted. Balancing work and personal life is a significant stressor for teachers because some find it difficult to switch off teacher mode and onto their personal responsibilities.
Algebra 1-2 teacher, Norio Kaneko shares his opinion on setting boundaries between his job and his personal life.
“When I get out of school, I am not a teacher. I draw the line, I say I’m not doing this,I do whatever I need to do here at school. I get here early and take care of everything I need to do, but once I get out, I just put it to the side, completely forget about it. Once I get home, I’m not a teacher. I try not to bring that aspect into my personal life, because I have a life outside of this school. So that’s the way I see it,” Kaneko said.
From this, we see the importance in teachers creating boundaries within themselves. Allowing them to focus on their personal life and wellbeing. For many teachers, setting boundaries is difficult, as they are constantly worrying about different things. For example, teachers often struggle with separating work from personal life, due to their work responsibilities, such as grading papers, planning lessons and attending school meetings.
By setting clear boundaries teachers like Kaneko aim to reduce their stress. Which ultimately creates a healthier work-life balance and a more positive learning environment.
“I play music and focus on those other fun activities and try not to think about that. It’s like, I’m sure you’re stressed out sometimes. You can put that to the side and forget about it for a little while,” Kaneko said.
Based on this, we are able to see the huge amount of stress that teachers face daily and how they manage that stress and still do their best for their students. We can also see that their main struggle is setting boundaries and dealing with technology but they are able to overcome this by remembering their love for teaching students.
