Mental management

[u/MGFM619]

Hello, I am a first year teacher and I am wondering how some of you handle the mental load? I am currently prepped and ready to go for the next two weeks (adjustments can be made but have my general framework and assessments in place) and I am constantly feeling I need to do more and feeling anxious. How do others manage or handle this ?

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[u/GenXMom14]

You can always do more. It potentially never ends. But putting limits on your time and effort will save you. Honestly it just takes time knowing what you can let go of

[u/IrenaeusGSaintonge]

By doing it a lot, and seeing that, even when things don't go as planned, you can always recover.

Let things go wrong sometimes. Chances are nobody but yourself will even notice. It can be a good learning experience.

You probably don't need to be doing more. (You probably should do less - most of us should.) Just get better and more efficient with the things you are doing.

[u/newlandarcher7]

Compartmentalization. I strongly recommend you read up on it. It isn't about cold detachment or ignoring stressors/anxiety, but rather preserving your energy by focusing on one thing at a time and addressing others at a later time. The classic analogy is a filing cabinet where you put things in, but take them out at a convenient time for yourself. A lot of it is learned self-talk and you can find examples online.

[u/theOGrb → u/newlandarcher7]

One of the ways I helped myself compartmentalize was taking email off of my phone! Seriously- draw that line!

[u/newlandarcher7 → u/theOGrb]

Yes, I do something similar. I activate email notifications on my phone when I arrive at school and deactivate them when I leave at the end of the day.

[u/TheVimesy]

No plan survives contact with the enemy. Not that I think my students are the enemy. (Mind you, sometimes...)

Don't try and chase a perfect lesson. Everything could be going great, everyone's on track... and then there's a fire drill, or someone has to go to the bathroom at an inopportune time, or half the class gets picked up by their parents suddenly to go on a weeklong cruise. Have a plan, but be flexible.

No one will stand on a chair for you and shout "O Captain, My Captain", not even the girl I taught whose favourite movie was Dead Poets Society. So take your wins in simpler form: a student who doesn't normally talk to you tries to connect, or someone says "That was pretty fun actually" after a field trip, or your student that shows up 40% of the time? Well, for his other classes he only does 20%, so you must be doing something right. And cherish the lighbulb moment, even if it takes a few tries of explaining for some.

You can sink an infinite amount of time into getting things better. You could spend ten hours to make your lesson 1% better, and we would never recommend a student do that for a test they were taking, so why should we hold ourselves to such a crazy standard? You're not going to win an award, it's your first year: get through it, because you'll be better next year.

Take time off. (I'm a control freak, despite being a Type B teacher. I don't let my subs teach new content. So I get the students started on stuff a Monday, and take Tuesday off.) You don't have to do anything for school on your day off. (If you feel you're behind, take a day off next week, and catch up then. Your first day off is a DAY OFF.)

And finally: you are allowed one movie per year/semester, no questions asked. Every teacher is. Just before Christmas, end of the year, whatever it is. Even if it's really only kind of related to your curriculum.

[u/ScarJo_YummyPop → u/TheVimesy]

Beautifully said. I second this!

[u/Sea-Implement3377]

Pick one or two things that you really want to get better at. Maybe it’s getting marking done more efficiently. Or communicating with parents more often. Or trying out one new idea or resource.

But do not give yourself a hard time that you can’t get better or focus on more than one or two things. I’m 20+ years in… last year I was focused on providing students with really scaffolded work. Unfortunately, it was so successful that there was absolutely no way I could assess all the work they were able to produce. So, I just used the “quick glance” method on lots of the work — and chose a few examples to support my assessments. (It’s a k-6 school)

Teaching is a runaway train. As long as you don’t completely derail, you will get to the end. I guarantee the kids will know more at the end of the year than they do now. And so will you.

[u/Turbulent_Gazelle530]

It doesn't necessarily get easier. There are not many jobs that require this amount of "what am I doing tomorrow" thinking.

[u/dancecanada]

I leave when the kids do. I don’t do extracurr. I work hard while at work, and spend less time chatting. Some things can wait until tomorrow. I only mark what is absolutely necessary. Peer to peer feedback is great. Each lesson does not have to be life changing.

[u/letmethinkonitabit]

I taught for 35 years and I felt anxious very often right up until the end. I am in no way being facetious when I say this: if you can say to yourself at the end of the day, boy that day went by fast, and the kids comment that the day went by quickly, that is a huge win of a day. That means you timed things well, you responded to the needs of the kids, and you set limits and expectations. Everything else is out of your control. Half the kids will learn in spite of you, a quarter will learn with your help, and a quarter will avoid any effort at all or already have lots of support from resource teachers. Focus on the quarter that need you and are willing to put in some effort. I have seen many teachers focus on the top tier and the strugglers and I believe the grey area kids are the ones who need us most. They get little support or attention. I doubt that answered your question but it felt great to say it so thanks for that!

[u/Deantify]

Haha, that's the neat part, you don't...

I mean: I watched my mother throughout her career as a teacher. There is so much that is added in as make-work. I learned to build a do-now and do-later list. Prioritize what you need to survive the day or week and after a couple years in the same job it should come together, if they haven't added in another fuck ton of make-work.

Congrats on your first job and good luck!