Holidays and stress management
I just had the first chat sessions and one of the issues the students were concerned about were the holidays. I moved my Thursday chat to Tuesday because of Thanksgiving. Several of the student have asked if I can post the next 2 instructor files on the assignments because they will be travelling. This session goes through the Christmas holiday and I have had students ask if they can submit their assignment early.
So, to handle the holidays, I have to plan and prepare in advance to prevent the stress. There may be a touch of immedacy too!
And teachers have stress too! We like to celebrate the holidays with our loved ones too. We don't want to have excuse ourselves to grade papers just like students don't want to have to do homework over the holidays!
Good points here, Belinda! I too had to move my chats to help students celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.
My class also runs through the Christmas holiday. Are you planning on making any schedule changes because of Christmas?
Preparation is always key Belinda. This sounds like a good plan.
I am working on this training while my dinner is cooking because I have no time otherwise. The students do not think sometimes that we do have families and often full-time jobs in our profession as well. I have decided rather than stress that I have to work on the holiday to just get it done when I can while my family is napping. This avoids the stress for me.
I moved my student's due dates and chat sessions because of the holidays as well. I do not want them to stress out about this when there is so much else they have to worry about. I feel it is the least I can do to help them through the class.
Multitasking is an important skill in time management. And knocking tasks out in your moments of down time can reduce stress and help you enjoy what's left of your holiday.
Denise - I find myself doing the same thing. Working when everyone else is sleeping or watching tv. Do you ever get resentful because they are relaxing while you are still working?
I have found this time of year to be extremely stressful for my students as well as myself. I live by my "to do" list and try to have a little "give" with my students.
I wonder what this training will say about multi-tasking. It is mostly inevitable, when you are checking emails, replying to IMs, designing a class presentation and the phone is rining. (The curse of technology) However, I recall hearing that it is better to not multi-task and focus on one thing at a time. Any thoughts?
It's easy to multitask when trying to take care of simple tasks that require little focused attention. But complex tasks are another story. As they require us to focus more, it is usually best for us to take care of them one at a time.
Hi Belinda
I understand. I had my chat earlier on Wed before Thanksgiving due to traveling, etc.
I am so glad to teach for online school that takes off winter break
Thanks
Alana
Belinda, I always encourage my students to submit their work early if they can. The holiday season can be extremely stressful in itself especially in an economy like we have right now. When starting this term I made sure my chats were not on a holiday and if an assignment was due on a holiday I moved the due date out 1 or 2 day to allow the student time with their family and friends if they desired. If they choose to submit the assignment early that is a plus.
Le Roy
That is a really good point about multi-tasking during the holidays. Even when we adjust our chats or assignments dates to accomodate holidays, our grading schedules continue regardless of those same holidays. I find that while I need to "give" a little with my students, I have be that much more task oriented with myself--prioritizing grading so that I get it done early. This is really the only way I can relax and enjoy a holiday, even though it makes the days before the holiday a little more stressful.
Does anyone else agree?
Deborah,
Yes the holidays in themself can be stressful. I plan on having everything completed well before Christmas and will not be on-line Christmass Eve or Christmas day. A couple of days off.
Le Roy
I certainly agree Deborah.
Hi Belinda,
These are great tips for handling stress during the holidays. I can see that you have open communication with your students as they communicate their wishes to you. I hope that my students feel just as comfortable giving me their feedback. During the holidays, I try to think of how I would like to handle my work if I were a student. In my class, the students final project is partially a culmination of work that they have done throughout the session. I try to remind them of this so that they do their very best and think ahead.
Susan,
I don't get the holidays off at my online school. It is my responsibility to give the students the day off and extend the due date for the assignment. The school rarely extends the class for holidays. This causes a bit of stress on my part to say the least.
Same here, I had to look at my syllabi, prioritize the importance of the timing of the midterm exams, project due dates and lecture materials and reassess what was the most important and how they interacted with each other. It wasn't easy, but by making a list, reflecting on the priority of each, the answer became real clear on what I needed to do.
Deborah,
I agree. The holidays can definitely present a challenge when it comes to getting everything graded on time and we don't get the additional time that students are often afforded. I am also going to have to be more task oriented this last week to ensure that I have my grading done and get to enjoy the holidays with my family.
I also urged my students to try to complete their final projects a little early rather than just giving extra time. While I will allow the extra time if truly needed I felt it was better for the students to try and get these done before holidays so they don't have assignments hanging over their heads.
