Get Your Students Hired
One of my major stressors is one of my employees and her misinterpreting everything I say because she is worried about her job. It does not matter how many times I tell her that her job is safe and that I appreciate her as a member of my team she is constantly worried that she is going to be fired over every little mistake. I truly feel the stress I get from her insecurities is what will end up terminating her position, not her work ethic.
work stressors include meetings, deadlines, dealing with difficult students; home having teenagers, sick kids, money difficulties.
I have little stress with my students who come to my class to learn the subject i am teaching. They follow my rules, don’t miss class, study and complete and turn in their lab assignments…on time
Stress is a physiological throw-back to 100,000 years ago. The use of stress and un-suppression of the Sympathetic Nervous System was designed to allow ourselves as organisms to continue to exist or survive life-threatening events. My classes and I routinely discuss stress as an underlying cause to most disorders. With constant activation of the SNS we become fatigued, but this activation occurs because of our Primary Stress Appraisal. A saber tooth tiger coming through the door and eating a fellow student is certainly need for activation of the SNS, as it would be life or death, but finding out that you scored an 85% on a midterm examination in which you thought you scored a perfect can still cause that SNS activation despite the fact no life-threatening factors exist. Upon discovery of why we have this system in our bodies it is easier to manage Threat-Assessment and reduce stressful appraisals to otherwise mundane events.
I personally find myself far more stressed by requirements outside teaching than I am by my courses. I would much rather increase my course load than spread myself thin across varying admin and governance duties, doing so is by far the greatest stressor that I have.
As discouraging as some students’ attitudes are, nothing should negate the fact that as educators, we have an opportunity to take a closed mind and replace it with an open one. In essence, that's our number one priority…to get students to think.
One of the organizational stressors I have is the constant change in technology used in the classroom. In the last year, we have changed the way we use a particular technology each term (that is every 5 weeks). The system is not stable. This increases the stress or grading, guiding students, responding to questions, etc. To manage this stressor, I think I need to write down the areas I know have been problematic and have caused the most stress. Then, I can create elements (like explanation e-mails to students) to address that problem. I think this will reduce my stress because I have no control over this piece of technology nor can I opt not to use it.
Erica
Mardi, Sometimes we are the biggest source of our own stress. It's interesting to hear that this might be the case for you. Of course, acknowledging where stress comes from is the first step toward doing something about it. So in short, you are on the right track!
Dr. Melissa Read
Courtney, That sounds tough. Sometimes our administrations create objectives that feel tangential at best to our goals. In these situations, it can help to ask for clarity and context about how these activities are relevant. This can facilitate your learning.
Dr. Melissa Read
I work as a full time nurse and a part time nursing instructor. The stress from both jobs are completely different. At the hospital the major source of stress is maintaining the patient under stable conditions. Also, the demands from each patient can become stressful. At the school, the major cause of stress is when the students are stressing about not passing.
My causes of stress are the stretch assignments that are not related to my direct job. For instance, we're required to watch webinars for finacial aid awareness and default rates, however it takes up lots of valuable time.
I believe one of the biggest stressor in my life is my disorganization. I feel that once I get a hold of organizing myself; much of my stress will be better handled. This module has me on the right path.
Steven, When people are stressed in general, they often find that it's hard to help others. Perhaps that is what you are experiencing here. This is why it's so important for instructors to manage stress well. When stress is managed well, we often do our best work.
Dr. Melissa Read
Primarily student needs. The school demographics are very diverse and I feel a constant obligation to bring a quality learning experience to each and every student. I'm never successful in making everyone happy.
Some areas of stress in my life are:
*Living far from family - I moved to Pennsylvania with just my husband and brother-in-law with no family around. Most of my family is in Michigan.
*Job - my job is not necessarily my ideal, but I keep plugging with it. Plus, with the school closing, I will have to find another job.
*Husband - unhappy with his current job, so stress finding him a new job.
*Money - like everyone.
What are the stressors based on? Well, some from personal choices, such as moving to a new state. I don't believe a lot have to do with organizational, because I am fairly organized in my work career. I have files for everything and can lay my hands on everything as I need to.
College requirements are not a stressor - I do feel that we do a lot of extra paperwork than needs to be done, but I don't feel additional stress from it.
Student needs can be a stressor, because I am responsible for getting them out on site. That can be stressful for those who don't get everything in. But then I tell them if they don't, then I won't look for a site and they will drop. They often work harder then.
The things that stress me out are based mostly on having to separate family from work. When I'm away from home I stress about not getting the house work done or not being able to help the kids with homework. I don't often stress about students or college requirements because I feel confident in those areas. My stresses stem from being away from home and family and all the things that are left un-done when I'm gone.
Tricia, That sounds like a tough stressor and one that we all face. Do you have an opportunity to delegate any of your tasks? Alternatively, have you ever tried pushing back on tasks that might be more appropriate for someone else?
Dr. Melissa Read
I think one of the main stressers in my work day is that I seriously do not always have the time to get everything completed that is required.
Melinda, That sounds stressful indeed! I think you proactive approach makes sense and probably puts you in a good position. Yes, I imagine the students who have the old copy of the book are quite frustrated when this happens.
Dr. Melissa Read