Technology can be a major challenge for instructors Franz. While it's supposed to make our lives easier, it's constantly evolving and it's sometimes hard to keep up.
The biggest stresses in my life is meeting the expectations of the administration (grades, forms, meetings, education)and requirenemnts of students. We only have ten minutes in between lab classes that means i have ten minutes to use the restroom, eat, meet with students, and set up my lecture/demo for my nest class. Generally, i am running late for my second class and those students have to wait for me to get ready. Why? This is what corporate thinks is best? The all mighty dollar rules again.
My stress is mostly based on student needs. It is sometimes difficult to get everything done in time for class as well as dealing with student issues.
One of the most consistent stressors comes from students' indolence. There are those students who are unable to complete one or more assignments because they work a full-time job and take care of their family; there are also those students who neglect to complete assignments because they would rather spend valuable time communicating on Facebook instead of learning something that will make them more marketable.
I find that shift changes affect my stress levels the most. and double phasing ( teaching 2 6hour classes a day wears me out.
Social networking tools are quite the distraction for students these days. Some instructors have found ways of incorporating networks and online communities into the curriculum to keep students focused on course material.
My stress comes from those adminestrators that put short deadlines on work they should have done earlyer to give me more time. I already hold myself to a higher standard which is stressful.
The standards to which we hold ourselves can be ultra stressful. Trying to create reasonable expectations for oneself is the key.
The origin of stress can diverse. For exampe, in terms of organization, if we work in a structure where we are lacking resources, such as teacher, some instructors might have to work additional shift. The lack of material or support can also provide stress. If we have to teach classes that are disproportionate in size can also be an additional factor of stress.
Often, the lack of balance between personal and work life can be a source of stress. As individual you will need to juggle with responsibilities on both sides where you are expected to perform at 100%. Defining priorities in this example can be quite stressful: what is more important? Family or work?
Sometimes just having to much on your plate at one time is a major stress causing element. Time to clean the plate.
1. The need to enroll in a bachelors program by years end.
2. The need to take my truck in for maintenance.
3. The current condition of sharing a classroom with other instructors and another class.
4. The number of scheduled students per class.
5. The food ordering process and the people in which we have to deal with daily.
6. The big brother atmosphere that seems to be the status quo.
7. The total lack of professional consideration for career educated professionals.
8. The poor management practices of administrators with little or no experience.
9. The attitude of said administrators i.e. don't do as I do; do as I say.
10. The complete lack of accoutability by supposed administrative leaders.
This is a nice list Philipp. Sometimes just getting your thoughts on paper and out of your head can be a big help.
I am the registrar at my school and oftentimes, I am "needed" by many people at once. Student needs would be a big stressor. Many times the students cannot find a teacher, or their program director so they will come to me with their issues. If I can help them, I am happy to. But more often than not, I end up listening to their issue and then directing them to the correct person. It is stressful to have many students come to me for many issues.
Another stressor would be organizational factors. As the registrar, I am in charge of all the student files. It can be stressful to keep everything in order.
Your job sounds very stressful Sarah. I wonder if their is a way to automate directing students to the right place (with for example a good sign).
From my personal experience I find that even though I have been in my trade over 35 years I am new to teaching.What i find challenging and stressful is ensuring that my students can follow me and fully comprehend what I am demonstrating.What is different between working in the trade and teaching,when you are teaching the pace has to be slower and more precise and scientific and you are just producing a small amount of product.Where as when you working in the trade everything you are producing is high volume and many differents products all in same time.So the concept is different.
There are many major stressors in my life and career. The one that I find the most challenging is angry, aggressive students. Feeling at risk physically stays with me for days and makes it extremely difficult to focus on teaching and learning.
This sounds stressful indeed Ricardo. Working in a field is much different then explaining how to work in a field. Explanations require you to really think about your process and every step.
Quite an eye opener the discussion of stress as scientifically the"conflict of obtaining self-perceived goals".
I swear, as I live this life, I have reached levels of self-actualization dictating me to step back, examine my position literally where I am in a situation, be aware of contributing factors, be accepting, then move on..
Factors are a collage of inputs from our existence, externally as well as internally, for myself....
Yes, taking a step back and reexamining things is a great approach Donna.
