Transcript OTF Survive and Thrive 2003/2004

Stress Management for
New Teachers
OTF Survive and Thrive
2003/2004
Stress Management and New
Teachers - An Oxymoron?
 Stress is an unavoidable consequence of
life. It can be positive and negative.
It provides us with the energy and the
motivation to meet our daily challenges at
home and in the workplace.
“The bow always strung… will not do”
– George Eliot, Middlemarch (1871)
Optimum Stress
Personal level - different for
everyone
Michael Fullen - High
support/high pressure
Consider areas in your life/work
where there is too much/not
enough pressure.
Stress Triggers
Body cues
Stressful times/positive uplifting times
Physical, social, intellectual, emotional,
spiritual, environmental
N.B. - Recognition and reflection
Teaching
A teacher’s day is half bureaucracy, half
crisis, half monotony, and one-eightieth
epiphany. Never mind the arithmetic.
– Susan Ohanian, Ask Ms. Class (1996)
Not just part of us becomes a teacher. It
engages the whole self - the woman or man,
wife or husband, mother or father, the lover,
scholar, or artist in you as well as the
teacher earning money.
– Sylvia Ashton-Warner, Myself (1967)
Coping Methods - Maladaptive
Compensation
Rationalization
Projection
Repression
Withdrawal
Fantasy
Denial
Coping Methods - Adaptive
Physical 
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Healthy foods
Physical activity
Enough rest and sleep
Relaxation
Coping Methods - Adaptive
Mental/Emotional 
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Positive thoughts
Personal recognition
Acknowledge the learning process
Organize and prioritize - time
management
Plan ahead for stressful moments; practice
Express your feelings.
Tears
Rich tears! What power lies in
those falling drops.
– Mary Delariviere Manley, The Royal
Mischief (1696)
Coping Methods - Adaptive
Social 
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Communicate with others
Listen to others
Seek out social opportunities
Tips to Manage Stress
Choose a place to start:
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Lifestyle habits?
Specific stressful situation?
Overall thinking?
25 Tips to Manage Stress
1.Take a deep breath when you hear bad news.
2. Count to ten before responding if something angers you.
3. Identify your own symptoms of stress and stressful situations.
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Write down your thoughts.
4. Talk to someone about how you are feeling.
5. Laugh. Share a joke, make a joke, find the humour in the
situation.
6. Wait a day before sending an e-mail response to something
that upset you. Give yourself time to react.
7. Get enough rest and sleep.
8. Move your body. Walk around the block, dance in your living
room, go to the gym.
25 Tips to Manage Stress (cont’d)
9. Cut yourself some slack. Allow yourself not to be perfect.
10. Help others. Find a volunteer commitment that fits in your
schedule.
11. Choose healthy snacks.
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12. Use relaxation techniques – yoga, massage,
meditation,
deep breathing..
13. Start with time management – identify essential tasks and
address them. Use a checklist and check off things as they
get done.
14. Limit the amount of alcohol and caffeine you consume.
15. Get away – read a book, watch a movie, play a game, listen
to music. Change the pace.
16. Make an effort to be early. Allow more time than you think
you’ll need.
25 Tips to Manage Stress (cont’d)
17. Roll your shoulders. Turn your neck. Shake out your hands.
18. Look for things to praise in yourself and others.
19. Progressively squeeze and relax different muscles in your
body.
. reminders or
20. Pick routine things that you do everyday as
“cues” to practice relaxation.
21. At every stoplight on your drive home, take a few deep
breaths.
22. Scan your body for areas of tension.
23. Take a break during the day. Don’t wait for the end of day to
deal with your stress.
24. Close your eyes for a few seconds. Breathe deeply.
25. Treat yourself for a job well done.
Activity Breaks
Support Daily Vigorous Physical Activity
Provide a break, build fitness and
commitment to active healthy living
Relieve stress
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I Don’t Know But I’ve Been Told
Desk Exercises
ACTION Spelling
Stress in the Curriculum
Grade 11 and 12 Healthy Active Living
Education - Mental Health and Stress
Management
Characteristics of emotionally healthy
person
Positive and negative effects of stress
Coping with stress and anxiety
Resources
•The Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum Support:
Grade 11 Additional Supports – Healthy Active Living Education,
Healthy Living, Module #3. Download this free resource from
www.ophea.net. Look under Teacher Resources, Health and Physical Education
Curriculum Implementation Support, Resources and Materials.
•The Canadian Mental Health Association www.cmha.ca
•Canadian Centre
www.ccohs.ca
for
Occupational
Health
and
Safety
•The American Institute of Stress www.stress.org
•For more ideas to support Daily Vigorous Physical Activity in the
classroom, see Appendix B of the Ontario Health Physical Education
Curriculum Support: Kindergarten to Grade 10 document series available in your
school. See www.ophea.net for more information.