Dealing with the Stress of Teachers

Abstract

Introduction Stress is an adaptive response in which a person's body prepares, or adjusts, to a threatening situation (Skillern, Richardson, Wallman, Prickett, & Marion, 1990). Stress is the cause of deteriorating health, lack of productivity, and depression. Furthermore, stress seems to strike those in the helping professions, such as teaching, disproportionately to other workers. Today, more than ever before, students and teachers experience a great deal of stress (Amen & Reglin, 1994; Amen & Reglin, 1992). For teachers who are vulnerable, because of bad habits, their stress gets worse and usually leads to burnout. This study investigated the vulnerability of teachers to stress by exploring the question: Do teachers have habits which make their stress worse? Major sources of stress are: public school violence, dealing with youth and gangs, and teacher overload (Byrne, 1992). Rob Jones, president of the Virginia Educational Association, contends that violence is a societal problem which comes to schools, and our increasingly violent schools are reflective of an increasingly violent society (New York Times, 1993). Recently, in Rochester, New York, teachers placed a higher priority on security than on salary in their contract negotiations (Haberman, 1994). According to the National Education Association, in 1992, there were approximately 70,000 assaults on teachers, a low estimate given that many incidents go unreported (Haberman, 1994). The National Association of School Psychologists cited 1991 statistics which indicate that 900 teachers were threatened each hour during the school day and that 40 were assaulted each hour on school property (New York Times, 1993). Teachers are terrified of gangs. Gang members carry guns and knives and deal in drugs. Goldstein and Huff (1993) define a gang as a closely or loosely organized association of individuals who express their identification through private language, symbolic behavior, and the wearing of colors and who commonly claim territory in a neighborhood. School incidents are considered to be gang related when they are directed by gang leadership or consensus by the members; the behavior benefits the gang, gang motivation is present (displaying of colors, shouting gang phrases, displaying gang's symbols during the act); or the incident is in response to another gang's activity or threat (Goldstein & Huff, 1993). Why do students join gangs? The most commonly cited reasons by gang members for joining a gang include protection, status, identity, access to friends, a feeling of family, protection of the neighborhood, and access to girls (Goldstein & Huff, 1993). Hopelessness, negative role models, and poor self-esteem are contributing factors for gang involvement. Teacher overload is a teacher accepting too many tasks for the time allowed to accomplish the tasks. If left unchecked, overload leads to stress. According to the current literature, when teachers have established their priorities and organized their professional lives, they function more effectively - even under strenuous circumstances (Seldman & Zager, 1988). Questions such as the following can help teachers reduce the stress caused by overload: * Have you identified and prioritized the important tasks that you want to accomplish? * Have you organized a time schedule for accomplishing your objectives? If so, is the schedule a reasonable one for doing a good job? * Have you established adequate resources to assist you in achieving your objectives? * How will you evaluate your effectiveness in accomplishing your objectives? Theoretical Perspective The research and theories related to coping processes form the theoretical perspective for this study. The concept of coping processes is a central aspect of contemporary theories of stress (Gaziel, 1993). Coping is a stabilizing factor that may help these teachers maintain psycho-social adaptation during stressful periods. …