Countdown

Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT, RScP

Career Transition & Job Search Coach

Here is something you may not know if you aren't a teacher. Teachers aren't a lot different from students when it comes to anticipating summer vacation. As I write this message, I have just flipped the calendar to the month of April. It is going to start feeling like spring sometime this month (I am sure of it in spite of this last bit of winter we have been experiencing well into March).

Daylight already lasts longer with the change in time that took place last month. As Spring Break and Easter come and go, the countdown to summer vacation will begin in earnest.

For my area, I counted it down for this year. There are just under 10 weeks or 73 calendar days or 52 school days left in my district's school year.

Another thing you may or may not know if you aren't a teacher is that this time of year can be particularly challenging for teachers. Kids aren't the only ones who get spring fever. As far as the kids go, however, classroom management can sometimes become more challenging because they are more "antsy" than usual. I used to refer to it as spring fever, only not the kind that involves allergies.

Testing season is in full swing by now which means drilling students on the standards that will be on the end-of-year tests. After-school tutoring will be part of some schools' regimen to get the kids up to speed in time.

The stress that teachers feel is palpable. I have written before about how in my last school, the cloud of tension created by testing season settled upon us as early as February. By this time of year, some were experiencing anxiety attacks.

One coping mechanism teachers employ is to look forward to summer vacation...a time when they can relax, recoup, and get themselves rejuvenated.

And let's face it. That's one approach. But what if you could learn a different approach? One that might help you cope more effectively than simply wishing your life away between now and the middle of June?

If you are interested in learning some new coping mechanisms, I am offering a new webinar Thursday night, April 6th at 7 pm Eastern on just that topic. The title of the webinar presentation is "Stress Management Tools for Teachers:  How to Survive The Final Months and Weeks of the School Year."

To sign up, register here: https://app.webinarjam.net/register/11680/c1ad56ac6f.

In this hour-long presentation, I will be using resources from my book on stress management along with the resources of other teacher leaders who have offered strategies, tactics, and techniques for managing your teacher workload and creating a greater sense of work-life balance for teachers.

The trouble with the teaching profession right now is that everyone expects you to give 110% of yourself to your job all the time. After all, you are dedicated to your kids. You would do anything for them...right?

When I think of movies that have portrayed the "ideal" teacher, I think of Freedom Writers starring Hilary Swank.

Honestly, I do not like that movie. It puts too much pressure on teachers to be like the character in the movie. It's unfair.

To expect teachers to put their lives second to meet the needs of their students with little or no help and support from parents and administrators is also unrealistic.

Teachers are human just like everyone else. They need to meet their own needs as well as the needs of their families and their students.

This time of year creates an almost unbearable burden and pressure on teachers.

That's why I have created this program. I want to help those who tune in figure out how to manage their workload more effectively and with less stress than they might otherwise.

So, if you are interested (or intrigued) sign up now: https://app.webinarjam.net/register/11680/c1ad56ac6f. And tell your friends and colleagues about it. Maybe it will help them too.

Until next time.

Do you have a copy of my eBook on stress management? If not, check it out. You can download it free at http://kittyboitnott.leadpages.co/ebook/. It may help you develop some coping strategies. Get it now and share with a friend.