I have a few teachers in my family and they have been online with their students for months now. My niece is young and has embraced this new world a lot better than my aunt who is close to retirement. But both experience screen fatigue and the stress of teaching in a way that feels unnatural. My cousin decided to take a break from teaching entirely - her love of it was not enough to deal with the new normal of education. Reading this article made me think of these folks and other teachers I know.
In truth, many teachers were experiencing threats to their mental health even before the pandemic. A recent survey by the American Federation of Teachers found that 58 percent said their mental health was “not good” for at least 7 days in the past month. Even when mental illness isn’t present, we all know many factors — like unrealistic job expectations, negative portrayal of teachers in the media, overwork, and worry about students facing trauma — lead to teachers feeling highly stressed much of the time (In the AFT survey, 61 percent of teachers said work was always or often stressful).
Every time I complain about the long workday and how tired I am by Friday, I think of some teachers I have known over the years. They work a lot harder than I ever did, don't make nearly enough to make up for the hours and they don't get the appreciation they deserve - from students or their parents. There used to be a Ms. S that taught J English in high school. The kids complained about her bitterly because she will unreasonable, temperamental and generally difficult to work with.
I met her only once and was floored by how perceptive she was, her ability to pin-point the exact areas of improvement for J. And she was able to do that for every kid in the class despite how they felt about her. Now in college, J sometimes tells me she owes Ms. S her ability to understand and appreciate poetry, Thanks to hear she remembers many by-heart and that gives her an odd sense of satisfaction. I am sure there are other kids she has taught who have had similar epiphany, But that does not mitigate the stress she must endure years on end dealing with kids who are resistant to her efforts to improve their lives.
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