They are all good points but there are many more examples of stress related issues.

I share class room space with other instructors and space has become a problem. After reviewing this I plan to discuss this so we can each develop our own space.

I sometimes find myself in this situation. Good advice. I'll practice this.

When dealing with stress, it is good to pause decide whether to react to it or not. As human beings with emotions, we tend to react right away. If we can push our E(motions) to the end, and C (see) in the first place, then we don't REACT but CREATE something positive, instead. I know this sounds corny, but it's less stressful!

There is not a day that I don't hear whining and complaining from my students. I always remind them that there are things that we simply cannot change and that the stress we are faced with are part of the kind of life that we chose. The only thing that we can do is take control, instead of being controlled by stress.

Not all stressors are worth our time and energy. If a stressor has nothing to do with my personal well-being and job performance, I laugh them off. By the way, laughter may not always be the best medicine, but it's good. Things I consider unnecessary stressors are: 1. Gossips Let's be realistic, they do exist as stressors. We can't make them go away, but we can ignore them. 2. Administration Policies First of all, admin policies are meant to be followed, not stress us out. Let's be honest, they are only stressful because they are not according to our wishes. For as long as they are ethical, legal, and reasonable, we should not have a problem following rules and regulations. If we can't follow them, then we might be better off somewhere else. There are other unnecessary stressors that we should not even be paying attention to. That's why we have to learn to qualify them before we even break a sweat. Regardless, we can only choose to do one of the two: TAKE CONTROL OF STRESS, or LET STRESS CONTROL US.

One of the reasons why we procrastinate is disorganization. When we know where things are, have a plan, and are motivated, we do not want to procrastinate. There are a number of ways to make teaching life easy and simple if we can come up with SIMPLE strategies that will allow us to complete important routine tasks (grading papers, preparing grade rosters, creating tests, etc.) in no time to get them out of the way so we can work on other important things like continuing education, professional development--like MAX KNOWLEDGE--or just enjoy free time. By creating reusable templates for everything, we are taking out a big chunk of the same work for the next time we have to prepare same. Teaching students time-management and sticking to deadlines are very important, too. By allowing ourselves to wait for students after the deadline date, not only are we encouraging laziness, we are also giving ourselves an excuse to put things off, whether or not we want to. It is a very good feeling to realize the rewards of having time for ourselves; but when we procrastinate, we just punish ourselves unnecessarily.

How do you handle a student who is not interested in participating in a classroom activity? Do you give an alternate written activity?

New instructors always have anxiety.

Good way to handle angry students.

Now I know what to do with different behaviors.

I have learn how to keep students involved during class work.

When I became a new instructor, I had issues with wanting students to like me versus having them respect me. I realized soon that having that respect is much more important because they are able to see that no matter the relationship I had with them, I was fair with all the students and treated them the way they expected to be treated. I think that helped a lot with the students that weren't very open to me as a new instructor initially, but later warmed to me.

One of the first issues I ran into as a new instructor was how to deal with the many different and often-competing personalities of my students. I had to identify the ones that wanted/needed the most attention as well as the ones that weren't paying attention and were daydreaming. It helped to introduce different types of activities, especially ones that made students get out of their chairs and interact with me and with the other students.

I have a difficult time with this obstacle. I find myself wanting to do a little of everything! This course really explains the chaotic place I have found myself in on separate occaisions.

Instructor Mistakes The most important part about making a mistake is taking responsibility for it! And I guess, even more importantly, is admitting it to your students. The truth of the matter is everyone makes mistakes; they are a part of life. But what do we do? Learn from them! The first step to learning is admitting. If students see you take ownership of your mistakes and go through this process, not only are you correcting yourself, but you are teaching them how to handle mistakes in their lives.

Types of Students There are all types of students that make up a classroom. The important thing to remember is that they all deserve equal treatment. Just because someone is quiet in your classroom, doesn’t mean that you should ignore him or her. Along the same lines, just because one of your students is trying to be a “teacher’s pet” doesn’t mean that he or she should receive better treatment. Students will quickly notice if you are not being “fair.”

Rationale for Learning One of the biggest challenges for teaching math to students is getting them to see that it does have a purpose! Once you give them specific examples of where it can be seen/used in real life, they are more apt to actually want to learn it. I try to start lessons out by getting them engaged this way.

I find that if the rules are laid out in the beginning of the term, the majority of the students will adhere to theses rules. Although, there always seems to be one who tries to buck the "system". As the instuctor, how you deal with that student, sets the tone for the rest of the terms. I have handld this incorrectly and paid for it and I have handled it well and all went well after. The most amazing thing happens when you handle it well. The other students in the class, seeing how you react and care about teaching them, will tend to take on the role of disciplinarian. I have seen proactive students handle the "problem" before I even have a chance to say anything. It truly is amazing to see.

I agree that all assignments provided need to be tied in to job-related skills; students need to know they are getting the skills they need to jump right into the job market and have that competitive edge over the next applicant. By tying in the lesson and the job skills, a student will become more confident in not only the skill, but their own abilities.