My best example of how standards can be stressfull. Most recently my school decided to implement a new curriculum with materials that were developed by one individual. Unfortunately these materials were wholly insuficient to teach the classes properly. This meant being asked to re-develope the current materials and new ones to teach the classes in very short time.
That sounds very stressful Charles. One potential way to deal with continuous change is to speak to your administration about the impact of adding new tasks to your workload. Sometimes administrations simply don't think out these things. Communication can be a good first step.
the major source of stress in my life comes from a contiuous increase in work load and a continuous change in what management wants. My organization keeps adding new tasks to our workload and it seems to me that whoever is making those decisions is not calculating the time added to the work day. It can be very stressful to add more tasks to the daily workload.
In addition, curriculum keeps changing, book selections keep changing, and course objectives keep changing. As a teacher I am getting better because I have to keep rewriting syllabus, homework, and lectures. So on the one hand I appreciate the changes because I am more skilled because of it. On the other hand, its been a year and a half since I have felt I have a solid grasp on my classes.
This is true Paul. Often times, when the little things accumulate, it can end up feeling very stressful. Doing what you can do to make those things better - like bringing a decent meal from home - can help a little.
It is the simple things that we take for granted that cause stress. Not being able to find a parking place. Not having access to a clean restroom. Not having access to a decent meal.
Motorcycle riding is really a great way to get away from it all and forget about stress. Nice suggestions James.
Stressors are caused; by my job, everchanging schedule, inability to work around long scheduled plans, lack of modifying of out of date lesson plans. Caused by life trying to deal with a spouse who has been out of work for an extended period of time, and has now gone back to school and is stressing out herself. Dealing with the rest of life and trying to maintain a level and clear head. At some point you have to take the list of must dos and tear it in half, you have to budget some of your time for lifes little pleasures and not allow the @#$%^s to win. I do find that riding my motorcycle allows(forces) me to root out the dusty corners and sort through the debris and prioritize again.
Wow, it sounds like you are in a very stressful situation Jacqueline. Yes, sometimes it's good to just take things one day at a time. Makes big stressors a little easier to deal with overall.
As with many Americans, finances is always a stressor. Managing money, trying to save, not being allowed to work 40 hours at my current job.. And on top of everything, my husband may be ill. As soon as we hear from the Doctors and the numerous medical tests, we may have some serious decisions to make. Let's talk about stress! However, one step at a time.
All three of these stressors are common for college instructors Anthony. You are not alone in dealing things like this.
Mane causes of strss are:
1. Outside conflict caused by family and friends.
(I shut out while at school)
2. College countiuously changing course content.
(once I get on tract with a course they change it)
3. some time class size is a stree factor.
Wow Ben, It sounds like you deal with many sources of stress. Worrying about school property loss as well as the dangers of an overcrowded classroom sounds tough. In these situations, its important to focus on the things we can control and let go of the things we can't. I know first hand how hard that can be.
Changing curriculum and textbooks can be stressful for me as well as havig to redesign a class from scratch. As a culinary school instructor its difficult to get the things that I want sometimes because of cost control issues. Instructors seem to be at odds with the administration and purchasing department when it comes to providing enough product to work with. Our parent corporation has very specific goals for food cost control and this limits the amount of product we have to teach with. Keeping tabs on the product and making sure students don't take more than their share is a frustrating part of the job because in many cases we are only talking about fractions of an ounce and classes can be 25-30 students or more. Recently we have gone to 40 person class sizes. The kitchens are designed for 18-22 students. Managing that many students in an undersized room will be dangerous and stressful.
My biggest stressor in both career and personal life seems to be time management, or my perceived lack of time. I currently don't feel I have enough time in my day to adequately perform my job duties, but I'm actively working towards changing that.
Often times, instructors experience role or task ambiguity and this can be stressful. Gaining clarity on co-worker expectations is key in minimizing stress. Just taking 15 minutes to get on the same page can be a great investment.
Some major stressors in my life are connected to my pets. I have a dog with a chronic disease. It has helped relieve stress to bring her to work with me.
Stresses in my career are deffinatly not feeling confident as an instructor. I know it comes with time so I am trying to hang in there but being able to do vs being able to teach are two different ball games.
The greatest source of my stress comes from inexact expectations or inexact explaination of criterion to be observed. I have a great problem with people not wanting to answer questions, answering questions with a question, or telling me to do what I see fit with expectations of what that may be.
I really do appreciate co-workers who are prepared and able to explain themselves.
I like the way you break down your stressors Marshall. That's a great approach and one that probably serves you well.
When you break down the areas of major stress, it makes it easier to cope or attack and reduce or eliminate the problems. By identifying the areas one can also establish time limits as to putting items in order.
For personal, you can identify (especially this time of year) filing Federal, State and local income tax returns; auto inspections, insurance payments and other items that can lead to stress.
With work or teaching requirements we are now at the end of our module so final grades must be completed and submitted in a timely manner. Also, getting prepared for the upcomming classes.
All contribute to stress, the easier we can complete these tasks, the easier life can be.
By listing and organizing, tasks become easier and less stressful.
You bring up an important point James. As instructors, we have so many different people to please. This can be stressful as we feel we are being pulled in many different directions.
