By ALENA HIGGINS
IN TODAY’S hectic world, many professionals are faced with longer working hours, greater workloads and growing stress.
But what if unruly and disrespectful kids are added to the mix?
This is the challenge confronted by many teachers on a daily basis.
Warwick’s Centre for Healthy Living psychologist Jan Gudkovs said she believes educators are probably one of the most highly stressed groups in the community.
“A lot of teacher stress is coming from the job in the sense of the changes and the expectations that the government has been putting on teachers and the way that has also been presented in the media,” she said.
“People say ‘Australia is slipping down in the rankings, we have got to bring that home to the teachers’ where I think there are many, many other reasons why that might be the case.”
The fact that many teachers are now on contract, are being forced to teach life-skills as well as the syllabus and have little or no authority to discipline students was compounding the issue, she said.
“Teachers, I think, are feeling very pressured… and these are teachers with 30 or more years of experience throwing up their hands and saying ‘I just can’t do this, this is not workable’.”
Ms Gudkovs and her long time psychologist colleagues Jan Dugan and Mark Cary have developed a program to teach educators approaches and techniques to help look after their health and prevent teacher burn-out.
The one-day intensive course will provide the tools needed to mentally switch-off at the end of the day as well as information on how to cope with criticism and what to do to harness self-esteem and positive thinking.
“A lot of the things currently available for stress, we think, are maybe a little bit superficial… and doesn’t ultimately cut the mustard,” Ms Dugan said.
Mr Cary said teachers often feel stressed and demoralised by challenging classroom situations and the training will help “keep a teacher afloat” and up to the challenge rather than feeling “overwhelmed or discouraged”.
The trio will present its healthy living for teachers intensive workshop at Warwick on Wednesday 30 July.
The cost is $270 or $220 if payment is made by close of business tomorrow, (Friday) with the seminar relating to Australian professional standards for teachers.
For more information and details regarding the Toowoomba, Brisbane and Goondiwindi sessions visit, www.warwickhealthyliving.org.au or phone 4661 3340.
