Stress - Students', Teachers', Parents'

This past week has been crazy with so many art projects and essays due. Now that I look back, I wonder how teachers, who have their own teaching and family worries, deal and work with students who have stress on their academics and at home, too. There's also the parents, who may stress over their income, putting food on the table, buying necessities, etc. So then, how do you relieve some of these stresses?

One of the many things that I learned from this course was to be more open-minded. I don't recall ever seeing my teachers so stressed that they couldn't teach a lesson properly. Everyone always seemed calm and was ready to teach everyday, which was helpful to us students because we were already stressed about learning new content and taking tests. Study is students' main priority. However, when it comes to teacher, when he/she is in the classroom, the students are his/her priority. And, at home, personal situations are a priority.

So, as a future teacher, I need to be prepared and to understand that while I may be stressed with many other unrelated-to-school problems, I need to put my students first whenever I'm in the classroom. Students need to feel that their teacher and school cares about them so that they will be comfortable in the school setting and work on improving their studies.

As for talking with parents, teachers need to be aware of family situations and understand why students behave the way they do, what teachers can help with, what they should not interfere with, and always try to keep the parents updated even if it is just an email.