We’re talking about how stressed teachers are at this point in the term. Many of us are surviving on caffeine, working on less than 9 hours sleep and pushing ourselves when our gas tanks are already on ‘E’.
It’s easy to say that that comes with the territory but have you ever realized just how many things ‘comes with the territory’ of being a teacher? At the end of term, it’s more obvious than ever: we’re expected to teach classes that haven’t gone into exams yet, while also supervising classes that have; we need to grade end of term papers that are coming in or outstanding coursework, while also liaising with parents to plan end of term class parties. Multitasking is an understatement. And have the powers that be stopped to consider the toll multitasking takes on our brains?
“What our brains are doing when we multitask is rapidly switching between tasks. This constant switching taxes our brain. It essentially tires it out and makes it less efficient. This particularly affects our ability to focus our attention in general, even when we are not multitasking.
Multitasking makes us more distractible and prone to errors.”
Multitasking and How It Affects Your Brain Health | Lifespan
As I mentioned before, I have an anxiety disorder and last night I had two disturbing episodes. I choose to share this with you because I am an advocate for mental health and I’m never silent about mental illness.
- I went to bed early (like 6pm) and I set my phone alarm for 5 a.m. the next morning. I don’t know what happened but it went off at 8 pm. I didn’t register that it was 8 pm, nor did my mind process the date under the time on my phone screen. I was ready to jump off the bed and start getting ready for work, resenting how fast the night had passed. Point is, the night hadn’t passed and the relief I felt, at realizing I still had so much time to rest, felt positively blissful.
2. Normally, I wake up semi-conscious around 3 a.m. That happened as usual. But you see, I’m normally aware of what day it is. This time, my mind drew a blank. I was displaced COMPLETELY. I couldn’t figure out what day it was, if it was during the week or it was the weekend.
Processing it today, I realize now that I had completely disassociated from both time and space. My brain didn’t know where it was in relation to either. It was a scary feeling. During the course of today, my mind has blanked out as to what I have to review with the classes I’m still teaching. I went from period to period on autopilot.
The sad thing is, I know why. I’m simply…doing too much. Just like all teachers at this time of year. The pressure is on for us to provide information about our students’ performance. They want marks…results…and they want it within the same week we’re expected to supervise, plan parties and keep students occupied with fun after-test activities.
My question is: do they just want marks? Or do they want VALID and RELIABLE marks? Do they just want numerical data and generic comments? Or do they want ACCURATE stats and INSIGHTFUL qualitative information about students?
If it’s the latter in both cases, then something needs to change. If teachers are to deliver scores that are valid, reliable and fair, they must be given sufficient time and space to mark their students’ work.
They tell us about all the times we CAN’T mark: during supervision, during school services…etc. Does anyone tell us when we CAN mark? Or are we just expected to scrounge free moments during our lunch breaks, stay back after school and take papers home? In any other job, that would be considered overtime and compensated accordingly. For us…it just comes with the territory.
We’re not robots, we make mistakes and the likelihood of us making them is increased tenfold when we’re keeping an anxious eye on the clock and the calendar. If data is inaccurate, then we can’t make the right decisions moving forward. We consider the right conditions that need to be in place for the students to sit an exam, but do we consider the conditions that need to be in place for a teacher to mark well?
- A quiet space
- No interruptions from students
- No endless stream of email as to all the little things that need to be done before the term wraps up:
‘Don’t forget to email parents about the concert/ donations/ hampers etc. Can you complete a short survey about..? We need you to complete these forms for the social worker as soon as possible, regarding student A. Can you administer this make-up exam because student B was sick? We want to have a meeting to discuss…)
Enough already! As one of my colleagues says, “Can I get a WHOLE ease-up please?” Just ONE…WHOLE…EASE UP. For those who don’t understand the lingo, it basically means…
LEAVE ME ALONE.
- Yes, leave me alone to:
- mark my work in peace.
- provide valid and reliable scores.
- mark fairly without getting into an enraged fit after the tenth student spells a word wrong, which triggers my ‘beast mode’ [i.e. I mark with no compassion].
- standardize grading with my colleagues.
It’s been a long term. We're burnt-out, surviving on Airborne, Zinc, Vitamin C, Emergenczzzzz, echinacea and rhodiola. Some of us are on antibiotics to fight respiratory tract infections that just won’t quit. We’re tired. Can you kindly consider taking the pressure off...just a bit…so what we do, can actually make sense to us and you? We need to process the data as much as you do. WE, the ones in the ACTUAL classroom, also need to make informed decisions going forward, for each and every one of our very unique students.
I don’t hold out much hope for them listening to our plight, but let it not be said that I didn’t put it in writing. If you’re struggling like me, hold on and know you’re not alone. We’ll make it…together.