When you first start teaching, you imagine that the hardest part of the role would be the planning and delivery of lessons. However, you probably quickly realise that teaching is so much more than that. It’s about balancing responsibilities, managing unexpected challenges and often putting others’ needs before your own. You take on the role of motivator, mentor and advisor, among many other things, all while keeping up with lesson planning, teaching and marking. While teaching is incredibly rewarding, it’s also a job that demands a lot of emotional and physical energy. That’s why stress management and prioritising teacher wellbeing is crucial.
Challenges to teacher wellbeing
There are many different things that may cause stress or overwhelm a teacher. Some common challenges are:
Expecting to have all the answers
As teachers, we often feel pressured to know everything and solve every problem. This unrealistic expectation can lead to burnout when things don’t go as planned.
Overpreparing
Spending hours creating the ‘perfect’ lesson plan or trying to anticipate every possible outcome can quickly lead to exhaustion. As mentioned, it’s not possible to have the answer to, or prepare for everything. In fact, a lot of the best and most natural language our students produce come from unplanned parts of a lesson!
Focusing on errors
It’s easy to focus on the parts of your lesson that didn’t go well. But think of it this way – we encourage our students to make mistakes in their language learning so they can learn from them, so surely we should be doing the same! We should be learning from past experiences in order to make our teaching lives easier going forward.
Competing with others
Every teacher is different, as is every one of our students. We all teach in different ways and take different approaches to things, so we should avoid comparing ourselves to others.
Handling feedback
It can be difficult in any role to hear feedback from peers or leadership. However, these are the best ways to learn and grow as an educator.
How to prioritise your wellbeing
To avoid burnout, it’s important to have stress management skills and techniques.
1. Identify what causes you stress.
Understanding your stress triggers is the first step to managing them. Reflect on what causes you stress and how it affects your teaching.
2. Set boundaries.
Learn to say no when your workload becomes overwhelming. Protect your personal time and avoid taking on unnecessary responsibilities, where possible. For example, have students check each other’s work and then make corrections before handing it in for marking, or have them mark each other’s work according to a set of criteria to save you time outside of the classroom.
3. Find a supportive network.
Share your experiences and how you’re feeling with colleagues, friends or someone else who understands your position. A supportive network can provide perspective, advice and solutions.
4. Vent!
Sometimes, simply talking about your frustrations can be super helpful. Find someone who understands the unique pressures of teaching. LinkedIn or other social media groups can be a great way to find like-minded teachers facing similar challenges.
5. Take breaks and plan breaks.
Step away from your work regularly to recharge, when possible. These could be small breaks like a quick walk, a coffee break or even a moment of deep breathing. Aside from this, plan longer breaks where you get to go away and switch off for an extended period of time. Breaks can make a big difference in prioritising your wellbeing.
6. Show self-gratitude.
Celebrate small wins and recognise your efforts. Think about what you’ve achieved, and what’s going well and understand that you’re doing an amazing job!
7. Take up a non-teaching-related hobby.
Activities like hiking, painting or gardening can help clear your mind and provide a creative outlet outside of teaching.
Stress is an inevitable part of any job, especially teaching; teachers give so much to others. But when you take care of your own needs, you’ll be better equipped to inspire and support those around you.
To read more about stress management, read here.
What are some of your stress management skills and techniques?
Share in the comments below!
Billie Jago is an ELT writer and teacher trainer specialising in digital learning materials and assessment resources. She has written for various well-known coursebooks, and writes items for high stakes exams such as the PTE, OTE, IELTS and Cambridge. Alongside materials writing, she delivers international teacher training sessions and is the founder of the ELTcpd professional development platform and YouTube channel. She is also the co-founder of the educational consultancy, OtterEducation.
This is such a thoughtful and relatable piece—so many important reminders for teachers to protect their energy and wellbeing. Prioritizing ourselves isn’t selfish; it’s what allows us to keep showing up for our students with heart and purpose.