Teaching in pre-K-12 classrooms is not a 9-5 job. The preparation and actual work is almost impossible to separate from one’s personal life. Many teachers’ experience frustration and exhaustion due to workload, accountability through standardized testing, and helping students manage non-academic issues that impact classroom learning. When working in low income areas, the stress that students experience outside of school demands a much more intense and systemic intervention. This can take its toll on teachers. Currently, our teacher preparation and education programs do little (if anything) to prepare professionals for the school environment, and especially the emotions they will experience. This may lead to teacher burnout or teachers leaving a profession they love.
Research shows that teachers who are taught to manage their own emotional competencies experience more satisfaction with their work and are more effective in working with difficult students. They create a classroom culture that is both safe and inviting and are able to effectively manage their classrooms. As a result they foster a deep sense of stability which promotes greater student learning.
What emotional competencies do teachers need? In younger grades or with more challenging students, identifying, understanding and managing emotion is certainly required. At all levels, our teachers need confidence in their teaching abilities and boundaries when questioned by parents or challenged by students. When angered…by a student, colleague, policy or parent, effective teachers need to manage their reaction and respond in a professional manner.
How can we better prepare our student teachers’ in effective emotional competencies? In our teacher education programs, as well as professional development programs, classroom teachers should first have a safe environment in which to develop a strong self-awareness of their own emotional triggers. From there, they need classroom curriculums, continuous professional development and support in filling their emotional toolbox with strategies to use when they are overwhelmed and exhausted so they can continue to educate their students.
The mastery of emotional competencies is a lifelong process. Since many teachers enter the profession right out of college it should be of no surprise that they are still learning. Therefore, it is critical for teaching education programs to prepare them with knowledge and skills to help them both personally and professionally.