People just don't think we're stressed!

I recently took part in a business networking forum that involved entrepreneurs from various fields. I mentioned the work I do in teacher development around stress managment and wellness. The event coordinator gave me this look - which basically said - get serious. "In a group like this," she gestured to the business people and continued in a snooty tone, "you'd have a hard time selling that to anyone".

Luckily 10 years of teaching middle school have trained me well in quick, snappy responses to obnoxious comments. I took on my best don't-mess-with-the-teacher voice. "There is no one in the education industry who is unaware of the major problem of teacher stress". Then I rattled off statistics - 43% of teacher rehabiliation cases are psychological in nature mostly due to stress, one third of teachers quit the profession within 5 years in Canada, and just to throw higher education into my barrage of we-are-stressed defense, I sited OISE-UT's and the Ontario government's recent work in teacher induction, mentoring and renewal as a way to combat career burnout.

My selling style must be good, because in the ensuing discussion I won alot of support - including from the coordinator, who was looking sheepish - but it got me thinking: what are we not communicating as teachers?

The details of what we do for a living, the realities of what we face need to be known out there in the world beyond the school walls. Is it acceptable to you that your work is seen as inferior? Easy? Without substantial value?

Most teachers develop stress from being put in the unenviable position of having a personal commitment to providing top quality compassionate and educational service to a vulnerable popuation without quality funding to be able to implement it adequately. The result is taking it upon ourselves to make up for the inadequecies of the system.

Who is responsible for this communication? Teachers, administrators, parent advisory councils, unions, school districts? It should be all of us. We need to sell people who are not in education on the value of what we do and be clear on what it is exactly that we do! Only then will our needs be understood and met. It's time to get out there and get networking.