6 Strategies to Cope with All the Demands and Stress as a First Year Teacher

Every new teacher knows that the first day of the job is a roller coaster of emotions. It is normal to be overwhelmed by all the new demands and stressors of a new job. You oversee the classroom and, ultimately, in charge of your student's future success. That is a lot of pressure, but you can learn to manage it.

As a new teacher, you are faced with many challenges in a short amount of time. You have to learn a brand-new profession, meet a lot of new people, adjust to different teaching styles and school systems, and deal with the pressures of getting a new job in an already stressful environment. It's possible to survive your first year without getting overwhelmed, though, if you know how to deal with your new job's demands and stress.

Our 6 Coping Strategies for First Year Teachers

1. Find you're the source of your stress.

When you are stressed, it can be difficult to single out exactly what is causing you stress. It's a big challenge. When you start your teaching career, you must cope with all the demands and stress that come with it. The first thing you need to do is identify where all the stress is coming from. Is it the school, the parents, the students, or other teachers? Once you find the source of the stress, you can start thinking of ways to deal with it.

2. Educate yourself on the problems.

When you first start teaching, you find many problems you will have to deal with. These can come in the form of all the different personalities, children with disabilities, and attitude problems, which is just the start. Teaching is a tough job. But the first step to coping with all these problems is to educate yourself on them. Before you can do anything, you need to know what the problem is.

The next step is to create routines to overcome these problems. For example, if you have a child with a disability, how will you deal with them as a teacher? Do you know how to teach them, how to communicate with their parents, and how to help them learn? If not, you need to educate yourself on these problems. You can't ignore the problem and hope it goes away. Create a routine to help you overcome the problem.

For example, to help you eliminate the stress of tight deadlines every day, you can create a routine that allows you to complete all your work on time. A routine can also help you get to know your students better and understand their needs.

3. Make your lifestyle healthier.

When you get home from a long day at work, you may find that there is still plenty of work to do, especially if you are a first year teacher. But don't forget about yourself either, because all that stress can really take a toll on your body. Make sure you eat healthily and exercise regularly so that you can stay healthy.

If you don't have time to hit the gym in the evenings, try working out in the morning or taking a walk during your lunch break. It's important to stay healthy, do your job well, and stay happy. A healthy body and mind will help you to cope with all the demands and stress of your new job as a first-year teacher.

4. Take all the support you need from different people around you.

You're in a new environment, trying to get to know your colleagues and deal with a million other things. You may find yourself feeling overwhelmed. But there are many resources available to you. You could even ask your colleagues if you can attend their teacher meetings and visit the staff room.

Remember that you are not alone; you have the full support of the teaching staff and school leaders behind you. You can even talk to the teaching staff about any concerns you have, and they will be able to help you. There are many people, including your friends and family around you, who can support you through stressful times.

5. Be mentally prepared for challenging times.

You might think that you're prepared for whatever, but you might be surprised at how challenging it is to be a teacher. Your first year as a teacher is going to be one of the most mentally challenging times of your life. It's going to test your patience and endurance. You will be juggling so many responsibilities – teaching, lesson planning, grading, and being a mentor to your students – that it might seem like you're not getting enough time to do everything. If you're not prepared, you might snap at someone or start doubting yourself.

Even during the most stressful times, you must understand that this is part of your job. You need to accept it and face it. The best strategy here may be to both physically and mentally prepare yourself so that you’ll not be as stressed.

6. Indulge yourself in destressing activities

One of the most important things you will do right away is finding ways to destress yourself. This can include everything from exercise to reading to fun things you love to do. Teachers have a lot of demands on their time and usually very little appreciation for their work.

Conclusion

It can be easy to feel stress and frustration. However, one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to find ways to destress yourself. It's completely normal to feel stressed when you start as a new teacher, but it's important also to find ways to relax. You will be a much better teacher and person if you learn to destress yourself.