Back to it (Fighting Anxiety)

That catch up post felt good. But there was a reason I wanted to post, and it has to do with another change in myself in the past seven years.

Anxiety.

To be honest, I've always been somewhat anxious as a teacher. I was never good at being open to judgement, especially when all I try to do is what I think is right. However, in the past couple of years, I've been feeling my anxiety rise.

Whether it be that one kid a few years ago that I had to remove from my class because he was just a straight-dick, or letting my eyes "linger" (read: making eye contact) with a student bullying them with making my expectations clear, or possibly being on the hook for thousands of dollars because the club you advise used four pictures from the internet without permission, my anxiety has grown.

I could go on more. But as I was implying in my last post, I am using these first post to vomit out all my thoughts until I can focus on one topic.

Anyway, as I was writing this, I decided to do some research on anxiety in teachers, and realized that I'm not unique in my experience. In doing so, I've calmed down a bit (for now).

If you have anxiety, maybe try reading this, by Douglas A. Berstein, professor of psychology, author, and member of the North America Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA). Obviously he makes mention of teaching agriculture students, but I still felt it applicable to my teaching. The part that especially made me understand my feelings were valid, but illogical were the myths of teaching on page three (five if you use the numbers on the document).