About stress- I forgot to mention, I've been in the classroom for 18 years,
15 teaching art in elementary schools. All of those years have been at
schools that have the most violent students in the county. Don't ask me why
I never tried to go to another type of school. I think I thought they needed
teachers like me and that I could make a difference. I'm not sure anymore.
Most of my students have relatives in prison. Every year, I read of former
students that have been arrested or imprisoned for violent felonies. Over
the years I have had to acquire a multitude of management and coping
skills. One size does not fit all. I think we get so busy with all that we
have to do that we don't realize how the stress is building up and how it is
taking it's toll on our bodies and our spirits and/or minds. Kind of like
momentum...if you look straight ahead, you don't realize how fast you are
going, then you look on the ground where you are (in a car or on a train)
and you can't focus on the ground because it falls away so fast. Are some of
us being exposed to teacher abuse on a daily basis? If we look to other
models of abuse such as child abuse and spousal abuse, do some of us fall
into that category? Thirty years ago, I was a victim of spousal abuse. Some
of it was physical and some mental. It started slow but after a couple of
years, it was very stressful. I didn't realize how bad it was. Others had to
point it out to me. Sounds strange but think about it. Are some of us that
have worked in these violent environments getting so used to the stress and
abuse that we are able to "Handle" more so we do? If it is true then how can
we know? Searching for answers here.
Martha
