Schools Aim to Ease Teachers' Tension, Burnout
2022-09-07
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1More school systems are making an effort to deal with some of the problems teachers face, including taking care of their mental health.
2Many schools do not have enough teachers.
3Current problems facing teachers include behavioral problems and fears of shootings.
4Some school districts have provided increased mental health training for workers and support in the classroom.
5They have also provided resources aimed at identifying burned out teachers and getting them connected to help.
6Being burned out means a person has become very physically and emotionally tired after doing a difficult job for a long time.
7A recent opinion study by the Rand Corporation found that twice as many principals and teachers reported frequent job-related stress as other working adults.
8The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted a similar study that came from a coalition of mental health organizations in New Orleans.
9It found educators working during the COVID-19 pandemic reported rates of emotional difficulties similar to those of health care workers.
10It found 36 percent showed signs of anxiety, 35 percent had depression, and 19 percent showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
11Leigh Mclean is the main investigator at the Teacher Emotions, Characteristics, and Health Lab at the University of Delaware School of Education.
12She said, "It's all pretty bad."
13She found levels of depression, anxiety, and emotional tiredness among elementary school teachers that are 100 to 400 percent higher than before the pandemic.
14She said those problems are increasing the most among less experienced teachers.
15She said she recognized similarities between teachers and the general population "with underrepresented groups being hit the hardest..."
16Some districts have or are planning to spend federal COVID-19 aid money on teacher mental health.
17They hope it might improve the classroom environment, keep teachers on the job and help students.
18Nebraska and Pennsylvania are among the states choosing teacher mental health as a top goal.
19A Delaware school district hired two social and emotional learning experts who deal with problems teachers are having in the classroom.
20And an elementary school in Indiana starts the week with Mindful Mondays, where teachers guide their classes in deep breathing.
21There are also Thoughtful Thursdays, where a student is called on to write a letter to someone working at the school to show that they are thankful.
22And on Friday Focus students and teachers talk about self-care.
23A growing number of groups offer training to improve mental health.
24Methods include breathing exercises, yoga, gentle movements and meditation.
25One program aimed at improving mental health is Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education, or CARE.
26Researchers found improvements, including reductions in mental health problems, in studies of its use among 224 New York City teachers.
27The studies also found reductions in stress and improvements in quality classroom interactions.
28Researchers found it helped students show increased engagement.
29I'm Gregory Stachel.
1More school systems are making an effort to deal with some of the problems teachers face, including taking care of their mental health. 2Many schools do not have enough teachers. Current problems facing teachers include behavioral problems and fears of shootings. 3Some school districts have provided increased mental health training for workers and support in the classroom. They have also provided resources aimed at identifying burned out teachers and getting them connected to help. 4Being burned out means a person has become very physically and emotionally tired after doing a difficult job for a long time. 5A recent opinion study by the Rand Corporation found that twice as many principals and teachers reported frequent job-related stress as other working adults. 6The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted a similar study that came from a coalition of mental health organizations in New Orleans. It found educators working during the COVID-19 pandemic reported rates of emotional difficulties similar to those of health care workers. It found 36 percent showed signs of anxiety, 35 percent had depression, and 19 percent showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. 7Leigh Mclean is the main investigator at the Teacher Emotions, Characteristics, and Health Lab at the University of Delaware School of Education. She said, "It's all pretty bad." 8She found levels of depression, anxiety, and emotional tiredness among elementary school teachers that are 100 to 400 percent higher than before the pandemic. 9She said those problems are increasing the most among less experienced teachers. She said she recognized similarities between teachers and the general population "with underrepresented groups being hit the hardest..." 10Some districts have or are planning to spend federal COVID-19 aid money on teacher mental health. They hope it might improve the classroom environment, keep teachers on the job and help students. Nebraska and Pennsylvania are among the states choosing teacher mental health as a top goal. 11A Delaware school district hired two social and emotional learning experts who deal with problems teachers are having in the classroom. 12And an elementary school in Indiana starts the week with Mindful Mondays, where teachers guide their classes in deep breathing. There are also Thoughtful Thursdays, where a student is called on to write a letter to someone working at the school to show that they are thankful. And on Friday Focus students and teachers talk about self-care. 13A growing number of groups offer training to improve mental health. Methods include breathing exercises, yoga, gentle movements and meditation. 14One program aimed at improving mental health is Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education, or CARE. Researchers found improvements, including reductions in mental health problems, in studies of its use among 224 New York City teachers. The studies also found reductions in stress and improvements in quality classroom interactions. Researchers found it helped students show increased engagement. 15I'm Gregory Stachel. 16Michael Casey reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17___________________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19district -n. an area set up by a government for a specific purpose 20principal - n. the person in charge of a public school 21frequent - adj. happening often 22anxiety -n. fear and nervousness about what might happen 23post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) -n. a condition of extreme stress caused by a shocking or severe event in the past 24pretty - adv. to a great degree or extent 25meditation -n. the process of spending time in quiet thought 26stress - n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life or work 27interact - v. to talk or do things with other people 28engage - v. to become involved with (someone or something) or to show interest in something 29What do you think of teacher burnout? 30We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.