Speakout Columns
Teacher stress: past and present
Oct 22, 2007 6:13 PM
In 1979, NYSUT the UFT’s state affiliate, had made it evident that teaching was identifiably one of the most stress-filled professions. NYSUT had been zeroing in on the causes of stress among teachers. In order to do this, its research division conducted a survey of a representative group of teachers. The data sheet was designed to elicit those situations which were most stressful. The items listed were arranged in order of intensity. The top 10 items created the most stress:
- Managing Disruptive Children
- Incompetent Administrator-Lack of Administrative Support
- Maintaining Self Control When Angry
- Overcrowded Classroom
- First Week of School
- Disagreeing with Supervisor
- Dealing with Community Racial Issues
- Preparing for a Strike
- Target of Verbal Abuse by Student
- Theft and Destruction of Teacher Property
It might be noted that urban teachers reported more than three times more items as stressful than rural teachers and almost twice as many items as suburban teachers. Also evident was the fact that the 31- to 40-year-old teachers appeared to be under greater stress with the 41- to 50-year-old teachers reporting only half as many items as stressful and teachers over 50 reporting even fewer items.
Doctors have noted that continued and prolonged periods of stress result in a disabling condition for the person affected. Many diseases are associated with or aggravated by stress: ulcers, migraines, asthma, ulcerative colitis and especially coronary heart disease. Prior to the onset of these conditions, other symptoms occur. There may be indecision, reduced appetite, loss of weight, irregular bowel movements, headache, backache, skin rashes, insomnia, nervousness, tremors, poor memory and irritability.
Teachers are not exempt from these conditions. Labeled Battered Teacher Syndrome, a psychiatrist found that many teachers were exhibiting the same classic symptoms of combat fatigue that faced front-line soldiers. These symptoms included depression, anxiety, hypertension, nightmares, blurred vision and ulcers.
A stress survey conducted by the Chicago Teachers’ Union in 1979 showed similar results with reports from teachers of hypertension, ulcers, colitis, insomnia, migraines, skin problems and lowered resistance to upper respiratory infection.
Fear of bodily harm from a student or parent or intruder can be a great source of stress. To see a fellow teacher injured or attacked can often be as upsetting to the onlooker as it is to the one harmed. Teacher assaults account for a kind of battle fatigue in classrooms. In 1979, New York City school crimes had risen 16 percent over the past year. Teachers were often robbed at gun and knife point and assaulted with pipes and chains. Nationally, more than 5,000 teachers were attacked in school during a month. Of smaller magnitude were the often daily incidents of insubordination in the teacher/pupil relationships, i.e., failure to perform appropriate tasks, verbal abuse. Today, the schools have become mini-prisons. There is a police presence in some high schools. Metal detectors, lock-downs, and hall patrols by security guards are visible. Teacher Stress is a day-to-day reality in urban settings.
As a result of the NYSUT Stress Survey, the major stress factor was diagnosed as the disruptive child in the classroom. To zero in on this problem, 50 teachers throughout the state received leadership training in how to deal with stress in the classroom. They were asked to go back to their districts and confer with every teacher in a workshop-type environment. Hence, every teacher in the state would benefit from their training. In schools that experienced a high level of disruptions, a task force was created to administer psychological first aid to the battered teacher.
Although such proposals or initiatives are commendable, other alternatives have always been present. The UFT contract, for example, includes specifics for resolving the problem of the disruptive child. Under New York School Law, no child has the right to interrupt the education of the group. If the child is disruptive because of an emotional or physical handicap, he or she must be placed in the most appropriate and least restrictive environment. If parents are neglecting their responsibility as parents, there are provisions under the Bureau of Child Welfare to address and ameliorate these problems.
The burden or responsibility for staying in control of one’s health must not be totally relegated to others. Although changes in working conditions are not won singularly, each member participates as an integral part of the union body. Members must see that the grievance machinery is operable and use it. Workshops on stress, resource materials and resource persons are made available to members through the union. Members must also follow the contract with all its safeguards. And since the goals of the union are not in conflict with the goals of the students, both students and teacher stand to gain.
The political arm of the union must see that there is accountability from public officials. Quality education must be a priority in the city. It cannot be used as a negotiable item at the onset of each fiscal crisis by politicians. Nor must community groups use students as pawns in disputes within the community vis-à-vis parent/teacher conflicts or parent/administration conflicts. If we can find the school that meets the needs of each student, we will find an effective school devoid of the type of debilitating stress ineffectiveness breeds.
Phyllis C. Murray teaches literacy at PS 75 in the Bronx, where she has been the chapter leader for six years.
