Mrs. Smith (pseudonym) came to school with a box of Kleenex and red eyes. No, our class wasn’t the cause of her pain and sorrow this time. The previous night she had said good-bye to her Air Force husband as he was deployed to Viet Nam. I noticed how many times she returned to the tissue box that interminable day. While we fourth-graders struggled to remember our math tables and tried to locate Peru on a globe, she was occupied with Southeast Asia and a distant, raging war.

Teachers are my heroes. Sure, I have had the odd under-achiever, but for the most part I experienced caring professionals who loved their students and worked hard to help us learn. Grading papers into the night, spending their own money on “extras” for our class, and often lacking parental support for homework and discipline, they persevered from year to year. They were models of resilience as they coped with personal crises as well as classroom conflicts.

Resilience Reset for Teachers

Resilience is the ability to adjust and thrive in the midst of stress and adversity. While we all have some resilience, we can grow more. And teachers would do well to grow as much as they can! Resilience is called “ordinary magic.” We apply everyday practices to produce extraordinary results.

As I train teachers in resilience, I start with an operational definition of stress, which is the problem resilience addresses. From my research, stress is the brain’s reaction to a perceived threat. When someone turns in front of us in traffic, our brains react instantly to the threat, producing a chemical and psychological reaction that leads to quick, life-saving action. Only later does our conscious thinking catch up with what just happened. The stress response of fight, flight, or freeze was remarkably designed to address emergency situations. However, living too long in the stress response can limit our overall effectiveness and actually shorten our lives.

In the stress mode, our brains are focused on quick response and efficiency while turning off the more complex functions of creativity, learning and problem solving. Teachers and students in stress have significantly reduced capacity to teach and learn. Fortunately, resilience resources abound to restore these capabilities.

We can actually turn off the stress response by utilizing two proven practices. Deep breathing is the quickest and most effective way to calm ourselves and restore clear thinking. Also called 4 X 4 breathing, we inhale deeply through our nose, hold the breath, exhale through our mouth, and pause – all in four-second intervals. Repeating this 5-10 times stimulates the vagus nerve and releases a natural tranquilizer that creates a sense of tranquility. I encourage teachers to practice deep breathing regularly as well as lead their classes in this calming exercise before exams and in other tense situations.

The second excellent means of exiting the stress response is through exercise. Taking the time for exercise after work is a great way to leave your job and transition to home. A brisk walk of 20-30 minutes burns off adrenaline and energizes us. To make the transition complete, nudge work-related thoughts from your mind as you walk. Make an appointment with yourself to address problems the next workday.

A Teacher’s Secret Resource

One of the greatest resources for growing resilience for teachers – and anyone – is to recognize and utilize caring and supportive people in your life. Every teacher, leader, and human will be criticized. Without reliable sources of encouragement, the stress of negative feedback can accumulate and undermine the positive qualities we possess.

So let’s encourage our teachers. If we want positive, resilient people instructing our kids, we can contribute to that happening. Small acts of kindness, notes of appreciation, volunteering to help with projects, and offering to contribute supplies to the classroom go a long way in motivating educators to be their best.

We never know the personal struggles our teachers are trying to leave behind as they enter the classroom each day. It may be a sick son or daughter, a financial challenge, or a spouse being sent off to a war zone. As a previous student, parent, and now a grandparent, my goal is to foster resilience by showing gratitude and support in meaningful ways. Let’s make some more heroes for the coming generation of students!

Copyright © 2018 Stephen Chupp. All rights reserved.

Steve Chupp is a Resilience Trainer and Keynote Speaker. He equips business, healthcare, and education professionals to successfully manage stress and avoid burnout. For more ideas and resources to build resilience and manage stress, go to www.stevechupp.com  Or contact at Steve at steve@stevechupp.com.