Hello teachers!

As the midwinter break approaches, we’d like to congratulate all teachers—new and experienced alike—on their commitment over the last school year. We know how hard you’re all working to improve the minds and lives of your students, and we want you to know that as your supporters, we appreciate you greatly.

We also know that the midwinter break can be a valuable time for exhausted teachers to ‘reset’, in a matter of speaking. With a free week to grade, catch up on paperwork, build new lesson plans, and all the little jobs you don’t have time for the rest of the week, though, many teachers forget to take care of themselves and de-stress. Since job stress is one of the largest reasons many teachers leave the profession within the first five years, it goes without saying that this is dangerous. Teachers need to find time to rest and decompress, and this is the perfect week for them to do so—it’s almost like a mini-vacation!

We at Teq know the value of de-stressing a classroom to both the teacher’s mental health and the quality of their work. As a result, during this year’s break, please consider some of the below tips on how to approach technology with the goal of saving your sanity.

Use technologies that streamline ‘busywork’

One of the most common sources of stress for a teacher is the sheer amount of work that goes into keeping your classroom current. Grading quizzes, calculating gradebooks, filing paperwork and making parent calls—these and more are all necessary tasks, but can take up a lot of time and effort an educator may not have the reserves to maintain.

However, using the right tech can help make these jobs more efficient! For example, mobile assessment platforms like Socrative or SMART Response automatically grade certain assessment responses that students provide, reducing a grading job that can take all weekend to something that’s finished as soon as the quiz is done. Organizational systems like Google Drive can make paperwork easy to handle, especially when implemented across a school, and tech-savvy teachers can use email lists or social media to keep parents informed.  By streamlining these processes, teachers can spend less of their brainpower on the ‘busywork’ of teaching and more on creating engaging, effective lessons.

If you’re not already using these kinds of technologies in the classroom, take some time during the break to research them and brainstorm ways they can improve your workflow. If you’re already using them, consider new applications to cover jobs you still perform by hand.

Use social media to build your support network

With the development of Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social media networks, stressed-out teachers can reach out to anyone around the world to help them cope with rough days. Many young teachers will reconnect with the educators that inspired them to go back to the classroom, while experienced teachers may find comfort by following the success stories of former students.

In addition, social media networks provide an easy way for contemporaries to keep in touch. Teachers who started out together can get online to share stories, collaborate, and encourage each other to keep going until they can celebrate at the end of the year. Teachers who move to new districts can also retain the support of faraway family members—for example, while I was teaching in New York, I would receive weekly messages from my parents in Seattle—which can make a world of difference for new teachers who may feel isolated by their workload.

If you’re feeling that kind of isolation, log onto Facebook during the break and reach out to someone. It can be a friend you haven’t had a chance to connect to in months, or an old teacher who can share stories of when you were in high school—we guarantee it’ll be worth a laugh and help you get some perspective.

Set up a digital ‘Comfort Kit’

‘Comfort kits’ are a common tool for teachers, especially teachers of younger kids. You’ll often find them in elementary schools, where they can be used to help calm and encourage a distraught student and help them adjust to new situations like starting school or preparing for a big test. Student comfort kits usually consist of a little candy, a few small items like toys or spare pencils, and an encouraging message written by the teacher to help the student know that he or she is cared for.

Well, what works for kids works for their teachers, too! A small comfort kit can be ideal for days when a teacher feels especially burnt-out; just a baggie of small indulgences like your favorite snacks (or in my case, tea and hand-knitted socks) that can help relax, distract, and de-stress a teacher just in time for the next school day.

This is a great way to help a teacher out in an emotional pinch, and we recommend that you set up a personalized ‘comfort kit’ during the break.
A side note when making that kit: For some teachers, an even more thorough kit can be made with digital treats. For example, I have a YouTube playlist still earmarked for stressful days, when the right set of tunes can turn my mood around. Other teachers may find they get energized by playing an hour or two of their favorite video game, browsing a certain Pinterest board, or giving themselves a chance to rest by ordering their favorite dinner delivered online instead of cooking. Your emergency ‘comfort kit’ should be tailored to you—if there’s a piece of tech you like to turn to in order to wind down after a long day, why not let it join the chocolates and fuzzy slippers?

 Know when to step away

Even when technology is turned into a de-stressing tool, it’s important to know when to turn off the computer, avoid the temptation to continue working and enjoy something else entirely.

One of the largest causes of teacher burnout is the (false) concept that every task has to be done immediately in order to be a good teacher, leading young educators to pore over digital gradebooks even while eating lunch, or answering emails from students long after they should have just gone to bed. It’s important for teachers to remember that although technology is a great tool to keep their classrooms connected, it’s also a tool that helps perpetuate burnout by allowing this connection to follow you everywhere. A phone buzzing with messages from students, co-teachers, or even your principal can end up constantly demanding your attention whether or not you’re in the classroom.

After long enough, this kind of connectivity can feel like a ball and chain rather than a benefit–unless you set some limits.  A good start is a curfew–setting a hard cap on the times you will answer emails from students or co-teachers, refusing to answer emails after those times and making sure sure others are aware of  this rule.  Other ways to disconnect are to indulge in non-digital hobbies, or simply leaving your phone at home when you go out during this week-long break.

Either way, the time you’ll spend away from your classroom tech will help teachers re-set their focus and release their stress. When you take up those tools again, you’ll be grateful for the opportunities they provide you and your students to get through the year together.