Nervous about School? So Are Your Teachers

August 28th, 2009

Hey students—think you’re the only ones who get a little nervous about returning to school in the fall? Here’s a news flash—teachers get the back-to-school jitters, too. Even though they are on the giving end of homework, tests, and papers, teachers have their own stress and anxiety that start way before the first day of school.

You’ve heard of stage fright, right? Well, teachers sometimes get classroom fright. It’s not easy standing in front of the room, expounding on a subject in front of students who range from alert and engaged to asleep and snoring. It’s actually similar to what stand-up comedians go through—sometime a lesson can bomb completely, but there are times that a lesson really hits home with students, and the resulting euphoria reminds teachers why they got into the profession in the first place.

When I taught middle school and high school English, I would actually have nightmares about returning to the classroom that would haunt my dreams starting as early as July. Two of them were recurring themes: there was one in which I would lose my voice as my students became increasingly boisterous during a lesson, and another in which a group of angry students ganged up on me and beat me up after being assigned homework. I woke from the latter one laughing—after all, I taught at an all-girls’ Catholic school and was fairly confident of my safety in a classroom full of plaid-uniformed adolescents–but you get the drift. I was obviously pretty nervous about starting in September.

While students are nervous about doing well, or at least worried about getting through tough subjects, teachers are worried about how to keep things fresh. You think you had it rough trying to get through Romeo and Juliet? Talk to a 20-year teaching veteran who is on her 20th time teaching the play and find out how she puts a new spin on “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” each year. That’s why teachers with years of experience continue to go back for more coursework, with some giving up their entire summers to return to the classroom to learn about how to make their subjects more exciting for their students. And for those who choose to relax during the summer, chances are that their minds are still whirling with ideas for new lesson plans and revised curriculum guidelines.

Consider this—students and teachers have the unique ability to celebrate a new year twice. Sure, you might not be as inclined to bring out the funny hats and noisemakers for September as you are on December 31, but the point is teachers and students have the opportunity to make a new start twice in one year. Turning over a new leaf is exciting, but also daunting. Teachers know what mistakes they might have made the previous year and will be fighting hard not to make them again in the new year. Sound familiar?

If you are feeling a surge of butterflies in your stomach as you gear up for the start of another school year, remember that you are not alone. Take a breath and give it your best shot–which is exactly what your teachers will be doing—and it will be a happy new year after all.

–Barbara Bellesi

Entry Filed under: General