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| Developing teachers self-esteem |
The way we feel about ourselves will affect the way we feel about others around us and the way they feel about us. So if we are confident and happy about ourselves, we are more likely to help children to develop positive images of themselves. However, teaching is a very demanding job, and there may be many sources of stress which lead to feelings of anxiety or inadequacy.These can affect our self-esteem. So it is important to learn how to cope with stress and problems at work and to retain confidence in ourselves.
Here is how one teacher coped with a problem:
Jamie was diving me mad in class. He was constantly trying to disrupt others and caused the class to become quite noisy. I found I couldn't sleep at nights because I was worrying. I began to hate teaching in that class. Finally I decided to do something about the situation. I talked to a friend. She advised me to talk to Jamie on his own and try to find out whether he had any problems at home. I found out through talking to him that he had an elder brother who was very ill. His parents gave all their attention to this brother and Jamie felt neglected. My friend also advised me to ask other teachers about him. I soon discovered that he was disruptive in other classes too. That immediately made me feel better. I began to chat to Jamie whenever I could and to give him small jobs to do for me. I used him frequently as a group leader. His behavior got better and I felt I could cope more. In fact, I gained confidence in myself because I had solved the problem!
Everyone's problems are slightly different, and teachers will have their own way of coping. The first five problems mentioned are common to many teachers - they are part of the job of teaching. However the last three are more personal and related to particular individuals, their circumstances, their personality and so on.
All problems can be potentially stressful. However, a lot depends on your own level of health, self confidence and self-esteem. If these are all fairly high, you will cope with your problems much more easily. The difficulty arises if your health or self-confidence and/or self-esteem are low and you become overwhelmed by your problems. You may then start feeling depressed. It is very important to deal with problems before they overwhelm you and you lose confidence in yourself. For example, in the story above, the teacher took action before she lost confidence in herself; she went and talked to a friend. You can also
ind ideas to help you in books such as Readings in Teacher Development by Katie Head and Pauline Taylor , which has a section called 'Supporting yourself'.