Chloe reflects on how to manage stress during the training year

I spent the last two years completing a full-time degree, working a full-time education job and being a full-time Mum to two under-twos. In lockdowns, with REAL second- and third-year degree examinations. I thought coming into teacher training I had it made, this was going to be an absolute breeze. 

I was wrong.  

I can’t express the multitude of emotions that are experienced on this course. I can’t express how worthwhile teacher training is, and how amazing the experience is, but reflecting now, I wanted to address those lows, and how best to deal with them effectively and productively.   

Reaching the half-way point was a monumental moment in our training. Although we were online and together through Microsoft Teams (if you imagine that in time to Together in Electric Dreams, for those of us who are old enough), I remember the cheers and clapping as we celebrated this step. Outside of this though, I noticed across my fellow trainees a ripple of sadness, struggle and stress. Anyone who knows me will know that I haven’t had the most straight-forward year but this was strange to see – we were having cries, rants and all sorts that hadn’t come up in conversation before. The positive about this? We all felt it together, and we responded together. Over the course of the teacher training year, it’s possible to feel isolated, and like people do not understand what you’re experiencing – and I truly think for some it’s impossible to understand what they have not been through.  

Advice 1: Talk to your fellow trainees! Be there for each other, support each other and celebrate other people’s successes. No-one understands it the way they do, and no-one will be there the way they are. Every single person I’ve spoken to viewed my struggles through a different perspective, pointed out a way to help or improve. We spent a session sharing our positives and sharing compliments to each other. This was such an uplifting and wonderful experience, that changed our stress-tears to happy-tears. When you train, take time to do this with your colleagues! Make sure they recognise their value!  

In the same session we discussed how we were all finding our training, and it was amazing to see the spectrum of emotions that people were experiencing. It gave us a chance to talk to the people who were coping well about how they approached topics, how they approached planning… time management and all the other aspects of teaching that we were finding difficult. Remember though, not to compare yourself aggressively to others. Everyone is on the same journey, taking a different path – everyone will reach checkpoints and accomplish things at different stages and that’s okay. Be happy for your colleagues but do not hang your own successes off what someone else can do. Be you! 

Advice 2: Find the cause of the stress, and attack it head on. When you’ve identified the cause, talk to others, see how they are handling it – see if you can take something from this! Sometimes its enough just to talk, and talk through those feelings and emotions, but sometimes people have a different approach or a different viewpoint that is invaluable. Someone in our session spoke about planning time for time off, time away from the job and I took this and factored me-time into my planning. It has changed my perspective, and my experience massively for the better.  

Ways to cope with stress might be different for every person. Some people will be able to reframe the stress as challenge incredibly easily, some may need to talk before they feel confident enough to do this. For me, Sally’s yoga suggestion (complete with dog, or in my case two toddlers who just sit on me) gave me the time and space to clear my head and readdress a situation clearly.  

Advice 3: Make time for you. You are the most valuable resource you have. Nothing can replace you, or your health. Take time to replenish yourself and engage with your interests beyond the classroom. See your friends, and family and enjoy yourself outside the job.  

I remember in my interview saying, ‘I strive for perfection’ to which Sally replied ‘well… what is perfection?’, 18 months later we discussed how perfection does not exist. Nothing can ever be perfect, and that’s okay. Accepting this fact, accepting that for improvement things must go wrong, and reframing that mindset can have a massive impact on your teaching practice. Viewing failure as a first attempt in learning (teacher acronym from Adam -F.A.I.L) and improving on this the following time shows more resilience, more progression and overall a better professional development than getting everything right first time. We spend a long time on this programme discussing what it means to be a reflective practitioner, and how these are fundamental in good teaching and learning – but perfection does not come into this, so let that concept go.  

In honour of our wonderful leaders, I feel that I must summarise the Brett & Barfoot method for managing stress: 

1. It’s good to talk 

2. It’s just a job – I KNOW it sounds like madness, but it’s true. 

3. Find time to smile 

Love yourself, love what you do and let that be infectious in your community. You are all fabulous practitioners in the making and will all have wonderful successes on the horizon.  

Chloe Woodward, Science trainee