On the general topic of how stressful our work is, especially now at the beginning of the year when we have so much to deal with, I got an email on Friday from a PLC member whose been reading here for over ten years:
Hi Ben –
I felt dizzy and lightheaded this morning, it wouldn’t pass, so I called my doc on the way to work. He told me to go directly to ER. I spent 10:30 till 2:30 in ER, now I am in ICU. I have A Fib, and my heart rate was up to 210! I will be here for a couple days! Thankfully my 2 colleagues have me covered!
This shouldn’t happen. It sheds light on just how stressful our jobs are. I once had to take an ambulance ride to the ER due to sheer stress years ago. If anyone ever thinks that teaching is easy, they need to think again.
That’s a book I would like to write – stories on how teacher stress has affected people. Burnout is a big factor in motivating me to find new ways to teach languages.
When I went with non-targeted CI four years ago, my stress levels dropped precipitously and have stayed low.