Stress is for Super-Teachers

Based on this news item and Q&A from Goop.com:

“Why Stress is Actually Good for Us and How to Get Good at it”

Posted September 10, 2015

http://goop.com/why-stress-is-actually-good-for-us-and-how-to-get-good-at-it/?utm_source=goop+issue&utm_campaign=ae65f13ebd-2015_09_10_stress&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5ad74d5855-ae65f13ebd- 5866757&mc_cid=ae65f13ebd&mc_eid=75749fa98e

This article really lined up nicely with a lot of what I’ve observed in our first months as young GTA-grasshoppers. I also have had this total recurring issue where my body seems to freak out by sweating when I get ready to teach EVERY DANG DAY instead of being calm about it. It’s really cramping my wardrobe. And I kept thinking that as long as I stayed stressed and sweating it was preventing me from being the best teacher I could be… like if I could only focus on the task at hand without stressing (and sweating) about it, then I would be a clearer thinker/better teacher/communicator/genuine representation of myself. I thought that stressing about teaching was an ironic detriment to our teaching.

Yet Dr. McGonigal’s research shows that stress was/is potentially making me a better teacher if I harness it appropriately, not to mention a smarter, better human. That’s not a totally new idea, I guess, but of particular interest to me in her research/Q&A were her 3 types of stress handlers (for more info, see the last Q&A exchange in the article):

1. Iron Man – stress is your thing; you love competition, exceed under pressure, etc.
2. Connecting – good at asking for help, reaching out to others, etc.
3. Growth Mindset – making meaning/purpose out of your stressful situation.

Whatever type you tend to be or approach you might take in teaching, it’s empowering to realize that all of us can improve with this stressful stuff–that we’re actually better of with it. And, that in the end it’s an indicator that we actually CARE about the students, which is great.

So even though I still “perspire” every time I get up in front of the class to teach (even though we’re months in, even though I cognitively don’t feel stressed), it doesn’t mean that my teaching’s suffering for it, or that subconsciously my stressed-out brain is shaving years off my young grasshopper life. Instead, my very ladylike perspiration might be an indicator that I’m “performing better, making better decisions, and impressing others more” (see A to Q #6) than if I was dry as a cactus. So next time I greet them all with sweat circles, my students can count themselves lucky.