Hello again,

I have decided to dedicate this blog's entry to an integral part of our being which even though we all wished it didn't exist, remains to haunt us teachers.

Our lives are full of change and we continually try to adjust as well as possible to all the changes going on about us. Some of these adjustments take place without our being conscious of them, while others bother us continually and make us feel under stress. Stress can best be described as the reaction of the mind and the body to change. According to the Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary, stress is defined as "a state of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium." It is only those factors (read: changes) which we have no answer to and cannot adjust to which cause physical and mental suffering. For example, a man who takes up a job as a long-distance truck driver may find that his body reacts badly to irregular meals, and although unfortunately, still consequently develops an ulcer.

Predicting stress is quite a problem. It is not so easy to predict in advance that we will be harmed by going through a particular experience. However, it is easy to look back on an experience, knowing it has done harm and to say that it was stress that caused it. This is why we should always look back at the cause of a particular stress moment and conclude what can be done so as for it not to be repeated once again. Never ever let stress enter the classroom, since the students are not the cause of it, but if they were (due to something they have done) then try not to visibly let it out.

There is a key difference between healthy and harmful stress. Regarding healthy stress there is rapid adjustment to the change, and in the context of ELT, teachers know the best method (which for them works) to avoid bringing stress into the English classroom which is beneficial to both teacher and students.

It's crucial to point out that there is a time and place for everything, and the English classroom is certainly not the place to let out your negative stress-related vibes.

All the best ... without stress,

Aneta