‘Break’ in Transmission

 Juggling it all was always a norm for me, but from a virtual perspective it has become an exhausting race against time that seems to move faster than the speed of light.  Albeit, I have been acquiring new skills, stepping even further from the 'box’, engaging my students the best way possible and experimenting with varied platforms including Podcasts; I won't let cyberspace 'break' me.💪💪💪

Whether we want to admit it or not, the pandemic has created unprecedented levels of stress for everyone.  An educator's job was always stressful in the normal face to face context; however, these levels have skyrocketed to outer space if you ask me.  As we advance through this academic year; teachers across the world continue to wander through unchartered territories with the hope of surviving each passing day to the next.  As for me, I will continue to yell it out loud,🔊🔊 “I WON'T LET CYBERSPACE BREAK ME!"  Now if you share the same sentiments that I do, you'll come to the realization that you are not alone in any of this pandemonium of a 'teaching career.' So the big question is, “What are we doing about it?" In this blog post I will share 4C’s to exercise during this time.  Before you quit reading, I am definitely not referring to the 4C's we have come to know and implement in our classrooms. But I thought, if we welcome and utilize the 4C's with our students so that they can function in their classrooms with their peers, why not formulate 4C's that teachers can use to 'function' like never before. So here we go:👀👀

 

1. Cultivate- Cultivate schedules that work for you and not against you.  Keeping up virtually 'isn’t a joke' so we have to cultivate a pattern of survival.  When we cultivate schedules we learn how to juggle and divide school and family life even though both coexist together as most of us are working from home. Therefore, we should aim to keep them a bay so that our families don't become overburdened with it all.  If you haven't found a schedule that works for you just yet, take some time to get back to that drawing board and 'schedule' it out.  Cultivate schedules that will cultivate harmony in your lives.

 

2. Control- Take Control Yes we might be feeling out of control since these new norms were activated: social distancing, mask wearing, frequent hand sanitizing and staying at home protocols. COVID19 is here, online schooling is rolled out; they both exist and we have no control over that. The important thing though is to take control of the controllable.  During this season of our lives we have to take control of our thoughts, personal space, health, reactions and routines.  Controllable aspects of our lives still exist; focus on controlling them and remaining fluid during these times.

 

3. Collaborate- Know what you are good at. Know your limits and know when collaboration is a necessity.  During this period of our careers collaboration will take on a lead role in order for us to be functional daily.  Join those support groups, share those ideas, mishaps, trial and error phases and just about any topic that will give you an ease of mind and a listening ear.  We are all facing these challenges; some cope better than others but we are all going through it. 

4. Celebrate- Yes, I said it! Celebrate. Celebration doesn’t need to take place at fancy restaurants, beaches or hotel balconies.  Celebrate in your shower, bedroom, kitchen, living room or wherever you feel most comfortable at home.  You are surviving each day; so why not give yourself some credit for being the best you can be.  Choose how you will celebrate those online victories no matter how small and JUST DO IT!!!! Don’t wait for tomorrow, Christmas, the weekend or even when it’s totally safe to travel outdoors to those hotspots. There’s no better time than now to CELEBRATE YOU.

 

So, there you have the 4C’s to managing ‘teacher stress’ during this time.  You decide how you cope. You decide what requires your attention. You decide your limits. You decide how to approach each day.  You decide it all.  Let’s get going.  Thank you for logging in to this blog post and I hope it connected with you.  Feel free to share this link with others who need to cope and leave your comments below.  Stay tuned for my next blog post where I delve into the matter of Security- Cyber security.🔐🔐

Continue to do what you do best and continue to keep safe out there!!!!