Sep
7
Written by:
costcutters
07/09/2011 13:20
Teaching is without a doubt one of the toughest jobs on the planet.
This is not just because if you are reading this then you are probably a teacher; this is based on the fact that in 2010, England’s Health and Safety Executive ranked teaching as the most stressful occupation there is, with the majority of their sick leave being taken through stress.
The Teaching Support Network offers a stress test to gauge the kinds of stress and wellbeing issues that may be affecting you.
The task of moulding the mind of a child in to one that is rounded and intelligent, takes the patience of a saint, the skill of a master craftsman and the creativity of a fine artist. You have to be a performer, with a tough audience; the same tough audience every day, who you are tasked with entertaining, teaching and disciplining all at the same time.
Some help perhaps?
There are a million and one different teaching methods and educational resources that you can absorb and apply but to get your message across to children often requires a set of tools. These tools are not torture devices, restraints or even drugs, these are clever teaching resources that make your teaching more effective and your life easier.
Mini White Boards
Children love white boards because they are fun to use and feel a lot less permanent when compared to pencil and paper. The fact they can quickly and easily rub off their text or drawing gives them more confidence and will allow you to work with big groups at the same time. Children also love using the big coloured pens too, which really helps them get involved.
White Board on Wheels
Not that white boards are the key to all good teaching or anything but, having a nice big white board that you can move around the classroom is incredibly useful. It can be moved to where they gather on the floor, it can be used for when they are sitting at desks and it can be rolled up to their desks for them to use magnetic letters and numbers, or to write on themselves as part of a group teaching exercise.
Magnetic Letters and Numbers
For both literacy and numeracy lessons in early years, magnetic or perhaps Velcro letters, words and numbers are essential.
The ability to physically build a sentence or a sum on a large board allows children to see how they are put together. It also removes much of the anxiety that permanent characters brings, thus increasing their confidence.
Lego
Lego is an excellent early years toy for helping children to visualise or even act out a story they have written or have been read. This assists with the developmental processes and is of course, a lot of fun for them too. Also, Lego can be done on individual boards that can be stored intact easily.
Giant Book Stand
Reading to children from a large book can be a bit awkward which is why a big book stand is very important. This allows you to stand back and read it with the children close enough that they can also read it and see the pictures. You can even leave it there between reading sessions so that the book is always on display and accessible to the children.
These are of course, just a few of the teaching tools you can invest in that will make your life as a teacher easier and overall less stressful.
If you do feel that you are suffering from stress it is important that you do speak to a medical professional for advice.
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