Monday, September 29, 2008

Teachers and Sleep

I was just reading an article on sleep. It was short so it didn't put me to sleep. The article is reporting on a study that was done by Ball State University regarding teachers not getting enough sleep. From personal experience, I can confidently say that I think this would be true of administrators as well! According to the article, researchers at Ball State University claimed that many teachers may not be getting enough sleep at night to be fully effective in the classroom. The study reported that "some 43 percent of teachers surveyed said they slept an average of six hours or less per night, while half admitted to missing work or making errors due to a 'serious lack of sleep.'" Denise Amschler, a professor of physiology and health sciences and co-author of the study, said that teachers with sleep issues tend to fall into two categories: 1) those who are overcommitted with work and family obligations and don't get to bed until after midnight; and 2) those who go to bed at a reasonable time but can't fall asleep because of worry or stress about school. This study is under review by the Journal of School Health. I know that it seems like the older I get the more I have to do and the less time I have. I am sure we can all relate to that. Our society is so fast paced we tend to give up sleep to catch up. We have a great teaching staff at Shepherd High School, but we need to stay healthy. Take care of yourself and take a nap! Oh, but not during class!
http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2008/09/23/tm_sleep.h20.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mrss

Friday, September 19, 2008

Pressure For Change

I know that it sometimes feels like we are under a lot of pressure. I was just down at the OEAA (Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability) fall conference. I know you are jealous of that great opportunity! There were more sessions than I could attend, but I know that from the ones I attended regarding AYP, Ed Yes, and the graduation/dropout rate that the pressure is going to continue and surely increase. It made me think about other industries. There is pressure in every field. Non-profits have the pressure of always trying to get enough donations to provide their programs. Publicly funded organizations have to rely on government allocations that have to be spread between competing interests. Private companies have to compete with each other for market share. Everyone has pressure. Industries have to be more competitive, more efficient, more cost effective, and less wasteful. It is true that they can just raise their price if they need more revenue, but they won't obtain more revenue if their competitor can offer the same product at a cheaper price. That is why they are all trying to be more efficient to reduce cost and maintain a solid profit margin. I guess my point is that there is pressure in any job. That pressure causes changes. Change is tough. You can continue to re-evaluate and change to be more effective, competitive and push back against that pressure, or you can let the pressure squash you. When you feel the pressure that we all face in education, remember that you are not alone. No matter what career you were in there would be pressure causing change. The issue isn't the pressure of the employment. The question is how you handle that pressure!