TLINES
umatic Stress Disorder
anxiety, depression, futility, and even
worthlessness, we interviewed a crosssection of our own teachers anonymously
and found similarities in their responses.
Certainly we did not follow scientific
protocol, and would welcome a more
formal study. Most educators state that
constant disruption of their schools, as
well as lack of support at all levels as
creating inconceivable pressure. This
tension is between parents and teachers,
teachers and principals, as well as among
other colleagues. At times it creates
problems at home. There are often more
negative than positive conversations from
administrators toward teachers, as well
as verbal abuse from students who often
go undisciplined disrupting the learning
environment. There is little balance
between life and work.
Education policy is often contradictory and difficult to implement. At the most fundamental
level, the conflict is between educational quality defined by standards and enforced by testing,
and the emphasis on outcomes as measured by graduation rates often leads to teachers receiving
the blame for failure. Do we need to create a continuous succession of reform policies? For
teachers, it is like a treadmill that keeps speeding up, and a never ending cycle. It is like
possibly serving multiple tours of duty, or being continuously at war. (NOTE: Serving multiple
tours means individual or units were assigned to missions overseas multiple times. Units are
routinely given down time to recover and rest. Unit ́