The Chalkbeat Colorado visited a stress workshop held by the Colorado Education Association--the third seminar offered this year.

The Chalkbeat asked some teachers in attendance what was stressing them out- and each one had something different to add.

For school counselor David Romig, it’s finding the balance between home and school.

“I think the world load seems to be continually increasing year after year,” Romig said, and he told the Chalkbeat he has trouble finding time for his family.

For first-year teacher Kalia Lief, not only does she strive to find the work/home life balance as Romig describes, she also feels stress in pressure to prove herself.

"That’s why for the first three months of this school year she didn’t leave her campus until 7 p.m. — at the earliest,” the Chalkbeat said.

In order to keep afloat, she communicates with her peers to establish strong bonds and to develop a strong support system within the school.

But first-year teachers aren’t the only ones easily susceptible to stress and pressure; veteran teachers feel stressed and overwhelmed, too.

Veteran teacher Sophie Schwedland "said she feels like she can never do enough to improve the lives of her students, most of whom are poor and Latino,” according to the Chalkbeat.

“I want them all to have the chances I had,” Schwedland said of her students, and so she strives to provide them with this opportunity by encouraging them to believe in themselves.

And for retired special education teacher turned substitute teacher Cathy Royce, her stress comes from learning and understanding the variety of rules and techniques across the many schools she works in within the district. " A recurring stress for Royce is understanding multiple school cultures and sets of rules. Students must understand that the substitute knows the rules,” the Chalkbeat said.

These Colorado teachers shed a light on the variety of stresses that occur for every job within the education system- and how important it is to have a supportive peer and administration network to get by.

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

11/25/2015