At Taiping Road Primary School in Haidian District, Beijing, teachers write new semester messages in the classroom.
Xinhua News Agency
Teachers from Zhongshan School affiliated to Shanghai Huangpu District Education College are taking eighth grade ideological and political classes.
Xinhua News Agency
Today is the 37th Teacher's Day, a holiday for all teachers. Those who live by honoring their teachers, no matter where they are, should send a blessing: "Teacher, happy holidays!"
Under the pressure of the scarcity of teaching posts and the “promotion or leave” system of some colleges and universities, college teachers have entered a working state of “never work overtime or leave work”; for elementary and middle school teachers, the policy of “double reduction” In the context of the current situation, the end of school at "5:30" will become a new form of education, and elementary and middle school teachers will face more pressure and challenges. The survey shows that currently more than 60% of teachers are in a severe sub-health state. Long hours of lesson preparation, class, correction of homework, heavy teaching and research work, and management work make teachers physically and mentally exhausted.
It is particularly important to care for the physical and mental health of teachers, so that they can devote themselves to teaching and research without distractions and health.
Achieve students and don’t forget to care about their bodies
As soon as school started, Bi Kaixiu, a teacher at a rural elementary school in Midu County, Yunnan Province, was busy.
At the beginning of the new semester, she took over the new class, arranged the school timetable, and organized the school teachers to write lesson plans.
"There is no time to rest at all." Bi Kaixiu said, working days from 7 am to 8 pm, there are only two or three hours in between, and there is no need to speak with a voice.
Bi Kaixiu’s school can support multimedia lectures, but blackboard writing also needs to use chalk.
Bi Kaixiu told reporters that there are often obvious foreign body sensations in the pharynx, and sometimes congestion, pain, sputum, and even aphonia.
As an old teacher with 31 years of teaching experience, these symptoms have become more and more obvious in recent years, and throat medicine has become a medicine she carries with her.
During the interview, the reporter found that pharyngitis was the "occupational disease" most mentioned by the teacher group.
Long-term classroom teaching and accidental inhalation of dust during writing on the blackboard are the causes of this disease.
Gao Ruzhen, an otolaryngologist at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, advises: "When hoarseness or tone changes occur, do not insist on it. Nebulized inhalation therapy can be used for outpatient visits. Normally, scientific vocalization methods should be used, and vocal cord fatigue should also be paid attention to to avoid Vocal cord nodules and vocal cord polyps."
Cervical spondylosis is also the common "enemy" of many teachers.
Lesson preparation and correction of homework are almost every teacher's daily life. Keeping a posture for a long time and facing the computer has also become the "standard equipment" for many teachers when completing these tasks.
Zhang Fan, a young scholar at the School of Literature and Art of Shihezi University, said: “Although the total number of class hours per semester is not large, there are more materials to prepare when preparing lessons. My neck is sore, and my eyes are beginning to feel dry and tired."
"Maintaining the correct posture is very important." Ao Rongguang, deputy chief physician of the Department of Orthopedics at Shanghai Pudong Hospital, suggested that when sitting up, you should raise your head and chest as much as possible, keep your waist straight, and your neck straight. You can lean forward a little bit without twisting your neck. Work for about half an hour, move your neck and shoulders, and let your eyes rest for a while.
It is understood that many teachers often do not choose to seek medical treatment in time after these problems occur.
In this regard, most of the teachers’ answers are “I can’t get away with a lot of school affairs”, “I want to wait for winter and summer vacations”, “It may be difficult to change after checking it out” and so on.
The hectic nature of teaching work has become the main reason why teachers are in a sub-healthy state.
In 2018, the Teacher Development Center of the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences conducted a survey on the workload of primary and secondary school teachers in my country.
According to the survey, teachers in elementary and middle schools work 52.5 hours a week.
Among them, the working hours at school are 44 hours/week, and the average workday evening and weekend overtime is 8 hours/week.
Don't let stress affect your good mood
During the interview, many teachers revealed that they would have chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches and other symptoms in daily life and work. They went to the hospital for various examinations but found no substantial illnesses.
"We analyze that this is related to the normal work status of teachers. Different groups of teachers face different pressures. The pressure at work can also cause teachers to fluctuate emotionally and even cause mental health problems." Director of the Cadre Ward of Bethune First Hospital, Jilin University Wang Jianmeng said.
Most middle and high school teachers are faced with the pressure of students' grades and entrance exams. Every time they take a test, both students and teachers are tested.
In addition, there will still be competition between teachers in the same subject, and test results will be linked to performance, professional titles, etc. This is one of the main reasons for teacher anxiety in middle and high schools.
Wang Cheng (pseudonym), a high school Chinese teacher in Datong City, Shanxi Province, said: “Under the pressure of entering high school, the school will have monthly, mid-term, and final exams, and teachers with poor class performance will be criticized.”
"Not only schools, society and parents are very concerned about and looking forward to students' performance, which causes teachers' teaching pressure to be extremely high, especially for teachers in the graduating class. There is no way to separate work and life, and the pressure will reach its peak." Changsha City, Hunan Province Said Zhang Yang (pseudonym), a teacher in a middle school.
She told reporters that she will also receive some temporary tasks at work, such as taking over the inspection work of the superior department, collecting and summarizing some materials, etc. This part of the work has little to do with her own teaching work, but it still takes up some time and energy. , Can also lead to increased anxiety.
This anxiety also stems from teachers’ strict requirements for work.
As a rural teacher, Bi Kaixiu's pressure mainly stems from the "excessive heart but insufficient energy" of "doing multiple jobs".
"When the teachers are insufficient, the only way to do it is to carry out the "big contract". One person teaches almost all subjects. The time for preparing and attending classes is very long, and the psychological pressure is also great." Bi Kaixiu said.
In recent years, with the improvement of living conditions and the inclination of educational resources, this kind of "big contract" situation has gradually decreased. However, since most of the students are far away from home and are left-behind children, she still has to do her own job as well as Being a "temporary parent" makes Bi Kaixiu exhausted.
The main sources of pressure for college teachers are scientific research, teaching, and professional title review.
"Anxiety is a common condition for young and middle-aged university teachers. Anxiety comes from the gap between work intensity and work income." Chen Chao (pseudonym), a teacher at a key domestic university, said that income is usually linked to professional titles, and young teachers' professional titles are generally low. The objective pressure of survival has also further stimulated the utilitarian anxiety of participating in the "hat talents".
Long-term mental stress often causes some physical diseases.
"When dealing with and solving some problems of students, they often neglect to take care of their own emotions. Some female teachers around me have diseases such as breast hyperplasia and uterine fibroids." said Chen He, a Chinese teacher in a middle school in Beijing.
We protect your health together
After high-intensity work, how to relieve the pressure and prevent many "occupational diseases" of teachers?
This requires not only the self-regulation of the teachers themselves, but also the care at the school level.
"I pay more attention to the routine of work and rest. I generally don't stay up late at night to avoid health problems caused by staying up late," said Zhang Fan.
Chen Chao believes that although the professional directions and disciplines of university teachers are very different, never-ending exploration is the common academic pursuit of everyone.
In the process of pursuing innovation, failure will inevitably occur.
"This kind of frustration will also stimulate personal fighting spirit, and the psychological discomfort also depends on how the individual faces it. I often use long-distance running, kicking and other sports to vent pressure and adjust my mentality." Chen Chao said.
"Exercise is a very effective way of self-regulation, but some problems cannot be solved through exercise. An outlet for talking and some correct guidance methods are needed. If you already have symptoms of depression or other serious problems, you must Seek help from professionals and professional institutions." Zhang Chi, deputy director of the Psychological Quality Education Center of Beijing Jiaotong University, said that teachers’ pressure sources are multiple. In the process of relieving pressure, only methods are improper and can solve some specific problems. With the help of some experienced teachers in scientific research, the pressure will be relieved a lot.
Five years ago, Zhang Chi joined the Teacher Ethics and Teacher Style Group of the Teacher Development Center of Beijing Jiaotong University to carry out psychological training for teachers.
At the beginning of June this year, the center formally established Zhixin to help teachers develop the community, focusing on teachers' mental health-related issues. Zhang Chi is the leader of the community.
"We hope to carry out emotional management, stress adjustment, parent-child relationship, family education and other activities in the community through learning seminars, lectures, workshops, etc., to spread mental health knowledge and improve teachers' mental health literacy." Zhang Chi said.
In response to the difficulties encountered by young teachers in academic research, Anhui Agricultural University established the Party Committee Teacher Work Department in early 2019, attaching great importance to the training and support of young talents, and vigorously implementing "Shennong Scholars", "Climbing Plan", "Applied Talents", etc. In the talent plan, in accordance with the idea of "everyone enters the subject team, everyone has subject affiliation, and everyone has subject direction", each young teacher is equipped with a tutor to solve problems.
"If you encounter scientific research problems, ask your tutor for advice, and if you encounter troubles, ask your teammates to talk." Zhang Liang, a young teacher of the school, said that the relaxed and humane atmosphere has added a lot of motivation to his scientific research.
After joining Anhui Agricultural University in 2011, Zhang Liang immediately joined his professional research team.
In recent years, he has been selected into the second batch of the China Association for Science and Technology Young Talents Support Project, the "Shennong Scholar" Talent Cultivation Program of Anhui Agricultural University, and has also received funding from the National Science Foundation of China's Outstanding Youth Science Fund. The transformation from teachers to national-level talents.
Most colleges and universities have built a teacher work system that integrates ideological guidance, professional development assistance, and life psychological care.
Ren Bo, vice chairman of the labor union of Jilin University, introduced that after investigating the interests and hobbies of all teachers and students, the labor union of Jilin University has established 17 cultural and sports associations including table tennis, badminton, and recitation.
In recent years, the school union and grassroots unions of Jilin University have organized more than 230 cultural and sports activities, 68 special activities, the participation rate of grassroots unions is over 98%, and the number of faculty members has reached more than 30,000.
"The annual table tennis and badminton games, reading, dancing and other cultural and sports activities are well received by teachers. These cultural and sports activities not only improve the physical fitness of the staff, mobilize the enthusiasm of the whole school teachers to participate in sports, but also promote the exchanges between the staff. , Let them relieve the pressure in the activities, enhance the cohesion and centripetal force of faculty and staff." Ren Bo said.
The reporter also learned in the interview that there are relatively few caring measures for teachers in elementary and middle schools. "When facing these problems, they mainly rely on their own adjustments. Schools have few targeted activities and policies to regulate teachers' pressure." Chen Crane said frankly.
When he realized that teachers were under great pressure, Zhang Yang said that his school would relieve the anxiety of teachers through lectures, sports competitions, team building and other activities, "but no special psychological counseling channels and normal safeguards have been set up." Zhang Yang said.
In the current atmosphere of respecting teachers, caring for teachers has become the consensus of the whole society.
Caring for teachers requires not only their quality of life and working environment, but also their physical and mental health, especially the physical and mental health of primary and secondary school teachers.
(Our reporter Zhao Jie, our correspondent Peng Li)