TEACHERS STRESS MANAGEMENT
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"In Finding Allies: Sustaining Teachers' Health and Well Being," Patricia Houghton searches ways for burned-out teachers to regain their physical and psychic strengths. In the beginning of her article, Houghton (2001) affirms that teachers' concern about "their own comfort and happiness as educators" (p. 46) is not a selfish thought: only when teachers are able to maintain their own health and energy levels, they can guide students and change schools for the better. Subsequently, Houghton identifies three problems that attribute to teachers' physical and mental distress and offers her holistic approach to promote their wellness.
The first problem is teachers' tendency to isolate themselves from others. Houghton recounts that many primary and secondary school educators feel "a need to hide behind a faade" and "make things sound better than they really are" (p. 47). To break the seclusion, Houghton suggests forming groups among colleagues and professionals within and outside the school. The two allies will not only help one's self-evaluation process but also heighten one's sense of belonging to his/her community. Houghton, nonetheless, leaves one word of caution: none should accept others' negativity toward students and make prejudice against them, for such action will bring discordance among teachers and students...