You know you’re going to have problem kids and students who struggle, and sometimes you won’t be able to give all of your students the attention they need. See Also: Surviving Teacher Burnout How Bad Education Policies Demoralize Teachers Students in the United States continue to perform about average in reading and science but score lower than the average for similar industrialized countries in math, according to the 2015 results for the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) released on Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But whatever the coping mechanism, every educator shares a need to decompress after spending another day in a demanding, pressure-cooker profession. But what a lot of educators experience isn’t the everyday variety of workplace tension. The U.S. needs to work on equity.” Sahlberg, a policy advisor in Finland who has studied education systems across the world, spoke Thursday at NEA Foundation’s 9th Annual Cross-Site Convening, a two-day gathering of more than 200 education officials and union-district leadership teams from across the nation. If you’re not a runner like Katelyn Hutchison, experiment with other forms of exercise. Try a Zumba or Karate class.

For more than 40 years, Finland has evolved from a highly centralized education system emphasizing testing to a more localized system in which highly trained teachers design local curriculum around flexible national standards. But even when you’re stretched too thin, and it seems like you’ll never get out from under, something magical happens that makes it all worthwhile. Regular meetings with colleagues can also help reduce conflict by increasing communication and understanding. So I try to find a way to let those things go and not take them home with me.” Hutchison goes for a run; other educators may walk their dog, head to a yoga class, or maybe find a less healthy way to unwind–Chardonnay, anyone? “To be honest, I often eat sweets, especially chocolate,” admits Maria Schrenger, a teacher from Louisville, Kentucky. Here in the 21st century, our stressors aren’t as dangerous, but our responses to them—like a racing heart rate—are. Are you stressed by the lack of communication in your grade-level team?

Take a look at your schedule and set a time each day, or each week, for everyone to meet, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Tens of thousands of students, parents, and educators agree and have voiced their support by signing NEA’s Degrees Not Debt pledge and you can, too. He observes: “You go to Finland and everyone is using cooperative learning. The minute Katelyn Hutchison gets home from school, she laces up her running shoes and jogs for a few miles to clear her head. Fair school funding is part of our framework.” Meanwhile, the U.S. has been imposing more standardized testing through policies like No Child Left Behind (NCLB) while creating more inequitable conditions between states, counties and school districts, thus expanding the achievement gap and undermining the capacity of some schools to meet NCLB requirements. The teams are part of the NEA Foundation’s Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative and its Institute for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. The stress response is designed to protect us, and when we experience stress our bodies go into fight or flight mode.

That’s where NEA’s Degrees Not Debt campaign comes in.   Relaxation Exercise—Take a Mini-Break with this Deep Breathing Exercise. Find out how you can be part of the solution. She also recommends meditation and relaxation exercises (see sidebar) to minimize stress for those who are unable to be more physically active. Over time when high levels of stress aren’t properly managed, the responses can range from anxiety disorders, migraines, and joint problems to heart disease and stroke. Take a walk around the building.

Repeat breath and calming word several times. He then proceeded to read it aloud without stumbling once. “Those are the moments that remind me of why I became a teacher,” she says. Take two deep, continuous breaths, as if you were filling a balloon. The focus here is on standards. Proper breathing from the diaphragm and visualization are proven ways to reduce heart rate and ease stress symptoms.

As you breathe in and out repeat a calming word, like peace or serenity. Stress is the body’s response to danger or the fear of danger. Relax your upper body and shoulders. The most common stressors that Howley hears from educators at her training sessions are a lack of support from parents and administrators, a lack of awareness of how very hard educators have to work, and a lack of respect from the public at large. But educators aren’t most people. “Educators go into the profession because they care very deeply about the work they do and the results they strive to see in their students,” says Nora Howley, manager of programs at NEA’s Health Information Network. “When you care that deeply, you’re going to feel it.” Katelyn Hutchison cares that deeply, and she doesn’t want stress to interfere with her desire to help children learn. “My students are the reason I’m there, and even on my most stressful days, they make it all worth it,” she says. “In any career you choose in life there will be stress, it’s a matter of how you handle it that makes all the difference.” It makes a big difference. For most people, it could seem like too much. Those who handle stress well can lessen the impact it has on their bodies.

But you can have both. (Though), it doesn’t happen by itself.” In the 1990s, Finland focused on reform curriculum in science, technology, and innovation, leading to an emphasis on teaching students how to think creatively, solve real-world problems, and manage their own learning. “It is the whole child approach,” Sahlberg says. “Schools have to be designed in a way so kids (have time to think and play) and not have to sit for hours.” Despite its reputation for over-testing, Sahlberg credits the U.S. with innovations in student learning and teaching employed by countries that often score in the top five on PISA tests, including Finland. “They use American homework market textbooks, leadership methods, and innovations from the United States,” he says. “Many of their ideas came from America. It’s been plaguing us since the dawn of humankind. As part of the foundation’s work around teaching and learning, the convening offers union-district teams comprised of NEA local staff and school district officials the opportunity to work with nationally renowned scholars to create locally driven action plans. “We must collectively take responsibility and action for bold change to ensure the fate of the most vulnerable students does not repeat itself into the 21st century and to guarantee all students have equal opportunity to learn and thrive,” says Harriet Sanford, NEA Foundation president and CEO. That includes additional funds for Pell Grants, and expanded loan repayment and forgiveness programs for public-service employees. Schrenger, the chocolate-loving educator from Louisville, gained 15 pounds last school year because of stress—much of it related to the new Common Core standards and losing her teaching assistant to budget cuts. “I teach first grade and am often there 12 to 13 hours a day, and I take work home, too,” she says. “The best thing I do for stress is to go for five- to six-mile walks with a friend and work out at the gym.

After seven years in the classroom, she’s learned she needs an outlet for the pressure that builds up during the day. “Running gives me some time to myself to let go of whatever causes my stress that day,” says Hutchison, a first-grade teacher from Illinois. “It’s easy for teachers to carry our stress with us, whether we’re worrying about a student or thinking about the million things we have to do. If the unruly students, uncooperative parents, and unsupportive administrators whom educators sometimes run into weren’t stressful enough, they also grapple with budget cuts, ballooning class sizes, and a bone-deep exhaustion that comes from spending almost every evening and weekend grading and planning. Education policymakers in the United States too often stress test-based accountability, privatization, and curriculum standardization over funding equity, collaborative learning and creative thinking, says Pasi Sahlberg, a Finnish educator, author and scholar. “Equity tries to provide conditions for everyone to learn,” he says. “Some education systems believe competition is key, just like the market system … that the private sector will somehow (manage schools) better. These two activities help me shed stress and anger and help me feel stronger.” When you start to feel stressed during the school day, it’s also important to find time for a break, says Howley. That’s why Nora Howley and the staff at NEA’s HIN lead workshops for members called “Kill Stress Before it Kills You.”  The 90-minute session helps educators define stress, identify its causes, and figure out ways to manage it. “We want to help educators understand that stress is doing harmful things to our bodies–that it has physical manifestations,” says Howley. “But when you manage stress with exercise or relaxation techniques, it removes the negative impact stress has on the body, even though the stress itself doesn’t go away.” And let’s face it— stress isn’t going anywhere. Atlas couldn’t carry that much weight on his shoulders, but educators are walking around with it every day, and it starts to take a serious toll. But those who struggle to manage their stress can experience serious health problems like heart disease.

Or practice relaxation exercises with your class. Open your eyes when you begin to feel calmer. “Finally, we want to emphasize the importance of plain old fun,” Howley says. “Everyone needs to find time for fun, whether it’s enjoying free time with family and friends, going to the movies, watching or playing sports or participating in your favorite hobby.” Maria Schrenger goes to a comedy club because “great laughs are like therapy.” The most important strategy of all is to remember to keep things in perspective. Begin with deep breathing. Hutchison wrote him a note to tell him how proud she was of his hard work, and when she handed it to him, she asked if he wanted help reading it. “No, I can read it!” he told her. This system is implemented through equitable funding. “We’ve had a strong focus on equity since the 1970s,” says Sahlberg. “So that everyone has what they need.

Some people here say excellence over equity. Join a game with students on the playground. I do not understand why you do not do these things here, that happen everywhere else.” This year’s convening is titled, “At the Intersection of Heart, Mind, and Community – the Profession of Teaching in the 21st Century.” “After nearly three decades of educational restructure and reform have swept across the nation, the universal quest to ensure that all children enter the 21st century ready to learn and thrive remains an elusive goal,” says Sanford. “Our theme seeks to bring into sharp focus the “what,” “why,” and “how” of the evolving profession of teaching.” Communication with administrators is equally important, says Ted Warner, a special education and language arts teacher from Northampton, Virginia. “Most of what worries us can be resolved if we sit down face-to-face with the people in charge,” he says. “We obviously can’t have a meeting every day with every administrator, but ‘Can I sit down with you for ten minutes after fifth period?’ will almost always get a yes. Back in Katelyn Hutchison’s class in Illinois, a student struggled with reading but eventually overcame the obstacles to become a competent reader. If it’s long term, you need to work harder to find effective—and healthy—ways to cope. In his presentation titled, “Collaboration, Teacher Voice and Equity in Reforming Education: Lessons from the Finnish Experience,” Sahlberg explained how world-leading education systems in countries like Finland, Singapore, and Japan focus on teacher professionalism, collaborative learning, and performance-based tests, whereas the U.S. system is often stifled by standardized testing, low pay for educators, and inadequate funding of schools in some rural, urban and other low-income areas. “In Helsinki we have positive discrimination,” he says. “Schools in low income areas are given more resources … because maybe there are a lot of immigrants (unfamiliar with the school system) or single parents.” NEA Foundation President and CEO Harriet Sanford speaks with author Pasi Sahlberg at the foundation’s 9th Annual Cross-Site Convening held at NEA headquarters. So how does a stressed-out educator properly manage the day-to-day pressures of school life?

First, identify the stressor and determine if it’s changeable, Howley advises. We don’t have to fight off tigers, but our bodies act as though we do when we experience stress. Go for a bike ride, or at the very least, take a walk. “If you’re not doing two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week, find at least one way to add more physical activity to your life,” Howley recommends. The number one strategy for successfully alleviating stress is to exercise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 75 percent of Americans say their jobs are stressful.

If it’s short term, you know the level of stress will come down eventually, which makes it easier to manage. Sahlberg notes that Finland has taken a very different path. In the U.S., not so much. Meetings foster relationships and can create friendships—having a colleague to enjoy a coffee break with is an excellent way to relieve tension. Like cave people fighting or fleeing a saber-tooth tiger, we need to find a way to burn off stress. “If you don’t have a physical output for stress, it stays in the body, the symptoms don’t go away, and they lead to more permanent health problems,” says Howley. Sit in a comfortable position in a chair or on the floor. Whatever the outcome, their stress was burned through their emergency response—as a result, prehistoric cave people didn’t suffer from ulcers or take pills for high blood pressure.

It’s nerve-jangling, sleep-robbing, heart-pounding stress that comes from all directions and can leave them constantly anxious and fatigued. When you exhale, the balloon deflates. But back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, what we feared were predators, like a saber-tooth tiger, not an overbearing principal or helicopter parent. When faced with a charging saber-tooth tiger, cave dwellers had three options: run for their lives, fight and kill the beast, or fight and be killed. Close your eyes and attend to your breath. And, of course, armed with information, you’ll feel better.” Educators should also determine if their stress is short term, like testing season, or long-term, like having your job performance evaluated by test scores.

On top of all of that, they feel they’re being blamed for all the problems in education.