When teachers were asked how they want to feel at school, a few of the hoped-for emotions were: happy, inspired, valued, supported, effective and respected. In a 2017 survey, when teachers were asked how they were feeling at school the top five emotions were: frustrated, overwhelmed, stressed, tired and happy.
When surveyed in March 2020, within a span of three days, 5000 teachers responded to the question, what are the three most frequent emotions you feel each day, the top 5 emotions named were: anxious, fearful, worried, overwhelmed, and sad. Anxiety, by far, was the most frequently mentioned emotion (Brackett).
As we head back to school, how do we address the deepening gap between the desired emotional state of teachers and the actual emotional state of teachers? The answer is complex and multi-faceted. One solution that is frequently offered is to attend to the social-emotional well-being of our educators and support staff. Elena Aguilar offers her Spheres of Influence strategy as one social-emotional tool to help educators cut through the noise and identify where to direct their attention and energy.
The spheres of influence or control is a deceptively simple strategy that provides clarity of thinking around what we can control and what we can’t control. This clarity then allows us to focus our attention and energy on the things we can influence and control and to let go of the things we can’t control.
The exercise asks participants to make a list of their personal and professional complaints. Code the complaints as: “Within my control,” “Within my influence,” or “Outside of my control and influence.”
Then consider the following reflection questions:
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What category did the majority of your complaints fall into?
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Of the complaints outside of your control, are there any that you can look at differently so that you can have more control over them?
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Of the complaints outside of your control, are there any that you’d like to let go of? Imagine putting them into a balloon filled with helium and then watching the balloon rise into the sky and disappear.
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Look at the complaints that are within your sphere of influence and control. See if you can identify one concrete action you could do to address each one.
If we are feeling anxious and worried about the upcoming school year, focusing our energy and attention on what we can influence and control is more likely to help us garner our desired outcomes.
Sources Cited:
Aguilar, Elena (2022, June 28). Episode 43: The spheres of influence. Bright Morning. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://brightmorningteam.com/2021/02/episode-43-the-spheres-of-influence/
Brackett, M. (2020, June 15). Teachers are anxious and overwhelmed. they need sel now more than ever. - edsurge news. EdSurge. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-04-07-teachers-are-anxious-and-overwhelmed-they-need-sel-now-more-than-ever
Patricia Lehmann
Scotti Hagensick
