4 Small Fixes for the October Blues

A few weeks into the school year, the adrenaline wears off and many teachers hit a wall that has a name: the October Blues. Ira Apfel sits down with author Mike Anderson, who crashed hard as a rookie teacher and swim coach working more than 100 hours a week. Together they explore why the slump hits new teachers hardest, how teacher stress can spill over to students, and what one year-long experiment revealed about where teaching time really goes.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARNThe October Blues are a predictable slump that arrives approximately three or four weeks into the school year, and they hit new teachers hardest because many have never been told the crash is coming.A study of roughly 400 fourth and fifth graders in British Columbia found that teachers who reported higher workplace stress had students with higher cortisol levels, which suggests that stress can travel in both directions in a classroom.Mike uses six intrinsic motivators from his book, “Rekindle Your Professional Fire” (autonomy, competence, purpose, belonging, curiosity and fun) to help teachers find the need in deficit and pick one small step, such as drinking a tall glass of water before coffee or a short walk after the last student leaves.A group of teachers in Fairfax County, Virginia, had a far better second October even with harder classes, and Mike credits concrete classroom management strategies and a stronger sense of competence rather than rest alone.

STORIES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEThe “October Blues” Are Coming. Here’s How Teachers Can Beat Them. by Ira Apfel

Books by Mike AndersonRekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher

Hugging Porcupines

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HOST AND CONTRIBUTORSHost: Ira Apfel, Editorial Director, EdSurge

Featuring:

Mike Anderson, Educational Consultant, Former Classroom Teacher, and Author