Overwhelmed?
Most of us know the definition of overwhelm.
Most of us, who will admit it, have experienced the feelings of overwhelm.
This word, OVERWHELMED, is probably one of the most common words teachers use to describe teaching today.
Teachers are overwhelmed.
Students are overwhelmed.
Administrators are overwhelmed.
Parents are overwhelmed.
The etymology of the word overwhelmed is from Old English overwhelmen
over = to turn upside down + whelmen = to submerge completely
Yep, that pretty much describes life in the classroom today.
Everyone and everything seems turned upside down, and life as we know it in the classroom will never be the same, especially since the pandemic.
AND, everyone feels like they are submerged and drowning and not even treading water anymore.
etymonline.com states that “perhaps the connecting notion of being overwhelmed is a boat, etc., washed over, and overset, by a big wave. In a figurative sense of ‘to bring to ruin’ is attested from 1520s.”
I’m getting a visual…stormy, rough seas, small boat, alone and adrift with little to no crew to help keep the boat upright, a big wave of walking the plank-jumping ship-betrayal-mutiny, the feeling of being in the doldrums with no breath of inspiration or compass of hope to guide us safely and surely to our destination.
How do we keep from getting overwhelmed by everything going on outside of the classroom and outside of ourselves?
How do we navigate the stormy seas of teaching (and life)?
What can we do about the tsunami that keeps us submerged with feelings of drowning and gasping for air or the feelings of abandoning ship or the feelings of mutiny and betrayal that can come up in our daily interactions with students, colleagues, admin and especially with parents? (more…)
