October...The New Monday

The month of October in teaching is a notorious time in which students become restless and teachers’ morale drops abysmally. What it the cause of this? Is it Halloween? Is it a full moon? Is it the change of the seasons? Or is it all of the above? No matter what the cause is and no matter if you have heard this term before (or not), October Slump is a real thing.

October Slump makes teachers wonder if they have chosen the right profession and in dire cases if they will come in tomorrow. October Slump makes administrators look around as their school appears to be in utter chaos.

Is there a cure? The short answer is NO.

The encouraging answer is that although there is not a “cure”, everyone should just hold on. Veteran teachers know this, but in my work with new teachers and even second year teachers, it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

By hold on I mean to focus on the present. Focus on the students who come to school to learn and who need YOU to teach them. During October Slump it can be easy to get bogged down in IEP meetings, discipline, grading, benchmarks, emails, etc.; though all of these things are necessary parts of the educational system, they can add to the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that show up in October. By taking things a day at a time (as much as you can, because lesson plans are due a week in advance, right?) and focusing on things that you control, you can maintain your sanity throughout the month of October (and maybe the beginning of November to Thanksgiving break).

The most important thing to remember is that... October Slump does end! The graphic below shows the different phases that most first year teachers go through.

As you can see there is a big dip in the attitudes of first-year teachers (read any-year teacher) during the months of October through January. But as you can also see teachers’ attitudes start to rise again in January (this might have something to do with Winter Break/Christmas Break/whatever it’s called to get a break from the students). This scientific picture proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that October Slump is common and that it does end.   Which means that first year teachers and teachers in general will value their jobs again and feel adept about teaching as the year progresses.

In addition to focusing on the present, teachers should also plan engaging activities for their students. Getting students involved and engaged in the learning gives them a safe and academic environment to explore. Allowing students to talk about content will cut down on social talking. Allowing students to creatively explore problems and test solutions will expel some of the energy that is bottled up in their little bodies. Instead of doing a worksheet, write the questions on paper and hang them up around the room, this helps students practice the concept and gets them up and moving (because a lot of students sit in desks for seven hours a day!!). Will this create chaos in your classroom? Probably. Yes.  However, is it more beneficial to the well being of you AND your students? Also, yes. Using strategies that we have talked about on this blog before will help keep the chaos down and the students engaged.

What are some other ways that you keep the October Slump from bringing you down? Please add additional ideas in the comments.