I’ve always been a rather anxious person: perfectionism, rumination, chasing impossible standards, second-guessing, excessive worrying… they’ve all been a part of my psychological make-up for as long as I can remember.

When I first started teaching, my anxiety levels soared - not only did I have my baseline levels of anxiety to contend with, but now I found myself in front of 25 adolescents during 80-minute blocks, teaching 15 lessons a week, with a total of 125+ students that I was responsible for. Talk about anxiety-provoking!

The impostor syndrome didn’t help, of course. I hadn’t had enough hours in the classroom to know whether or not my teaching practices were effective, that I was on the right path to improving my teaching craft, and that honestly… students value your presence and vibes more than your pedagogical expertise. (Let’s not discount the importance of the latter, of course… just saying, as a first year teacher, I had to rely on my interpersonal skills to help compensate for the lack of experience I had.)

Luckily, I can say that every year, my anxiety in the classroom subsided just a bit more than it had the previous year. Now, I rarely feel anxious in the classroom. The things that tend to set me off: unexpected fire drills and lock downs, unannounced teacher observations (we’ll talk more about this later…), and oh, that one time I was teaching my 2nd block class and an earthquake happened?? [It was minor, but we all felt it. The ground definitely rumbled, the building shook, and the furniture in the room seemed to vibrate. I was NOT prepared for that, and I had NO clue what to do!]

In this post, I’m going to share some tips for managing anxiety in the classroom.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or provide medical or mental health advice for anxiety or any other condition. It should not be used as a substitute for professional support from a qualified mental health provider. If you are experiencing significant anxiety or concerns about your well-being, please consult a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare professional.

Mindset Matters!

The way we view ourselves (self-concept), and the mindset that we carry into our work at school are incredibly important. If we view ourselves as ineffective, less-than, or unqualified, we’re setting ourselves up for a tough time in the classroom. If we start the school day imagining that we will fail, that our students will hate our lessons, or that we’ll never be able to make it through the day, then we’re also doing ourselves a huge disservice.

Your mindset matters. If you can’t bring yourself to say the positive things out loud (e.g., I AM an effective teacher. My work in the classroom DOES matter. I am going to have an EXCELLENT day, despite whatever challenges my arise), try to use more neutral language:

I am a work in progress: I have a lot of room for growth, but I also know more than I give myself credit for!
My work as a classroom teacher may not be curing cancer, but it is important work.
There will be speed bumps throughout the day, most likely, but I can control how I respond to those situations.

Set small, realistic goals

Sometimes, anxiety can spring up when we think about all of the unfinished (and new!) tasks we have on our plate, because we feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff we have to do, and have no clue when we’re going to find the time or energy to complete all of the things.

I say this often in this blog: teaching is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. There’s ALWAYS work to be done. Rather than trying to accomplish all of the tasks, find the most meaningful ones that really should get accomplished sooner rather than later.

Find your teaching pain points - and address them!

This tip is going to be highly individualized, because what is a pain point for me (grading) might actually be something you enjoy about your teaching job! Find the things that make you most anxious, and when you are not feeling anxious (i.e., your prefrontal cortex is online and you can rationally think about problems and devise solutions) start considering ways to address those teaching pain points.

Let me share a personal one from early on in my teaching career.

When I first started teaching, I felt incredibly overstimulated and overwhelmed by the way that the bell would ring, and before I could even get myself together, a new group of students was filing in through my door, causing chaos, and now I had to settle them down and begin instruction right away. This rush was wayyy too hectic for me, and it brought me an incredible amount of anxiety.

I’m the type of person who needs a slow start. If I were giving a presentation in front of a huge crowd, I’d really struggle to get started the minute they told me to. I’d need a few minutes to compose myself and start when I was feeling ready. (This is why I’d probably be a pretty bad public speaker!)

So, I decided to create a classroom routine for students that would allow me a few minutes at the beginning of class (in a nice, quiet room with working students) to take attendance, mentally prepare myself for my lesson, address immediate student issues, take a sip of water - and honestly, just do whatever I needed to do before beginning class.

The routine went something like this: students arrive to my class quietly, find their seats, take out their binder, and begin working on the Do-Now projected on the board. They are to work silently and individually, and sit and wait for the rest of their classmates to finish and for me to begin the lesson.

Just a quick shift like this was a game changer. The stress and pressure of beginning Block 2 at exactly 9:43 melted away, because I knew I could begin at 9:45, 9:46, 9:47… heck, I could even begin at 9:50 if I needed to!

This may not be a teaching pain point for you, so this solution I created might not be helpful. Completely understandable - point is, you need to reflect on what brings you anxiety and consider how you could make that part of your teaching life a little bit less stressful for you.

Improve your relationship with uncertainty

Anxiety often blossoms when we feel uncertain or out of control. I can’t think of a profession that is more uncertain than teaching. Contrary to the beliefs of many administrators, we as teachers cannot control what 25+ kids in our room do. Sure, we can create policies, procedures, and a classroom culture that promotes strong engagement and classroom management overall, but I as one human being cannot control what all of my students are doing for the entire duration of my class period. It’s actually impossible.

When I stopped feeling paralyzed by uncertainty - spoiler alert: you can never predict how your teaching day is going to go… this makes the job exciting because no two days are ever the same, but it also means the our work is inherently uncertain - my teaching experience felt much lighter, less stressful.

When I stopped feeling the need to control every. single. thing. in. my. classroom… my teaching life changed completely. I don’t take it personally when students don’t do their homework. If students are particularly chatty one day, that’s not my fault. If a student fails his/her assessment, it’s on them.

When we relinquish control and embrace the inherent uncertainty of our job, our anxiety tends to decrease.

Be prepared for observations

Every single time an administrator walks into my classroom for an observation - both announced AND unannounced, by the way - I get heart palpitations. Literally, every single time. I’ve been teaching for over a decade, and I still experience a surge of stress when I’m being observed.

My palms get sweaty, my heart feels like it’s beating a mile a minute, I can feel my voice quiver as I’m talking… it’s not great, but I’ve just accepted that it’s my body’s threat response system activating to A) help give me the hormonal cocktail (hello, adrenaline!) I need to focus and rise to the occasion, and B) to protect me, because my body knows that these observations ARE evaluative and they COULD impact my career and, consequently, my life.

I’ve written a pretty useful blog post called How to Ace Your Teacher Observation. Definitely check it out for concrete ways to handle observations - especially if they tend to make you anxious.

Don’t aim for perfection: aim for “good enough”

Teaching tends to attract perfectionists. There, I said it. Many of us were great students - in our formative years, we excelled in school, and the behavioral pattern of exerting effort, achieving remarkable results and receiving rewards/praise was firmly established in our psyche… so, it makes sense that we carry that perfectionism with us into our classrooms as teachers.

I had an awful mentor teacher during my student teaching experience. She was terrible for many reasons - a great teacher, but a terrible mentor… - and one day, when I tried talking to her about my perfectionism, she said, “How could you be a perfectionist? The work you’re doing right now as a teacher is far from perfect.” The way she so fundamentally misunderstood what perfectionism is… it was wild, indeed.

Perfectionism is not the belief that we are perfect; it’s the relentless pursuit of achieving the illusion of perfection. And that’s the thing: perfect is an illusion.

The best lesson you’ve ever taught was still imperfect.

I stopped aiming for delivering the perfect lessons; instead, I aimed for delivering lessons that were good enough, and it changed my life.

As you move through your own teaching journey, I hope these strategies help you feel a little more grounded, a little more supported, and a little less alone in the anxious moments.

Teaching will always come with surprises, challenges, and (strong) emotions, but it doesn’t have to override your sense of stability or worth.

With time, practice, and compassion for yourself, you can build a classroom experience that feels calmer and more manageable.

Remember that anxiety doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong; it often means you care deeply. And if you can hold onto that truth, you’ll find that you’re already far more capable than your anxious mind gives you credit for.

Happy language teaching,

~ Michael

Tips for Anxious Teachers