At lunch, they told us that because the in school classes had to be smaller due to health regulations because of the pandemic, the size of our online classes would be increased to 38 students each. After school, the government announced that they were delaying March Break until April. What was I to do with my anger? I had many excellent vengeful ideas but I had 33 students to teach the next day. This was after the board had changed the online platform three times, had not given any resources nor budget and had failed teachers in so many ways (let me count the ways…). I was angry, tired, sad and frustrated. Every day it seems I’m angry all over again at something new. I do not want to take that anger into the my classroom. So what do I do?

1. Exercise – I exercise every day (groan). It helps me get rid of anger, relieve stress and feel better.
2. Talk with friends and family – I choose a couple of wise people (not everyone) to talk with, vent to, and trust with my anger.
3. Acknowledge people are doing their best – I can see the vice-principles and principles also doing their best, even though I’m angry at them sometimes. I try to remember that everyone is doing their best, even when I have to pay for their mistakes.
4. Forgive – I chose to forgive the people who make life very difficult for me – not because they deserve it (sarcastic laugh) – but because it allows me to let go of my anger and that’s better for me.
5. Enjoy my students – my students bring me joy – every day. I want to be able to bring them joy too and not just anger. We have fun while we all learn how to do online school (and which Google searches are better phrased in another way so as to avoid inappropriate results).

Of course, I still get angry, and there are many more things I can do to feel better – be thankful, read a good book, listen to music, watch a movie, chat with friends and more. My main goal is to deal with the anger in a healthy way so that I can be the best teacher possible for my students.