69ý

Teaching Profession

How Teachers Plan to Beat the ‘October Blues’ This Year

By Madeline Will — September 30, 2024 2 min read
Illustration of an educator with long white hair, wearing a dark blue dress and walking off to the right of the frame with a low battery hovering above her head showing one red bar.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables famously said, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” But in education, October can be a hard, sometimes grueling month.

The excitement that comes with the start of the school year has faded, work has started to pile up, and classroom management and lesson plans may start going awry. There might not be any school breaks this month, making the days and weeks feel even longer. And to top it off, it’s the start of cold and flu season.

Ellen Moir, the founder of the New Teacher Center, a nonprofit that works to strengthen beginning teachers’ practice, deemed the stretch of time between mid-October and Thanksgiving break for new teachers, but veteran teachers struggle with this time period, too.

“It’s a very, very long stretch while you’re tired,” Roxanna Elden, an author and former teacher, told Education Week last year. "[You’re] hitting the wall, you can barely make it through the week, and there are just endless weeks [of the school year] ahead of you.”

(Of course, not all teachers agree that October is the toughest month of the year. See what other months teachers think are the most challenging and why.)

Education Week asked its social media followers to share how they plan to beat the October blues this year. These responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Stay connected with students and build those relationships

“Keep your lessons engaging!! This is the time to truly bust out things to catch the students’ interest. Fall, football, Pirate Day, Halloween. Even high school kids like this. Further, build deeper on relationships. Talk to your students a bit more and truly get to know them at this time. It will pay off come wintertime!”


“One creative strategy is to conduct check-ins with students. One example is to use a ‘Feelings Wall.’ Create a designated space in your classroom where students can express their emotions through sticky notes or drawings. Encourage them to share how they’re feeling at the start of each week. This visual representation fosters community, allows for peer support, and opens up opportunities for discussion.”

“Stay focused on goals with students and what matters to authentic, engaged learning. Don’t let the outside noises in. Stay steady and joyful! Make time for early celebrations in student gains.”

Prioritize mental health and work-life balance

“Have a holiday booked for October half term.”


“At your lunch break, take a walk outside the school building for fresh air (mental health break).”

"[Book a] strategically placed mental health day.”


Keep a sense of humor

“Count down to Thanksgiving break. 😂"


“Carbs and baked goods.”

And here’s how this teacher is beating the October blues:

“With a stick.”

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teaching Profession Opinion Teacher Contracts Need to Change. And It’s Not Just About Money
If we want to retain effective teaches, we should increase teacher compensation—but we need to do it strategically.
Karen Hawley Miles & David Rosenberg
4 min read
Final Piece Of The Puzzle. Two people about to shake hands over trading a jigsaw puzzle piece needed for the solution.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching Teachers Say the Public Views Them Negatively
The perception coincides with teachers' low levels of job satisfaction.
2 min read
survey teachers static
via Canva
Teaching Profession Download Play Teacher TV Bingo and Spot All the Teacher Tropes
It's trope bingo; spot the common (and often annoying) mischaracterizations.
Image of bingo cards, a remote control, and a television.
via Canva
Teaching Profession Fictional Teachers on TV Can Skew Public Perception
Media tropes about teachers can give incoming educators and the public unrealistic expectations about the profession.
5 min read
Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, Quinta Brunson, and Tyler James Williams play teachers on the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary.” Teachers say the show resonates with their experience.
Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter, Quinta Brunson, and Tyler James Williams play teachers on the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary.” Teachers say the show resonates with their experience, but researchers say many other portrayals of teachers are flawed.
Gilles Mingasson/ABC