I taught in two schools before I resigned from the teaching profession. In one school, the existence of the School Excellence Award stirred the management's ambition to win it.

Afraid of getting a bad performance ranking from the school's management, many teachers felt pressured into joining fitness programmes and other activities organised for the staff.

As the amount of work remained heavy for these teachers and joining the programmes ate into their time in school, they had to mark their students' assignments and prepare their lessons at home.

Ironically, these new initiatives became burdens to them.

Thus, by trying to win the School Excellence Award, the management lost sight of its purpose to encourage schools to find ways to relieve teachers of work-related stress.

Though my observations during my stint in the teaching profession may not apply to Cedar Girls', they highlight one important fact: Fitness exercises will not reduce stress if they do not come with a healthy workload.

'Time-out' does not constitute setting aside time for teachers to do an activity which is deemed compulsory by the principal.

Principals should give free time to teachers so that they can do any healthy activity they like, be it physical exercise, a chat with colleagues, or writing in a private journal.

This is 'time-out'.