Preparing for students’ return to our school building has been weighing heavily on my mind. There is still much uncertainty, some anxiety, a lot of questions and a feeling in the pit of my stomach that we’re getting ready for a roller coaster ride. I believe I mentioned before that I no longer enjoy amusement park rides. I feel angst at the thought of even a figurative roller coaster. Am I the only teacher feeling this way? I highly doubt it; and that’s why I opted to explore the idea of addressing teachers’ emotional needs this week. Inhale… exhale… let’s do it!
Many articles have been written about teacher burnout and statistics abound to support research findings. It has been established as a hazard of this demanding and often stressful profession. Many teachers leave the profession within the first five years. I’m sure it goes without saying that the demands of the profession have intensified this year. With the arrival of COVID-19 and school closures across the country in the Spring, two important responses emerged.
In the blog post "Now and Then", I wrote about the common expression in education circles, “Maslow before Bloom”. I don’t know if any administrators listen to my podcast, but I would love to know if they and other educational leaders ever apply this idea to teachers. Teachers are often reminded to “take care of yourselves”, “have a restful weekend”, and “let us know if you need anything”. However, many times when we express what we need and ask for things that really matter, we are left with platitudes. I have not many teachers who do not have their students’ best interest at heart and most teachers tend to go above and beyond to address the varying needs of their students. School leaders remind teachers that their focus must be on the students - we must differentiate to meet their varying needs and, especially now, we must be vigilant to ensure that their social-emotional needs are addressed. I wholeheartedly agree with those expectations. Full stop. What about the teachers? I would also suggest that similar expectations should be in place to support teachers. Posing this question is not intended to compare or suggest that teachers' needs are more important. It is, however, to highlight that they are equally important. I believe that focusing on teachers’ emotional health will help us to better cope with the turbulence of teaching during a pandemic.
- There was a strong focus on SEL and students’ mental health during a pandemic.
- Teachers were recognized for their resilience and support during unprecedented circumstances and celebrated as heroes.
In the blog post "Now and Then", I wrote about the common expression in education circles, “Maslow before Bloom”. I don’t know if any administrators listen to my podcast, but I would love to know if they and other educational leaders ever apply this idea to teachers. Teachers are often reminded to “take care of yourselves”, “have a restful weekend”, and “let us know if you need anything”. However, many times when we express what we need and ask for things that really matter, we are left with platitudes. I have not many teachers who do not have their students’ best interest at heart and most teachers tend to go above and beyond to address the varying needs of their students. School leaders remind teachers that their focus must be on the students - we must differentiate to meet their varying needs and, especially now, we must be vigilant to ensure that their social-emotional needs are addressed. I wholeheartedly agree with those expectations. Full stop. What about the teachers? I would also suggest that similar expectations should be in place to support teachers. Posing this question is not intended to compare or suggest that teachers' needs are more important. It is, however, to highlight that they are equally important. I believe that focusing on teachers’ emotional health will help us to better cope with the turbulence of teaching during a pandemic.
I read a well-written April 30, 2020 article by Christian Cipriano and Marc Brackett this week that highlighted many salient points worth considering. The piece is entitled, “How to Support Teachers’ Emotional Needs Right Now”. They suggest that “Schools can develop a plan to help teachers who are feeling anxious and overwhelmed”. A survey was issued at the end of March during COVID-19 crisis.
“In the span of just three days, over 5,000 U.S. teachers responded to the survey. We asked them to describe, in their own words, the three most frequent emotions they felt each day.
The five most-mentioned feelings among all teachers were anxious, fearful, worried, overwhelmed, and sad. Anxiety, by far, was the most frequently mentioned emotion.”
Supporting educators’ well-being"We know how anxious teachers (and, really, everyone else) are feeling right now. But have we thought about how we want to feel?
Previously, we asked teachers how they want to feel at school, and they answered loud and clear. A few of the top hoped-for emotions were happy, inspired, valued, supported, effective, and respected.
The more sensitive we can be to our educators’ emotional needs today, the better we’ll be able to support them now and when schools reopen. The space between how we feel and how we want to feel presents an opportunity to work together to improve the emotional climate of our homes and schools. The emotional climate is the feelings and emotions a learning space evokes; that space includes both the physical one and the learning climate that is evoked through the interactions between and among educators and students. This can be applied to traditional school settings and to virtual ones.
We need to understand how our teachers want to feel, again, and then support them with what they’ll need to experience these feelings.
In the same survey we conducted at the end of March, we asked teachers to share some reflections about what they need to have greater emotional balance. Responses included time to adjust to the new normal of online learning and ways to make virtual learning fun and engaging. Teachers also expressed a strong need for honesty, respect, kindness, flexibility, and patience from their school administrators. Further, they requested more realistic expectations, including boundaries around working around the clock. Among the top requests were strategies to support their own and their students’ wellness and resilience."
I’m afraid that in addition to the cloth and medical masks and face coverings, we are also masking our emotions. As teachers, we mask how we really feel in order to soothe our students’ fears. We mask our feelings because we are afraid of possible repercussions from the powers that be. We hide how we truly feel from our colleagues so that we appear to be unsupportive or to ward off possible ridicule from those who do not share the same perspective. In the same breath that I ask administrators and school leaders about how sensitive they are to teachers’ needs, I also ask myself about my own awareness. Even though I must grapple with my own emotions, I strive to still be mindful of how my teammates and other colleagues may be feeling too. Do I have something to offer? Is there value in vulnerability during this time? Let’s think about these things.
Now that I have gone through one of “soapbox rants” (shout-out to my colleague who recently attached this tag to my passionate expressions), let’s focus on the change maker. I am solution-oriented and never like to raise issues and leave them hanging. Going back to the article that I referenced earlier, I found something worth considering. I can’t say that this proposal is easy to follow through with, but I believe it will make a difference. It will require exploring feelings and I anticipate that not everyone will be comfortable doing so. For those who do, it may put you on a path to something better. The writers proposed the following as a means of addressing this important matter.
“Building a charterPutting our emotional needs in writing has a way of making them real for everyone. It acts as a reminder for those times when we might feel anxious or frustrated or any other uncomfortable feeling. It also serves as a contract between ourselves and our colleagues (and even students and families) to help during moments when we are anything but calm and considerate.
The process of building a charter or agreement requires us to be vulnerable, and that can be hard, especially in times like these. And some educators are somewhat self-conscious and apprehensive about the process of asking colleagues how they want to feel. It can be scary. Often, how we want to feel is an indicator of what hasn’t been working at our schools. But we’ve found that when schools have the courage to ask, the benefits outweigh the risks.
Specifically, a charter reflects the agreed-upon feelings and behaviors of the members of a learning community. Here, we describe the process of building a faculty and staff charter. The same process can be applied to the classroom or home environment.
It starts with a deceptively simple question: How do we want to feel as a faculty/staff? A principal or group of teachers can pose the question to the faculty and staff at their school. Once everyone shares their top three or four hoped-for feelings, the goal is to narrow them all down to a “top five” list reflective of the entire faculty.
The second question is: What do we need to do for everyone to feel this way? Here, faculty and staff share specific ideas that would support them in experiencing each of the feelings. The goal is to come up with two or three observable behaviors that are realistic and attainable for each feeling. For example, in order for teachers to feel supported around distance learning, what exactly will everyone agree to do differently so everyone feels supported? If teachers want to feel more valued, what are the specific things schools can do? Perhaps everyone can agree to respond to virtual inquiries in a timely manner.
Once the five feelings and related behaviors are compiled, the charter can be created and distributed to each member of the faculty and staff. In this virtual world of education, be creative about ways to disseminate it to everyone. If your school or district uses a learning management system, perhaps the charter can be “public” there.
Importantly, the charter should be a living document—it will evolve as your learning community does throughout the pandemic. Consider weekly reflections and opportunities for teachers to share ideas based on their hoped-for feelings. For example, if teachers want to feel more engaged, perhaps create opportunities for them to share their best virtual lesson of the week and why it worked so well. Even weekly quotations that remind everyone about the desired feelings can help to sustain a positive climate. And when we are all finally able to return to our schools, it will be important to revisit the charter. How we want to feel and what we need to support our health and well-being is fluid.
We are living through a pandemic that most of us could never have imagined. And, as we’ve shared, our educators are not in the best emotional shape. Today’s teachers, counselors, and school leaders are experiencing greater anxiety, stress, and burnout than ever before. If we just hope for the best, more and more educators will fall by the wayside. Fortunately, an increasing number of schools are seeing the benefits of SEL, not just for students, but for educators’ own skill development.
The time has come for all schools to address the missing link in what will help educators’ thrive—a greater focus on all adults’ health and well-being. If we want our educators to be successful—both personally and professionally—schools must be places that bring out the best in them.”
Teachers are world changers. Teachers change lives every day and I am proud to be numbered among them. Here’s a story to remind us of the little things we do that make a big difference. It is Stephen J. Hobson’s story.
“I'm convinced that we can have a profound effect on anyone with whom we come into contact. Some act that we deem totally insignificant can literally shape someone else's future. The right words at just the right time could totally change someone's life.
Years ago, that's what happened to me. My life was dramatically transformed because a simple three-word phrase was delivered at the right time in just the right way.
When I was three years old, my parents discovered I was totally deaf, a situation which forced them to make crucial decisions about my education. After consulting with numerous educational specialists, doctors, psychologists and parents of other deaf children, they made a decision that would forever alter my future. Instead of sending me to a private school for the deaf, they decided to "mainstream" me. All of my peers and teachers would have normal hearing.
Since I started going there in 3rd grade, I was the only deaf child at Blue Creek Elementary School in the small, quiet town of Latham, New York. From almost the first day there, the other kids taunted me and called me names mainly because of my hearing aid and the way I talked. I remember thinking, "What have I done wrong?"
My hearing aid was a rectangular box that was harnessed to my shoulders and hung from my neck like an albatross. It created a big lump on my chest with wires running from the box to my ears. Actually, the hearing aid was a miraculous little device that allowed me to pick up slight sounds and noises around me by enhancing my "residual" hearing.
I experienced great anxiety throughout Elementary School because, in addition to the problems of "fitting in" with the other students, I also struggled mightily with most of my school work. I seemed to spend every spare moment doing homework just so I could keep up. I was convinced that my parents and teachers were deeply disappointed in me because of my academic struggles. The teachers didn't know what to do with me nor did they show much interest in any of my rare accomplishments.
My hearing disability required me to constantly ask everyone, "What did he/she say?" I worried that everyone would soon grow tired of repeating everything back to me.
Fitting in was so important to me that every time people around me laughed or smiled, I did the same even though I usually had no idea what was going on. This was repeated at the dinner table at home. Whenever my family had company, I felt left out because I missed the secrets, stories and punch lines. To cope with this, I always volunteered to do the dishes so that I could be excused from participating in the discussions. No wonder my hands were so soft all these years!
When the kids made fun of me, I internalized all of it. I was sure that I was a bad person; I felt I deserved their sneers. Although on the surface, I was gregarious, outgoing and "happy-go-lucky," in reality, my self-esteem was quite low. I saw myself as an ugly buck-toothed kid wearing a weird-looking box around his neck who wasn't even smart enough to keep up with the rest of the other kids.
Mrs. Jordan, my 5th grade teacher, changed all of that with a simple three-word phrase. A large woman with salt and pepper hair, and twinkling brown eyes, Mrs. Jordan had a voice that boomeranged off the walls of her tiny classroom.
One morning, she asked the class a question. I read her lips from my front-row seat and immediately raised my hand. I couldn't believe it - for once I knew the answer. But, when she called on me, I was afraid.
Here was an opportunity to impress the powerful teacher and show her I was worthy of her love. Maybe even impress my classmates a little. I didn't want to blow it. Despite my fears, I felt uncharacteristically confident because - for once - I was sure I had the right answer. I took a deep breath and nervously answered Mrs. Jordan's question.
I will never forget what happened next. Her response was explosive. It startled all of us.
Mrs. Jordan enthusiastically slammed her right foot on the floor and whirled her right finger in a full circle until it pointed directly at me. With sparkling eyes and a wide smile she cried, "THAT'S RIGHT STEPHEN!"
For the first time in my young life, I was an instant star. My heart burst with pride as an ear-to-ear grin filled my face. I sat a little taller in my chair and puffed out my chest. My confidence soared like never before.
I decided right then and there that I would make a place for myself in this world. No matter how many obstacles I might encounter in life, I knew I could overcome them.
A simple three-word phrase delivered with incredible enthusiasm had totally transformed my young life. "THAT'S RIGHT STEPHEN!"
From that day forward, my grades and speech improved dramatically. My popularity among my peers increased and my outlook on life did a complete turnabout. It was all because Mrs. Jordan believed in me and wasn't afraid to express it. "THAT'S RIGHT STEPHEN!"
I hope that someone with the authority to change policies and practices will hear my voice because I believe that I am echoing the sentiments of many teachers. We do not want to drop the ball, especially not this year. We do not need to wear the emotional masks that will ultimately weigh us down. Let’s explore ways to tap into our own emotional needs and address them so we can come out of this year stronger than we came in. Maybe we will have to take a stand and advocate for ourselves as we advocate for our students. If we continue to wear the masks over our emotional needs, people will continue to think that we are fine and we don’t need support. The saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” might explain why teachers' needs are often neglected. It does not have to be that way. WE can ask for what we need so we can be stronger for ourselves and those we serve.
I’ll close this week with another Jamaican saying: “Dawg ah sweat, but long hair covah it.” The literal translation is “A dog is sweating but the fur covers it.” You can't judge someone's troubles by her/his positive appearance. Teachers are strong and often push through challenges, so it is not always apparent that they are struggling with their own emotions. Readers, if you have teacher friends, please check on them and offer support as needed. Words of encouragement or a listening ear may just be the emotional boost that is needed.
Until next time, walk good and one love. 🖤💚💛
I’ll close this week with another Jamaican saying: “Dawg ah sweat, but long hair covah it.” The literal translation is “A dog is sweating but the fur covers it.” You can't judge someone's troubles by her/his positive appearance. Teachers are strong and often push through challenges, so it is not always apparent that they are struggling with their own emotions. Readers, if you have teacher friends, please check on them and offer support as needed. Words of encouragement or a listening ear may just be the emotional boost that is needed.
Until next time, walk good and one love. 🖤💚💛