Teacher Wellness

This topic has to be at the forefront when designing a trauma sensitive classroom. Teachers

are proud individuals (well Ok, I am but we have already established this in another post). Over the course of my career the sacrifices I have made and continue to make, I consciously know are affecting me physically and emotionally and also sadly impacting my family. I am this picture and I know I am. Just sit with that for a moment. I know I am, my kids know I am, my husband tells me I am.

 

I typically can keep my anxiety at bay and they typically happen once my mind begins to settle at night. WAIT… WAIT… I GET IT Oh My Word… sorry for the squirrel moment BUT I get why a student may become more agitated during my classroom meditation… when I try to decompress and slow my brain down from the day that is when the anxiety creeps in; I can see why the agitation. Hello light bulb and connection moment. This just helped me build empathy…

anyways although my anxiety tends to creep in at night there has been moments when I have experienced anxiety attack at school that have consumed me. Not cool… In the moments afterwards I cannot figure out the exact trigger or reason for heightening but I can only assume that it is because of the balancing facade I put on. I know I take on a lot and fill my plate so its pouring over the side and my feet try to catch the falling parts, some are caught and some things fall (usually in secret). So when it comes to teacher wellness, there are a few things I have learned throughout this very particular year. It started when I signed up for a class called “Healthy School Leadership” this summer, Reg Leidl said, this should be the goal and in this order: Happy, Healthy Children” and in order to have that you must have “Happy, Healthy Teachers” first. I learned that we need to learn to take things off our plate and that was an exit slip as you may call it, a last and personal assignment, what will be the one thing you will take off your plate this year to help you with your personal wellness. I chose 2 things and I have stuck to one of them and it is making a huge difference already. I chose to not coach basketball this year, to reduce the amount of extra curricular hours and activities I sign up for. The second plan was to reduce my contract to 80% this year so that I can find balance between work, university, and home life; allowing myself one day to complete the jobs I needed to whether it was laundry or school work and then opening up the opportunity to be able to dedicate time to my family on the weekend without feeling the pressure of my other obligations. In addition to those plans I have also been making a very conscious choice to put my physical health at the forefront by eating nutritionally and being physically active.

“Happy, Healthy Teachers”

So why have I wasted all this time talking about this, well Craig (2016), has an entire section dedicated to teacher wellness and how secondary trauma, burnout,  and compassion fatigue are a very real thing if left unattended too. So how can we create or work towards a teacher resilience?  There are some resilient practices that are offered that that gives suggestions on what I can do in addition to the changes that I am already working on.

Coping Strategies

• Have good problem solving strategies
• Seek out and use social supports
• transform difficult situations into learning opportunities
• remain objective
• be flexible
• Do not personalize situations

Self Regulation

• Monitor ones own internal state
• become aware of my own physical and emotional reactions
• Respond thoughtfully
• regulate my emotions and behavior
• practice mindfulness

Other Strategies I can use suggested by Craig (2016):

• build self confidence
• keep efficacy journal
• continue my education
• use a trauma sensitive lens
• use purposeful interactions

Resources for Responding to Violence and Tragedy article (link posted below) also offered some ways for teachers to work on their emotional support:

Build a community of support- Teachers need support from other adults to process their emotions.

Try visualization exercises- Try visualizing your worries as a big boulder and then visualize yourself pushing it away or to picture myself loading my troubles into a canoe and pushing it downstream. Another visualizing technique that I learned from somewhere was to picture all the worries in a red balloon and then let the balloon go and watch it float away.

Take care of your physical needs- Make a special effort to feed your body good nutritious food, get a minimum of 8 hours sleep, and create a good exercise routine. Maintaining regular routines has help me feel that I am in more control and has created a sense of security.

Seek help if necessary- “It’s perfectly normal to be upset in the days and weeks following a tragedy. But if your feelings of distress linger for more than a month, or if you’re having difficulty meeting your usual obligations, it may be time for professional help. Find out what kind of assistance is available through your school’s Employee Assistance Program, or schedule an appointment with a mental health professional.”

Other Resources for Further Reading that discuss teacher burnout in Saskatchewan and Canada:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689628/full

https://theconversation.com/provinces-should-act-fast-to-avert-a-teacher-shortage-now-and-after-covid-19-154930

https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/teacher-shortage-may-be-on-the-horizon-after-stressful-year-researcher

Resources Used In Blog:

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/home-page-logged-out/resources-for-responding-to-violence-and-tragedy.html?eml=CM/20220525///txtl/smd