February 25, 2018February 25, 2018 Deb Weston Challenging Topics, General, Health & Safety, Learning About Your Students, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Resilience, wellness

Building Self Care and Resiliency for Educators

Road rerouted to preserve 250 year old Bronte White Oak Tree

“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It is the one that stands in the open, where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.” Napoleon Hill (1883–1970)

Building Self Care and Resiliency for Educators

As educators, we deal with students and colleague who are under stress. As educators, we are at risk of being physically, mentally, and/or emotionally worn out due to our role as caregivers to our students. This feeling of being worn out can be referred to as compassion fatigue or secondary traumatic stress (Figley, 1995). Charles Figley states that “there is a cost to caring.”

The best way to deal with and limit compassion fatigue is through early recognition and self awareness.

A. Tips for Educators

(adapted from Charles Figley, 1995)

1. Be aware of the signs of compassion fatigue

increased irritability or impatience with students
difficulty planning classroom activities and lessons, decreased concentration
feeling numb or detached from students’ challenges
increased feelings and intrusive thoughts about school or dreams about challenges in school

2. Reach out for support – Don’t go it alone

isolation can impact ability to cope
get support from colleagues or your school teams
ask for support from administration

3. Recognize compassion fatigue as an occupational hazard

when educators open their hearts and ears to students’ trauma, compassion fatigue can occur
having a strong reaction to student trauma is not a sign of weakness or incompetence but instead it is means you care … it is the cost of caring

4. Seek help with your own trauma by seeking support for self

educators’ unresolved issues can put them at more risk of compassion fatigue or stress
seeking support for self can help educators deal with limiting compassion fatigue or stress

5. Attend to self care

self care is an effective way to guard against burn out from compassion fatigue or stress
self care helps educators deal with challenging workplace stress
key self care strategies include eating well, sleeping well, exercising, taking a break during the workday, taking time to self-reflect, making time to de-stress
know your triggers for stress

B. Stress management: Know your triggers/stressors

In order to manage stress better, you need to know your stressors or triggers. (Adapted from Mayo Clinic Staff, n.d.)

Main types of stress: Stress is your body’s reaction to the demands of work and life. Stressors are events or conditions in your surroundings that may trigger stress. Your body responds to stressors differently depending on whether the stressor is new or short term (Acute stress) or whether the stressor has been around for a longer time (Chronic stress).

Acute stress: Also known as the fight-or-flight response, acute stress is your body’s immediate reaction to a perceived threat, challenge or scare. The acute-stress response is immediate and intense, and in certain circumstances it can be thrilling. Examples of acute stressors include having a job interview or getting a speeding ticket.
A single episode of acute stress generally doesn’t cause problems for healthy people. However, severe acute stress can cause mental health problems — such as post-traumatic stress disorder. It can also cause physical difficulties such as tension headaches, stomach problems or serious health issues — such as a heart attack.

Chronic stress: Mild acute stress can actually be beneficial — it can spur you into action, motivate and energize you. The problem occurs when stressors pile up and stick around. This persistent stress can lead to health problems, such as headaches and insomnia. The chronic-stress response is more subtle than is the acute-stress response, but the effects may be longer lasting and more problematic.

Effective stress management involves identifying and managing both acute and chronic stress. Check out developing a self care plan below!

C. Build Resiliency

(Adapted from CAMH Resiliency & Short Term Self Care, n.d. )

Resilience is frequently described as the capacity to thrive and fulfill one’s potential despite (or perhaps because of) stressful circumstances. All of us are resilient in one way or another, but some people seem to be more resilient. These people are inclined to see challenges as learning opportunities which can result in healthy emotional growth and development.

Factors that are characteristic of resilient people include:

a sense of closeness and connectedness to others
strong, dependable support from at least one significant other in their lives
attention to their own personal health and well-being
high self-esteem, a strong sense of personal identity
a sense of humor can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected and smile through the unbearable.
a realistic and balanced awareness of their strengths and limitations
the ability to be assertive and emotionally tough when necessary, but also sensitive and compassionate
a playful, lighthearted approach to life
a sense of direction and purpose in life
the ability to turn difficult experiences into valuable learning opportunities
the capacity to pick themselves up, shake themselves off and keep moving forward after traumatic and upsetting situations
the ability to adapt to and live comfortably with uncertainty and unpredictability
the ability to laugh at themselves. Resilient people do not “sweat the small stuff.”

D. Short-term Strategies: Putting on the brakes to relieve stress

Short-term strategies that help ease anxiety are unique to each person. List the quick wins that might be most helpful for you, and add to your list when something comes up that you find pleasant or re-energizing.

Here are some simple ways to relieve stress that I use:

Tweet more at #EdStressReliever

eat your lunch away from your classroom or workspace
talk to a colleague
help a colleague
tell a joke
take a walk
ask for help
ask for advice
stretch
4-7-8 breathing 4 in-7 hold-8 out
bake something and share it with colleagues
make jam
practice kindness for colleagues – do something kind for a colleague to make their day better

E. Making it Personal

Here are some quizzes you can do to help you know yourself and how you deal with stress!

Self Assessment for Stress and Burnout

“How Resilient Are You?” by A. Siebert (resiliencycenter.com)

“The Resiliency Quiz” by N. Henderson (resiliency.com/htm/resiliencyquiz.htm)

Making a self care plan that works for me

Write down strategies you use to relieve stress in your life. Self care is not just about the self, self care means looking out for other people who work with educators.

F. Connecting self care and Resiliency …

Ontario College of Teacher (OCT) Standards of Practice and Ontario Institute for Education Leadership (OLF)

Connect to OCT Standards of Practice and OLF

As educators we do more than “just teach”, we care for our students and our colleagues. Teaching is about relationships and caring. I became a teacher to make the world a better place one student at a time and one day at a time.

Be good to yourself so you can be there for your students. Be an oak tree!

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

References

Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion fatigue: Secondary traumatic stress disorders from treating the traumatized. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 7.

Mayo Clinic Staff, (n.d.) Stress management: Know your triggers http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-management/art-20044151

O’Grady, C. P., & Skinner, J. W., (2007) MSCAMH A Family Guide to Concurrent Disorders (CAMH Resiliency & Short Term Self Care) Downloaded from http://www.camh.ca/en/hospital/health_information/a_z_mental_health_and_addiction_information/concurrent_disorders/a_family_guide_to_concurrent_disorders/selfcare/Pages/shortterm_selfcare.aspx

Stress Cat (n.d.) http://www.lessons4living.com/stresscat.htm

February 13, 2018February 13, 2018 Will Gourley General, Health & Safety, Weather

The decisions

It’s February and another “Snowmaggedon” or ice storm has just passed, is happening now or forecast to be on its way. Not surprisingly, frigid and snowy weather have cost our students a lot of important outdoor time this year. Recently, I knew we’d had too many indoor recesses in a row when a grade 2 student called me daddy. With temperatures below -17°C, our school became a hive of 600+ learners with a lot of energy to burn. Too bad we couldn’t use it to warm the building.

Despite the recent large accumulations of snow, biting sideways winds, and dangerous driving conditions our schools remain open even though busses were cancelled. Props to our caretakers who are on the front lines everyday making our schools safe hours before the first bell. It’s Canada after all, not Texas. We’re equipped for whatever wintry weather gets whipped our way, but it still takes its toll on students, their families, and educators. This got me thinking about all of the factors that are considered in the decision to cancel or not cancel school transport over something so common, yet complex, as a snowstorm in Ontario.

Since the start of Winter in Dec 2017, there have been three occasions where busses have been cancelled in my school board. I can only imagine that the decisions to do so, did not come lightly. From what I’ve pieced together, the simplest way to understand this is to trust there are people whose jobs are to officially figure out and communicate whether it’s too risky for busses to safely pick up students in the morning and then safely return them at the end of the day.

Each school board has developed policies and provisions for a variety of weather related situations. Most seem to operate along the same guidelines, but what becomes fun is how it plays out on Twitter.

On the morning of a storm day, it seems the whole world wakes up early to check news and weather outlets, or the internet for the latest information. Assuredly, a range of emotions are played out as to whether the daily drive is determined to be disrupted. And as fast as you can say social media, a blizzard of micro-agression via micro-blogs covers the digital landscape.

I check Twitter for an official message from my school board first. Typically, any news regarding bus cancellations gets posted around 6:00 a.m. Anything before that is read at your own risk is usually filled with some interesting and short-syllabled reading to start the day. Tweets like these usually come in the form of announcements reminding the board about the snow, pleas to cancel, and not so subtle supplications.

Over the course of about 30 minutes pre- or post-official board announcements most messages shovel some similar emotional paths.

Passive aggressive to dictatorial to dangerous

Perhaps speaking their mind, as if it was truth, would get this person’s suggestions noticed? Crickets for this one.

One of the most daunting tasks for a social media manager at a school board has to be deciding when to engage or keep scrolling. The person who shared this tweet was not finished and proceeded to post a brief, albeit profane, reply that expressed their measure of disappointment. I know this didn’t have anything to do with cancellation of exams because Term 2 has just started. I wonder how bad is this person’s perception of education that they feel compelled to hurl such anger at the school board over a non-snow day?

Not wanting to believe that this sort of thing was limited to my school board, I checked out what was going on in another GTA board like Peel. Not surprisingly, their Twitter feed was piled high with similarly pointed messages from last week’s real snow day. Their approach however, was a bit more interactive as can be seen in this thread of tweets:

PeelResponse to SB Cancellations

Reading on in this thread, I found supportive messages being shared via the board and one of its teachers. The tone is clear and communicates a desire to inform and engage their clientele. I found this level of interaction informative with only a level of snark by those pleading their cases for a snow day in the Twitterverse.

Look at how the student states that the teachers don’t even teach on snow days. A statement I do not agree with. Nevertheless, this is how it is perceived by that particular student. I am sure that teaching has to be adapted to the numbers on snow days, but that learning is always the option and outcome even when snow is piling up.

Precarious Absences – The impact of teacher intervention truancy systems

I write this blog in response to watching a highly capable and talented, long-term occasional teacher worrying about taking time off to go to a medical appointment. She actually considered cancelling her appointment as she worried about taking too much time off school because she thought it would impact her chance for a full-time teacher contract. Supply teachers and long term occasional teachers are feeling the pressure of not taking time off to meet their self care and medical needs. And this is the place where all teachers are at.

In the past few years, school boards have started using teacher intervention truancy systems. These systems track how many days teachers take off for reasons such as being sick, attending medical/dental appointments, or taking time off to care for family.

When I started teaching 18 years ago, I had 20 sick days which could be “banked” and then “cashed out” at the end of my career. As a teacher, I did not want to take time off if I did not have to … as it is a lot of work to make day plans to be off. But, as a single parent at the time, if my children were ill, I had to take time off. Also note that I got sick too. As a teacher, I am on average exposed to many children … up to 100 a day (I counted).

Then, I few years ago, teachers’ 20 sick days were reduced to 11 sick days, plus family responsibility days. This meant that teachers could no longer “bank” sick days and received a reduced salary after the 11^th sick day.

Children (i.e. viral conduits) are very good at transferring their illnesses to their parents and teachers. Over my 18 years of teaching I’ve contracted a plethora of infections including many bacterial and viral infections, skin infections, eye infections, Whopping Cough (twice), Norwalk virus (twice), many weeks of bronchitis, several bouts of flu including H1N1, and lots of colds. With my doctor’s insistence, in the spring of 2017, I ended up taking 12 days off from school due to my ongoing bronchitis.

Once my health was marginal enough for me to return to work, I did coughing away, sucking on cough drops, drinking tea with honey, and carrying a tissue box around to blow my nose. Hey, it was report card time – I needed to get back!

Recently, some Ontario school boards started tracking teachers’ absences. The “teacher intervention truancy systems” notes when teachers take more than 3 sick days off in a 3 month period. At this point, the teachers are sent letters documenting that they were being put on a program to track their absences … like they were not really sick and just needed to take a day off. Let me say again that it is a lot of work to planning for being away from the classroom.

In the “teacher intervention truancy systems”, teachers have to document their absences with notes to prove they were either really sick or really attending medical/dental appointments. Note that I have had to pay $20 out of my own pocket to document my sick days, for each appointment!. In addition, to make things more interesting, teachers in some schools were told not to take half days off as schools were finding it difficult to find supply teachers who would work only half days. This tells me boards have to hire more supply teachers!

Based on my observation, I believe that this “teacher intervention truancy system” is casting a wide net to catch some people who may be abusing sick days. But based on my own experience and that of my colleagues, I believe that, since teachers are subjected to so many children’s illnesses, the relative number of sick days are too few. Teachers need more sick days!

Based on my own health experience, I believe the “teacher intervention truancy systems” have impeded by ability to meet my own self care and medical needs – it has resulted in me having to choose between being sick or going to medical appointments. I believe that if I had taken the time I needed to rest, I would not have been off sick for so long, away from my students.

I wonder how new teachers are doing with the management of their self care, given their own family responsibilities and the care of their own health.

I find it ironic that school boards talk a lot about supporting employee health but their walk is not supporting employee health.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

Downloadable Adaptable Emergency Lesson Plans

If you are even too sick to go to school and you have no day plans yet, I have attached a 5-day Emergency Lesson Plan that can be adapted to your classroom/grade level. Download it, change it, make it your own!

Generic Emergency Teacher Lesson Plans (1)

5 Day Plan Schedule Emerngency Lesson Plan.xls (1)

Any Read Aloud Book Graphic Organize

1 Rounding100s Game

Note: The term “teacher intervention truancy systems” is my own acronym.

January 8, 2018 Deb Weston Health & Safety

Health & Safety … Make it Happen!

As a classroom teacher in a school, I often forget I am also classified as a worker in a workplace. For teachers, health and safety is an important part of our work environment. It’s crucial that teachers have a safe workplace in order to do their jobs and students have safe places to learn. I know about many of the commonly occurring issues because I’ve experienced them first hand.

Health and safety is important to all workers

Many teachers think that health and safety issues are the responsibility of the custodial staff and/or the health and safety designated inspectors/workers. In fact, health and safety is the responsibility of all workers and workers have a duty of care to report health and safety concerns to the administration immediately. Without these health and safety reports, workers can get injured. Injured workers increase costs as they need to take time off to heal from injuries or sometimes must change jobs if injuries are extensive.

Let’s bring this down to a classroom teacher level …

Teachers love paper!

Teachers love to plaster their classroom walls and doors with student work and messages of inspiration. So what’s the big health and safety issue with paper? Paper catches fire easily and can prevent students and teachers from exiting their classrooms. This is especially a problem when paper is plastered on classroom doors as decorations.

How can students leave their class if their steel classroom door is on fire? A common measurement of excessive paper is about 20% of paper covering the wall space. As a trained designated health and safety worker/inspector, I use bulletin boards to estimate the amount of paper that should be on the walls. Paper should also not be on the ceiling or over doorways as it could fall on students and teachers upon exiting the classroom. Fortunately, I have not had any paper fires in my classroom, but I have had paper fall from my classroom door onto students as they were exiting during a fire drill … it happened when I was a new teacher, Yup.

Advice to new teachers: Keep your doors clear of paper so your classroom exit is clear.

Setting off school sensors is BAD!

Another thing falling paper can do (be it on walls or doors) is set off the school fire and security sensors. Setting off sensors costs money as it means a custodian or security person needs to come in to investigate the sensor trigger. Before being aware of this issue, I was guilty of setting off the security sensors in my classroom which made a custodian upset because it took her 2 hours to find the source of the sensor disruption!

Advice to new teachers: Never get the custodians “annoyed” with you.

Teachers love to decorate their classroom and bring stuff to school!

Teachers love to make their classrooms look inviting. I understand this as a classroom teacher. But did you know that anything electrical needs to be approved? – check out the ESA Recognized Certification Marks for Ontario.

https://www.esasafe.com/consumers/safety-and-security/product-safety/recognized-marks

Inexpensive lamps, lights, and electrical appliances may not have this approval and they could be at risk of catching fire! Appliances can catch fire … I once had my classroom mini fridge catch fire, really, it was bad. Fortunately, I put out the fire before it set off alarms and alerted the office and my principal.

Some teachers have a mini kitchen in their classrooms with fridges, microwaves, kettles, and coffee makers. I’ve walked into some teachers classrooms were teachers could make a complete dinner without leaving their room. Extra kitchen appliances can flip electrical breakers which the principal finds out about. Fixing the breakers costs money. Once my son burnt his hand while heating up his lunch in his teacher’s classroom microwave. Fortunately, it was not a bad burn.

Advice to new teachers: Keep kitchen appliances out of your classroom.

Teachers love to decorate and hang things from the ceiling.

Teachers also bring in extra rugs, furniture, and curtains just to make their classroom feel inviting. But the problem is that these items may not pass fire or school safety standards. Rugs are especially notorious for being tripping hazards as they move when teachers step on them! Yes, as a teacher with a tendency to trip, I’ve tripped over my share of rugs, wires, chairs, and an assortment of school supplies. I was fortunately not hurt.

Teachers also love hanging things from ceilings like tree branches, curtains, mobiles, and other assorted decorations. Based on what I have already written, these hanging objects can be classified under fire hazards and security and fire sensor triggers. Yes, I have also set off a school fire alarm sensor during a winter storm … it was a long time ago before I knew better.

Advice to new teachers: Do not hang things from your classroom ceiling.

Teachers do not throw out their teaching stuff … in case they need it!

Teachers, including me, love to collect stuff … just in case they will need it later to teach a great unit. Stuff in the classroom is not a problem until it is not stored properly and becomes clutter. Proper storage means storing things on secured shelving that is attached to walls. Proper storage also means not storing things high up on shelves as it can fall down on people. Proper storage should not hinder exiting the classroom. Areas around classroom door exits need to be clear of clutter, shelving, toys, shoes, etc so students and teachers can get out of their classrooms fast.

Advice to new teachers: Store classroom items safely and get rid of clutter.

Make health and safety part of your teaching practice!

As a teacher I’ve learned much from my health and safety mistakes and fortunately no one was harmed. As a trained designated health and safety worker, I was educated to be aware of how dangerous a classroom can be for all learners. Keeping our classrooms and schools safe takes a critical eye to recognize hazards.

Remember, accidents can happen at any time. It is just as likely for a classroom door to catch fire, when the door is decorated for one day vs. being decorated every day of the school year. Think of health and safety like wearing seatbelts. We wear seatbelts all the time because car accidents can happen at any time. So practice your teaching with health and safety in mind at all times!

Let’s work collaboratively together to keep our classrooms and schools safe for all staff, students, and visitors.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

December 31, 2017 Deb Weston agency, Health & Safety, Mental Health, Violence in Schools

Duty to Report School Violence

As an elementary teacher, with 18 years experience, I’ve seen my share of violence in schools. In 3 lockdowns, I’ve had to keep my students quiet, calm, and safe. As a classroom teacher, I’ve had objects thrown at me (like chairs). More than once, I’ve been purposely hit and kicked so hard, bruises were left. I once had a student put an unknown substance in my tea. I’ve been harassed and threatened by students’ parents too many times to count. After making a call to the Children’s Aid Society, I had to be escorted to my car as my student’s mother was harassing me. I have personally witnessed students destroy/trash teachers’ classrooms and their personal property. And based on my own observations, the violence is increasing in schools.

There is research to support my anecdotal observations. Based on information from ETFO (Action on Violence in Schools), ETFO members are increasing facing violent incidents in schools and workplaces. This violence increases physical and mental harm to both adults and children. With violence, teaching and learning is disrupted. Teachers and students can develop anxiety that violence will occur again.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) completed a comprehensive member research survey in June 2017, carried out by Pollara. The survey noted that elementary schools tend to experience more threats and acts of violence than high schools.

The highlights of the report, OECTA Survey of Violence in Schools, were telling:

Nearly nine-in-ten teachers experienced or witnessed violence or harassment in schools
94% of all violent incidents were perpetrated by students
70% of teachers witnessed violence
60% of teachers personally experienced violence
15% of incidence involved weapons – 76% were classroom objects, 22% were a knife/blade, 8% were gun/fire arm/shotgun
elementary teachers experienced … threats of physical assault 43%; attempted physical assault 42%; actual physical assaults 36%

The resultant impact on teachers was also long term:

58% of teachers experienced significant psychological stress
56% of teachers experienced property damage
40% of teachers experienced physical harm
26% of teachers had to take time off work due to resultant health issues

So what are the schools doing about this violence in schools?

25% of teachers were either encouraged or actively pressured by administrators to not fill out a reporting form (often called Violent Incident Report)
25% of teachers who personally experienced violence were encouraged by administration to not report the incident to police

Teachers also reported that they felt administration did not take violent incidence seriously.

82% of teachers were not given appropriate resources/tools to deal with violent situations
74% of teachers who experienced violence and harassment reported they did not feel safe in their classrooms
72% of teachers reported that students and staff did not receive adequate protection against violence and harassment

ETFO has put an action plan in place, ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence, to make members’ schools and workplaces safer. This includes excellent videos, a brochure, and a poster. I strongly encourage you to check out these resources as they provide critical information to protect you, your colleagues, and your students against violence in schools.

So what can teachers do to support ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence?

Make schools and workplaces safe

ETFO’s call to action and strategy to address violence in school board workplaces involves many stakeholders and it starts with collaboration, training and accountability (from ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence).

2. Know your rights to a safe workplace (ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence Brochure)

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act:

Your principal has a duty to provide you with information about the risks of harm from a person with a history of violence.
You may refuse to work or do particular work where you have reason to believe that the work is likely to endanger you.
If you believe you are being endangered by workplace violence, then report your concerns to the principal right away and get immediate assistance.

School Boards & Principals

School boards and principals are required to investigate and deal with reports of workplace violence and serious student incidents.
Both, boards and principals, are required to conduct assessments of the risks of violence as often as necessary to continue to protect ETFO members from the risks of harm.
Both, boards and principals, are required to take measures and procedures to control identified risks. In the school setting, these steps could include, for example, a safety plan, a behaviour plan, staffing and supports.

You have a duty to report violence in schools (ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence Brochure)

Under the OHSA, ETFO members have specific duties to report workplace violence.
Under the Education Act, ETFO members have specific duties to report serious student incidents. These duties are further described in Ministry policies PPM 144 and PPM 145.
Should workplace violence cause an injury or illness, an accident/injury/illness report is required. It is just as important to seek medical attention for psychological and emotional harm as it is for physical injury when workplace violence happens.
Your duty to report workplace violence and serious student incidents cannot be limited by age, needs or other mitigating factors. If you are having difficulties making these required reports, get in touch with your steward or ETFO local as soon as possible to get support.

Support for ETFO Members

Contact your ETFO local for advice and support at etfo.ca/link/locals.
You can also contact ETFO provincial staff in Professional Relations Services at 416-962-3836/1-888-838-3836.
For information and resources on workplace violence and serious student incidents, visit etfohealthandsafety.ca .

Educate yourself and your colleagues on workplace violence

As noted above, ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence has been put in place to make members’ schools and workplaces safer. I strongly encourage you to check out these resources below as they provide critical information to protect you, your colleagues, and your students against violence in schools.

ETFO’s Action on Violence in Schools

ETFO’s Action on Violence in Schools Poster

ETFO’s Action on Violence in Schools Brochure

Supporting ETFO Members – PRS Matters

I have experienced violence and harassment in schools but I have not been seriously injured. Based on the results from the OECTA Survey of Violence in Schools, I have been fortunate.

Know Your Rights to a Safe Workplace!

It’s up to you to support ETFO’s Action Plan on School Violence.

It’s up to you to fulfill your Duty to Report school violence.

With your support, together, we can make schools safer for our schools, our colleagues, and our students.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston