Will Gourley Challenging Topics, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health

Back in the day was better(because now is often unbearable)

Have you ever seen or heard of students…
…compromising their identity to put on someone else’s?
…blasting their music through headphones so they don’t have to answer another question
…not quite knowing where they are going or who to ask for directions?
…taking that swig, puff, or hit to show the crowd how much they are like them?
…dressing like cookie cutter versions of each another just to feel safer in the pack?

The problems I listed above were all problems 40 years ago when I was in junior high school and they are still around today. Except now since everything is bigger and better than the good old days, the issues facing our youth have evolved in their complexity and impact on lives.

Now I ask, have you ever seen or heard of students…
…stressed out about getting into a “good” high school?
…anxious over a test, project, presentation, or recent assessment results?
…taking days off to destress over misunderstandings resulting from social media posts?
…refusing to eat because of a thoughtless and cruel comment about their appearance?
…self-harming or self-medicating in order to deal with feelings of helplessness, rejection, loss, anger, or sadness?

If so, these students belong to a growing population of students who are feeling the pressure of the 21st Century like never before. I wish this was a group that never welcomed anyone, but our world is not wired this way. What is most alarming about all of this is that it seems to have been downloaded from high school now as many of the concerns happening above used to await our JK to 8 students once they arrived at secondary school.

This year a portion of my instructional time has been dedicated to the role of Guidance Counsellor, and it has been a very eye-opening experience thus far. Imagine all of the above happening at schools across the province and around the world? It is not a pretty picture to realize that our students are hurting. The numbers must be in the millions and that I think that fingers need to be pointed in all directions because it is the adults who have made the mess in the first place and now they are trying to make the kids clean it up.

What our students need more than ever before are increased access to programs and personal supports through education and health care. How are we going to improve this when the elected bodies managing our money are making cuts to appeal to an undertaxed political support base? How can so few people dictate blantantly harmful funding cuts without gauging the socio-economic short fall they are creating by trying to pinch pennies.

A recent CBC broadcast highlighted an increasing need for more guidance counsellors in schools, but it focused more on the side of career counselling without much mention of the impending crisis lurking in the hallways of our elementary schools. In my blog Illness, I shared that schools are too often on the front lines of mental health and well being care in our society, but it is coming with consequences that will cost us billions in the long run if we fail to invest millions now to fully support our learners.

“Teachers are not trained psychologists. Schools are not clinics, and school boards are not health networks. Yet everyday, educators are on the front lines of care for those who suffer. This includes themselves. How can we address a growing need in our profession to support one another while supporting our students in areas where few are trained to inhabit?”

We need help. There is more demand for supports on already maxed out educators than ever before. Our students need help. We all need to be talking about this. Our union needs to exercise its collective voice on behalf of all learners. So even while students continue to reach out, there are an equal number at risk of being over-looked because, they’ve lost their voices or there are not enough ears to listen.

Our students need help. There are neither enough hours in the day nor teachers in our schools to deal with the depression, anxiety, and doubt plaguing our youth. If we allow government to cut education funding in the hopes that everything will get better, then we are saying to a generation of learners that they weren’t worth it, but “Hey, look at this sweet ride we just got.”

40 years ago, there were already plenty of problems facing our students, but there was always hope to be gained from the security found in education.  Now we see things have only deteriorated due to downloading the costs onto the next generation. Our students are struggling to see the present, let alone the years to come. This has to stop. We need to pay for the future now so all of our students to look forward to instead of dreading. What we don’t need are cuts to education or mental health funding that would leave any of our students vulnerable.

And we definitely don’t need a used party van for a self-serving party politician and his sycophants.

 

 

Michelle Fenn Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Inspiring Teachers, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Professional Learning and Growth, Resilience, self reflection, Teacher Appreciation, Teacher Wellness, Teaching as a public profession, wellness, Wellness

Let’s Talk About Shame

Author Brené Brown from her book “The Gifts of Imperfection” writes that there are three things that people need to understand about shame:

1.  We all have it.  Shame is universal and one of the most primitive human emotions that we experience.  The only people who don’t experience shame lack the capacity for empathy and human connection.

2.  We’re all afraid to talk about shame.

3.  The less we talk about shame, the more control it has over our lives.

While reading this it resonated with me as a teacher.  How many have you experienced Professional Learning Shame?  I’m a professional learning hoarder.  I consume professional learning whenever possible and yet, often I feel shame while experiencing professional learning.  I listen to another teacher who is courageous in sharing strategies and ideas that are meant to help me in my job and ultimately I end up thinking that I must be a poor teacher because I don’t do those things in my classroom. Often I come away feeling worse about myself.  I’ll think, “Well great, obviously everything that I’ve been doing has been ineffective and I need to add THIS onto everything else.” or “I haven’t been doing THAT in my classroom. Clearly I’m not working hard enough. What must my colleagues think of me?”

Shame makes us think that we are somehow not worthy.  I know that I’ve convinced myself of not feeling worthy when I compare my work to other teachers in my school, on Twitter or (cringe)…Pinterest.  I find it difficult to look at myself professionally through an asset lens.  The best way to stop feeling that shame is to talk about it.  Once shame is talked about it tends to lose power and it is easier to let it go.  So, I’m talking about it in a public forum so I can work on building up that resiliency.

I’ve felt shame as a teacher in social situations with people who aren’t educators.  I’ve felt judged, compared and found unworthy.  More than once I’ve heard, “Teachers are paid too much and have far too many holidays and benefits and they’re really just babysitters.”  Whenever a Provincial Government talks about making cuts to education, it sends a message that teachers aren’t worthy of maintaining the current working conditions and fuels the public perception held by some that teachers are unworthy of what we earn.

In our school, whenever EQAO results are returned and we have our fall meeting to talk about the school improvement plan for the year, we celebrate for a nano second the areas in which the student have succeeded and focus intently on the shortcomings.  As a school we know that we all share in the responsibility for the cumulative education of students and feel shame when we look at where we didn’t succeed, but some of my grade 3 and 6 colleagues have told me about how they feel solely responsible for EQAO scores and consequently, feel shame.

Well, this is a downer of a subject, get over it Fenn.  What can we do?  It’s the nature of our job right?  Nope.  There are some great pointers that Brené Brown shares about becoming shame resilient:

1.  Understand when you are feeling shame and recognize what messages and experiences trigger shame for you.

2.  Remember not to equate being imperfect with being inadequate.

3.  Share your stories with people you trust and own your stories.

4.  If you feel shame, name it.  Talk about how your feeling and ask for what you need.

Teachers are constantly in receipt of feedback about their job; from parents, students, administrators, colleagues, the public and themselves.  Staying open to criticism and feedback is what helps us improve education for our students.  We need to take risks to remain open so that we can experience improvement.  However, what we should also try to remember is that everyone is flawed and imperfect but that doesn’t mean that we are lacking.

 

 

 

Will Gourley Assessment, General, Mental Health, Report Cards

Bs are “A” okay

It can vary from day to day, but for me it begins almost as the last Progress Report parent conference concludes. I become a bit frantic at the realization that Term 1 Reports are going home in about 10 weeks. Quick to follow are the second guesses as to whether or not I have not gathered enough “data” from students. Fast forward to late January and now there is not a minute of instructional time left because it’s “show what they know time”, but where did all that time go? For teachers, like me, who do not have a homeroom class on which to anchor there are a lot of factors that can impede assessment in a quasi-timely manner.

In my situation, I only see some of my classes once per week. Like all schools, class time can be interrupted by any number of events ranging from inclement weather(affects attendance when buses are cancelled), assemblies, sporting events, concerts, staff PD(off site), vacations(theirs not ours), and illness. It is not hard to see how time can speed by between Progress Reports in mid-November through Winter break and whamo it’s January 31st and your assessing, reporting, and writing blogs to meet your deadlines.

Side note: When it comes to writing blogs, it’s always a great reminder to all teachers to take frequent breaks while putting the finishing touches on report cards. Wryting is the perfekt brake four me. I especially like editting my werk, but eye digress. Which ever way you prefer to recharge, make sure you take some time for yourself as you tick the boxes and craft those comments.

This post is supposed to be a comment about assessment and I want to share a few thoughts about expectations in all of our classrooms. This is where I need your help with this question: Is an A- the new B? Are we recording too many As in our markbooks? Is this a function of self-esteem and or family/system/political pressure to show constant improvement? Considering the number of bovine births that happen each year EQAO results are released, it would seem that the adults are taking it harder than the students.

The part that throws me for a loop is how misinformed the press and public are around the results of this annual assessment-palooza. It’s time for education to do what it does best and demystify provincial assessment results for everyone. This way we can get on to helping our students instead of everyone worrying about school rankings and subsequent real estate fluctuations. Now about those marks…

A few years back, a student shared a humourous take on how report card marks were viewed

A = okay
B= better work harder
C= choose a new family
D= disowned

Although meant to be funny, the message shared by this student cut to a startling truth about many existing attitudes towards achievement in education. I have had to communicate with students and parents that achieving a B in a subject is considered success according to Ontario standards. Last September a CBC News story shared how some Ontario universities used a ranking system for  that implied that averages were inflated. This meant that A from one school might only be a B or C at another.

The intrinsic motivations of families who seemingly base their self-worth on a child’s report card are also bones of contention for me? How is this a healthy way to approach learning when students are pressured to be perfect achievers and expected only to bring home straight As in order to maintain family honour? We have to make sure that report cards are seen as snapshots of information that are captured in time. They cannot be reduced to moments of instant gratification and then ignored out of context.

It happens from JK to 12. After each teacher spends hours crafting comments about learning skills and all subject areas the eyes of most people will only track to the Level or Letter grade on the page. The messages of progress, next steps, and encouragement all need acknowledgement too.

I get that parents expect their children to do their best. What else would they expect? Their worst? What becomes difficult to translate to families is the amount of effort that students are putting into their work in order to learn, improve, and grow as learners. It is impossible to simply measure out in Levels or A to Ds. This is why teachers need to work with families to establish realistic expectations about achievement. If we are preparing our students for the real world that we have promised them in high school, post secondary education, and beyond; then marks that are other than As are going to have to B part of everyone’s alphabet.

Bs can be built upon. They show the beginnings of brighter days ahead. Bs can be the starting points of brilliance. So celebrate those hard earned Bs earned by your students because they are A okay everyday.

Arianna Lambert 21st Century Learning, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Professional Judgement, Resilience, Resources, Wellness, wellness

Everyday Mental Health Classroom Resource

As January and the new year approaches, I start to reflect on balance and keeping true to what I believe to be most important. When in the classroom, I always thought that it was a great time to press the reset button with students and gear up for the next half of the year. Over the break, I often take some time to check out resources that I think will help me along this goal so that I can add fresh ideas to lessons that I know have allowed students to reflect on themselves as they start to set goals. This year was no different even though I’m not in the classroom. While taking a look through some of the amazing ETFO resources available online, I found the Everyday Mental Health Classroom resource that I think is absolutely fantastic and essential for classrooms.

Co-developed over the past two years by School Mental Health ASSIST and ETFO, this resource is designed to provide K – 8 educators with evidence-based strategies to help develop the Social Emotional learning skills of students. The great part about this resource is that the activities contained have been tested by ETFO members and not only that, but a research project was done to determine the efficacy in classrooms. It’s definitely a resource that educators should consider using in their classrooms.

Here’s why! The resource:

  • offers the evidence and need for this work in classrooms;
  • honours the professional judgement of teachers;
  • focuses on core skills;
  • is online and easily accessible.

In this post, I’ll dig into why I think it’s a great resource for using in classrooms in the hopes that you’ll try it with students and if you already have, share what you’ve noticed with others.

Evidence-Based

When I think of a resource being evidence-based, I understand that it is informed objectively. In that there is a perceived need for the development of the resource and that there is time taken and reflection made to truly understand the impacts of what is being proposed as good pedagogy in the classroom.

The Everyday Mental Health Classroom resource offers a great deal of background on the rationale for the project and the findings. The resource honours and speaks to the fact that as educators, we are not expected to me experts in mental health and yet we have an important role in working with a diverse group of students. We do have the responsibility to create safe and caring classroom environments for all and for helping our students further develop the core skills that I’ll get into later. The idea is that the lessons and activities can be easily embedded into daily classroom practices with this goal in mind. Of educators who participated in the study, 84% found the resource extremely or very useful; while 95% would recommend the resource to other educators within and outside of their division and roles. The background page on the site offers a wealth of information on the benefits of Social Emotional Learning for students (1).  I encourage your to take a look.

Honours Professional Judgement

In Understanding Your Professional Judgement, Professional Judgement is defined as, “judgement that is informed by professional knowledge of curriculum expectations, context, evidence of learning, methods of instruction and assessment and the criteria and standards that indicate success in student learning. In professional practice, judgement involves a purposeful and systematic thinking process that evolves in terms of accuracy and insight with ongoing reflection and self-correction”.  ETFO has provided support for teacher and occasional teacher members in exercising their professional judgement.

One thing that makes this resource unique is that right on the landing page, there is mention of the importance of professional judgement. The site further encourages educators to consider their students and exercise professional judgement to maximize growth in students. It also states that, “Using professional judgement, educators can select from a variety of practices within the Everyday Mental Health Classroom Resource to enhance classroom conditions and build social emotional skills in ways that best meet the needs of their students”.

This is so empowering! While I may not be an expert in mental health, knowing that I can use my professional judgement to select and embed activities that will develop core skills that can potentially have a positive impact on students mental health and wellbeing is amazing.  Sometimes hearing this is just the thing that a teacher needs to gain that confidence in trying something new.

Focuses On Core Skills

This resource focuses on developing 6 core skills:

Stress Management and Coping Skills

Everyday, we face challenges. How we manage these challenges and stresses is key to our success. Different people use different strategies in stress management. This section contains activities that helps students to develop skills and build their own toolboxes with strategies that work best for them.

Emotion Identification Skills

I’ve heard that there is power in naming emotions. We all face a variety of different emotions throughout the day. This section contains activities that help students to identify and appropriately express their feelings, further developing their ability to effectively self-regulate.

Positive Motivation Skills

This section reminds me of the importance of Growth Mindset. This section contains activities that help students in the areas of expressing gratitude, practicing optimising and perseverance, as well as reframing.

Relationship Skills

Positive relationships are important to have and are essential for a safe and caring classroom environment. This section contains activities that focus on acts of kindness, being a good friend, respect, conflict resolution, empathy and listening.

Self Confidence and Identity Skills

We all have qualities that make us unique. Understanding our identities and who we are is an important part of building our own self-confidence. This section contains activities that will help students to learn about and appreciate their identities while empowering them to hold firm to their beliefs when faced with challenging decisions.

Executive Functioning Skills

When we think of executive functioning skills, I think of the skills needed to plan, organize and complete tasks. This section contains activities that help students develop and master these skills through repeated opportunities for practice.

Online and Easily Accessible

This free resource is available online with challenge cards that can be printed for easy access while the activity is in progress. Each activity provides the teacher with information on the purpose and the time required so that they can best determine which might be best to embed into their day. The filter allows for teachers to search by division and also has a great feature that allows for Occasional Teachers to be able to search for activities that they can also use during their time with students. I think this is fantastic!

I know that this post just gives you a taste of this resource and I hope that you take some time to take a deeper look into it and consider using it in your classrooms. By developing these skills in students, we can prepare them to succeed beyond the classroom. The evidence is there, what are you waiting for?

1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/11gM59_aU_enXWpED03URIPUpS0iLjxI1/view

Laura Bottrell General, Mental Health, Wellness

Snow Suit Stress

Can we talk about snow suits for a minute? I absolutely love teaching our youngest learners but with them comes a few months of winter clothing nightmares. I didn’t mind this so much while teaching Kindergarten, because I saw the [endless hours of] time spent getting dressed as a teaching opportunity and an important part of our program.

Now that I’m teaching grade 1/2, there is still a lot of stress around getting dressed for the outdoors. The difference is that there are other expectations, schedules and logistics that make me see it less as a learning opportunity and more as a problem.

In my class, I have a handful of students who are still learning to independently dress for the outdoors. Even with my assistance, it can take them 10-15 minutes to get ready on some days. It’s just where they’re at developmentally. It doesn’t help that these particular kids are very social and can be easily distracted. They will drop a half-on boot in a heart beat at the chance to talk to a nearby friend instead.

What also works against them is the school’s timetable. My board works on the balanced day (two nutrition breaks, each 40 minutes in length). While I love this structure for most other reasons, I can’t help but think that it serves our students a lot less in the winter months. The primary division at my school eats inside for the first twenty minutes and then plays outside for the second twenty.

Or if you’re a child that struggles to get dressed, you might get to play outside for five minutes if you’re lucky.

Oh, how I wish it were the other way around! Since it’s lunch time first, I’m often not in the room to support them during this transition. Sure, there’s a duty teacher in the hallway but they can’t be expected to support these students in every classroom.

This makes what is supposed to be a fun break from the classroom into yet another stressful transition. For some kids, this ends up having the opposite affect of what recess is supposed to do for them. They come inside exasperated, stressed and having only had five minutes of time outside. They’ve missed out on much needed physical activity, play and socialization with friends.

And, these kids are the ones that need those things the most.

I guess I feel like our timetable is letting them down. In Kindergarten, we had the ability to deviate from the school’s timetable to best suit the needs of our class. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in primary. So how can I support these kids when I’m not there? How can I help them take back their recess time and eliminate the stress around winter clothing? I’ve tried visual timers, checklists, the buddy system, laying out their clothing before lunch begins, re-organizing our hook space, and sometimes I just stay in the room myself to help them (although a teacher needs to take her lunch, too).

I’m a bit stumped beyond this. I’ve asked parents to work on independent dressing at home, but in my case, the issue isn’t so much fine-motor as it is executive functioning. Putting all of that aside, this has got me wondering:

Is 20 minutes outside really long enough for our kids to get the physical activity and play they so desperately need? Is it even long enough without the winter clothing battle? With such a focus on students’ health and wellbeing, why aren’t we seriously looking at extending scheduled outdoor play beyond the expectation of DPA through the classroom teacher?

What do you think? Do you have similar problems in your primary classroom? I’d love to hear your creative solutions in the comments below!

Michelle Fenn Behaviour Management, Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Equity, Mental Health, Mindfulness, wellness, Wellness

December…in the Classroom

December is an exciting and often hectic month in classrooms.  Holiday celebrations, snow days and events leading up to the break will provide some added complications to teaching.  Although these are things to consider every day, this time of year can be highly emotional and stressful for students and teachers. Here are some things to consider at this time of year:

1.  Be Flexible There will be many interruptions in the upcoming weeks and some of those events you might find out about over the announcements along with your students.  Go with the flow.  Whatever you had planned will keep until the next day.

2.  Be Culturally Aware and Respectful  There are many celebrations that go on in the month of December and they do not all occur during the two week break.  Be aware and respectful of the cultural diversity in your classroom around this time.

3.  Be Aware and Sensitive to the Needs of your Students  For many students breaks away from the routine and safety of school bring anxiety.  There will be homes in which the holidays provide unrest and economic stress.

4.  Prepare your Students When possible, remember to prepare those students who have difficulty with change in routine for upcoming events (that you know about).  Prepare them well in advance, keep using the visual schedules and calendars right up until the last day before the break.

5.  Keep them Working As much as possible, maintain daily routine and working on deep learning right up until the break.  Some students will sense the loss of routine and take that as a sign that the regular rules only loosely apply.

6. Avoid Busy Work  If you continue to plan deep learning and rich activities, students will stay focused and on task.  If you “write-off” December as a month that nothing meaningful gets done then that will be exactly what happens.  Report cards come quickly after the break so you will want to make sure that what you are working on in the classroom comes from curriculum expectations.

7.  Movie Time It is tempting to try to keep students calm by watching movies in the upcoming weeks.  Remember that whatever the students watch needs to be appropriately approved and should tie to the curriculum in a meaningful way.

8. Breathe December always seems as though it is rushing by at high speed.  Take time to connect with your colleagues in the staff room at break time, go for a walk or just have a quiet moment to sit in your classroom.  It will rejuvenate you for the rest of the day.

9. Extras It is easy to get caught up in the events in December.  You may want to try to avoid taking on extra responsibilities as a new teacher.  It is o.k. just to focus on your classroom.

Above all…

10.  Take Care of  Yourself  Sleep, exercise and nutritional balance are the ingredients for staying healthy through the winter months that are filled with colds and flu.  When you are sick, take the time to recover and be kind and forgiving to yourself.  You aren’t doing yourself, your colleagues or your students any favours by dragging yourself into work when you are ill.

You are almost at the first major milestone in the year.  The mid-point in the year comes during the first two weeks of February.  You can do this!

 

Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Special Education

Behind the behaviour – seeing our students

I see you.
I see you trying.
I see you fidgeting.
I see you working hard.
I see you fighting the floor.
I see you being a peace maker.
I see you standing up to bullies.
I see you waiting for snack time.
I see your random acts of kindness.
I see you struggling to pay attention.

I see you trying to find the space where you fit in.
I see you when you haven’t had a good night’s sleep.
I see you watching the seconds slowly tick as time crawls.
I see you throwing things because words have escaped you.
I see you searching for representation in the books you read.
I see you when you are trying to make the distractions vanish.
I see you walking off your school bus with an emotionless face.
I see you when you arrive to school without warm winter wear.
I see you taking extra long water fountain and bathroom breaks.
I see you when you come to school without having a morning meal.

I see you working to make your classroom and school a better place.
I see your desire to move about, doodle or make things with your hands.
I see you looking around the room for something else to do. Anything else.
I see you in your worst in best moments as you learn and grow as a learner.
I see you trying to understand that one student who just doesn’t fit in. Yet.
I see you avoiding difficult things because of a fear of having the wrong answers.
I see you writing notes to comfort someone who is feeling down and needs a friend.
I see you getting frustrated when things don’t go as well as you thought they would at first.
I see you when you come to school exhausted after a previous night’s music, sports or tutoring.

I see you because you matter to me.
I see you because it matters to be seen.
I see the potential in you even when you don’t.
And if I see it, so do others. Now you matter to all of us.
We see you.

Love your teacher(s).

Will Gourley Challenging Topics, General, Inspiring Teachers, Mental Health, Mentorship, self reflection, Teacher Wellness, wellness

Believing in the power of a mentor to support new educators

It’s Progress Report time in many school boards this week. Once again, ETFO colleagues have typed and tweaked their thoughts about student stemming from conversations, observations, and products onto reports that capture “the learning” thus far. This annual first rite of assessment seems to come earlier and earlier each year, but is an important opportunity to map out the learning for then next 7 + months. Then there’s the meeting scheduling and organizing in addition to our already crammed days. So, how are you doing?

Have you had time to catch your breath since the start of the year?

I know the first weeks in the classroom seem to fly by for all of us. Regardless of years experience, it’s a hectic time of year.  This can be especially difficult for new teachers who find themselves working before/after school as well as during evenings and weekends at home to plan, prepare, and assess. All this, in addition to trying to have a personal life that may include time with friends and family or just to be still. To no one’s surprise, the hours that educators invest in their calling are often spent in equal proportions in and out of the classroom. So how are you doing?

What would you change about the first 11 weeks of your year?

Over the years, I have enjoyed numerous conversations with new teachers at Progress Report time. For many new educators, it is the first time that they have had the time to reflect on what has gone on since the first bell in September. Many have shared that they are tired and feel a little overwhelmed by the pace and volume of work. It is not uncommon for new teachers to go through a case of the November Blahs where their energy level has waned a bit from the beginning of the year.

http://weac.org/articles/new-teacher-handbook/phases/
http://weac.org/articles/new-teacher-handbook/phases/

The first question I usually ask after “So how are you doing?” is, “Are you connecting with your colleagues to divide and conquer or are you stuck inside the walls of your classroom?” In my first year as a teacher, I made the mistake of not asking for help because I thought I could solve my own problems as they presented themselves. I did not want to appear weak to my new colleagues or admin. Needless to say, come November of the first year, things were deteriorating. So I suffered. Which means my students suffered too.

Long nights, failed planning, missed opportunities, and frustration were my regular companions at work and at home. I did not feel like I was taking advantage of the natural mentors in the building that first year. However, by my second year, my eyes and mind were open to any and all who were willing to offer their wisdom, guidance, and resources. By taking myself out of my fortress and asking for help I was able to redirect/rescue/re-invigorate my instruction and outlook.

After that point, suffering was optional. I chose to seek out the support of others when things became murky or began to go off course. It was humbling to know that the people I turned to for help had my best interests at heart. Knowing that I did not have to have it all together every moment of the day was like removing a giant gorilla from my back that was constantly whispering, “You don’t need any help. You can do this on your own. Don’t let anyone think your weak.”

Having a peer mentor to turn to has become a cornerstone of my personal development. In turn, I try to support my colleagues when they need someone in their corner. Perhaps when this time rolls around each year the first question I ask teachers is, “So how are you doing?”

Arianna Lambert Communication with Parents and Guardians, Mental Health, Mindfulness, self reflection, wellness

It’s Progress Report Time!

This is my first November out of the classroom in 10 years and yet with the majority of my friends as teachers, I still find myself somehow feeling the anxiety that comes with this time of year. Not only have they been feverishly working to complete progress reports, they know that with reports come Parent-Teacher interviews. This can be an incredibly stressful time for teachers, students and parents.

The first thing that used to bring a great deal of anxiety at this time of year was often wondering whether or not I had gotten to know the strengths and needs of my students well enough to write a report. I found myself thinking that parents would surely expect me to know everything about their child by this point of the year and yet I found that in every day, there was something new to learn. While I found that there was sometimes stress placed upon me by parents to know everything about their child, a lot of the stress and anxiety I felt at this time of year was my own doing. In retrospect, there were a few things that I could have done differently to ease some of the pressure although I am fully aware that it wouldn’t be eliminated completely.

Plan ahead when writing reports. I know that anyone who knows me well is laughing right at this precise moment. Throughout my career, I have been that teacher who has left reports until the very end. All-nighters have been pulled trying to make sure that I could cram every last letter into the reports. I’ve always been one who needs some of the stress of a close deadline in order to get things done. Many times this strategy worked but I notice that as I get older, planning my time seems to be a more effective. I find that when I give myself deadlines to achieve different parts of a task, they become more manageable and I end up achieving greater results. I know that the deadline is fast approaching – if it hasn’t already – perhaps consider breaking up the task of writing reports into smaller components and working through them at your own pace. Is writing a few reports a day manageable or could writing a specific comment each day for all students be easier? Either way, take some time to consider and plan what would make the task more simple for yourself and ultimately more meaningful as you document the progress of your students.

Take time to do something fun with friends. I’m all for working hard and playing hard. My struggle is finding the balance between both. Lucky enough I have great friends and family who notice and try to help. When the crunch is one, I often don’t think that I have time to spare. However, it’s amazing how much more focused and in the moment I become when I actually take some time to stop and connect with someone and have a good laugh. I’m learning more and more that during times of stress, I need to make the time to stop, laugh and enjoy the company of others. Mental health is an important part of our general health and well-being. We know that reports won’t go away and neither will the stress of them but consider what is in your wellness tool-kit that might help as you go through the stressful time. For me it’s laughter with people and I need to make sure that I take the time – even if it’s only for an hour – to do just that.

Consider student-led interviews. The question that is heard the most by teachers in the month of November is, “How is my child doing?”. Every parent wants to know and every teacher feels as though they are just scratching the surface in understanding who the child really is. Over the years, I’ve had colleagues share about student-led interviews. I’ve done them at the end of the first term but wonder about their effectiveness for the progress report. What if we continued in our role as facilitator in these interviews and prepared our students ahead of time to share what they have been learning over the course of the year? Imagine how powerful it could be to get students sharing about the first 2 months and how they have worked to build the classroom community as well as how they are growing as learners. It would certainly allow for students to take the time to reflect on the past couple of months and it could be a great way for them to start setting goals and to discuss how parents might be able to support them in their goals at home. What if we asked students to use the following sentence starters to garner how they are feeling about school as an authentic opportunity for student voice?

  1. So far I’ve learned…
  2. I’m really excited about…
  3. I feel successful…
  4. I need some help with…
  5. I’m most proud of…
  6. I would like to improve…

I wonder if starting off the first set of interviews in this way would reduce the stress teachers felt and would empower students to start thinking about their strengths and advocating for their own needs. It certainly wouldn’t be easy as teachers work to prepare students but I think this could be a really effective start to the relationship between home and school. I can’t help but think that using the 10 to 15 minutes to actually hear from students about their own progress might be a fantastic insight into their true progress.

As I mentioned before, it’s my first November outside of the classroom in a long time and yet I can’t help reflecting on my own practice and thinking about what I might do differently if I was in the classroom at this time. Here’s hoping that my thoughts in hindsight might help another teacher who is currently experiencing some of the stresses of Progress Report time.

Kim Cousin Behaviour Management, Classroom Management, Constant Learning, Flexible Classroom, General, Health & Safety, Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Resilience, Teacher Wellness, wellness, wellness, Wellness

Mindful Pause, with or without Technology?

Everywhere I turn I see the effects of our technologically advanced world. Gains have been made in medical research, communication abilities, and advancements toward an easier life?
Some of the effects on individuals are now coming to light. Many people are connected to the internet 24/7. This is causing sleep disturbances, eye issues, addiction behaviours, and other physical ailments.

As a previous mental health professional I look at my present vocation in Education with that type of lens. I have practiced and taught Mindful strategies for many years now. I see the benefits of technology in the curriculum. I also observe the negative effects. I have noticed some educators looking for a researched solution to help calm, focus and ground their students. Some are now turning to all the apps, and internet connections to provide a quick and easily guided mindful activity. I think this may be counter productive to being present and in the moment. We are seeing the effects of this new age world and the fast pace it is changing. As educators we are up to date with the many changes or apprised to avenues in which to guide our charges.

When I guide a group through a mindful experience I eliminate as much technology or other electrical sources as possible. I then guide students into focusing on being present in their own body and mind through the use of many verbal scripts vocalized in a relaxed, quiet voice. These moments of taking a pause are valuable. We live in a busy, stressful society where a pause can assist in a healthy balance to our daily lives.

Links-
https://www.psychguides.com/guides/computerinternet-addiction-symptoms-causes-and-effects/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/virtual-addictions/201710/tips-mindful-technology-use

http://meditationscience.weebly.com/what-is-mindfulness-meditation.html

Mindfulness Meditation: Guided Practices