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

September 30, 2018 Shawna Rothgeb-Bird self reflection, Teacher Wellness

Returning to Work as a New Parent

Four weeks ago, I returned to work after being on parental leave for ten months. It was my second parental leave, so this time around, I felt much more prepared: I knew I wouldn’t be as rested, energetic, or rational as usual, so I did what I could to make my return easier on me. I took the time over the summer to plan out the first few weeks, wrote my long range plans in July, had my annual learning plan ready to go…

I was ready. Returning to work was still brutally hard.

It didn’t help that I had a challenging assignment, with many students in need of additional support that just does not exist in the French Immersion stream. It didn’t help that my second child doesn’t sleep as well as my first, so I was operating on an average of 3-4 hours of sleep. Mostly, though, coming back to work with a young child at home is just really, really hard.

The second week of school, I found myself reassuring a fellow teacher that feeling overwhelmed was a normal part of adjusting to life as a parent and teacher. She had just come back to work after having her first child, and she’d had a particularly rough night at home, followed by a rough morning in class. Everything she was feeling, I had felt myself – not just this past month, but two and a half years ago, too, when I went back to work after having my first child. I remembered how it felt to have someone else validate how I was feeling, reassure me that I wasn’t alone, and tell me that everything I was going through was normal.

Here is what I would like you to know, new parents who are now navigating life as both parent and teacher:

You are not a bad parent or a bad teacher, but you will feel like both. It took me a year of being back at work before I felt like I was almost back to being “myself” as a parent and a teacher. It was incredibly difficult to know that I wasn’t able to give the same level of attention to parenting or teaching that I was used to, and I hated feeling dissatisfied in the job I was doing on both fronts. I didn’t like rushing out of the house in the morning without being able to play with my baby. I didn’t like rushing out of school at the end of the day with calls left to make, assignments left to mark, and my plan for the next day being little more than a skeleton. I was sure that I was damaging my relationship with my baby and letting my students down.

Neither of those things were true. My baby still loved me just as much as she did before I went back to work. My students were still learning and enjoying school. Some assignments never did end up being returned with grades, and some days I didn’t get to see my baby at all because I would leave before she got up and get home after she was in bed, but it was fine. I was still a good parent. I was still a good teacher. My baby and my students were still thriving – just as yours will.

Your priorities will change. I’ve always been heavily involved in clubs, eager to take professional development courses, willing to stay late at work to ensure that things were organized and prepared for the next day. Now, I’ve scaled back my extracurricular involvement dramatically, I haven’t done much PD outside of a few AQs, and I only stay late at work when I have absolutely no choice. It’s hard to make myself leave at 3:30 every day, because I know I’m leaving behind a pile of work that will never really get any smaller, but I have to or I won’t see my children before bedtime. Having time together to eat, talk, and enjoy each other’s company as a family is really important to me. Work, which used to be my top priority, now comes in second. I’ve watched my colleagues make the same decisions – leaving earlier, passing the torch for clubs and sports teams, making less time for work and more time for their family.

It gets better. It may take a long time, but you will get to a place where you feel like you have things under control. You will start to feel like you can balance your teaching life and your life as a parent. Then something will come along to change that (like having a second child, or your kids starting school, or your home life changing) and you’ll feel out of sync again, but it will come back. It’s hard every time, but it isn’t forever.

Ultimately, your children and your students will be fine. You may do more worksheets than you used to because some days you just don’t have it in you to teach that hands-on, super engaging, but very exhausting lesson you had planned. You may serve a dinner you said you’d NEVER serve because some days you will get home and not be able to fathom anything more complicated. That’s okay. Your students will still learn. Your children will still bond with you. You’ll have to make some hard decisions to do what’s best for you – and even when some days are absolute disasters and you’re an emotional wreck, it’ll still be okay.

Be kind to yourselves, parents. You can’t be everything to everyone, and some days, you’re going to feel like you failed at everything. We’ve all been there. Reach out to your colleagues for help, even if only to talk through what you’re feeling. Lean on them. We’re all in this together, and I promise you that we’ve got your back.

September 25, 2018 Kelly.McLaughlin Constant Learning, First Week Reflections, Learning About Your Students, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Questioning, self reflection, Teacher Wellness, wellness

School year start up

Well we are already four weeks in and hopefully it has been a great start of the school year for everyone. I am now teaching a grade eight class, teaching math, science, history/geography, language, art and drama. I was overwhelmed at first thinking about all of the subjects I would be responsible for but I have such an amazing grade team so I am truly thankful for all of their support and activities that have been shared.

September is an important month to get to know your students for not only their likes and dislikes but just honestly, do they enjoy school? Every student has their ideas of teachers, rules, subjects, reading, the list goes on and on. Just listening to them talk to other students during class teaches you so much about their interests and about how they have been affected by various things in their past school years. By grade eight students either LOVE or HATE being in a school. I am now faced with the task of continuing to develop that love or trying hard to turn around the hate.

I have been looking at new apps, reading exciting activities for my class to try, looking at fun trips, trying to think of new clubs/teams and I am hoping that I will engage some students who have been disinterested in the past. It is definitely a year long task to try to engage and involve all students so I hope to continue on that journey each day.

On a personal note, as teachers we often feel many emotions at the end of each day. There are questions we ask ourselves and things we always wonder. The one I have been asking myself a lot lately is, “Did I get to everyone?” I feel that is the hardest thing to go home with at the end of each day. That is why I am trying this year to make a few notes on who to go to first the next day and then actually following up on those plans. I am fortunate to finish early at the end of my school day so I can finish all my school work around 3:30/4:00 pm. That gives me roughly six hours of “me” time! That time is so important for our mental health and it is something I am also hoping to focus on this year. Shopping. stair climbing, doing the laundry, making a fun dinner, watching an episode of my favourite show…just a few examples of things I can do each night to stay positive and enjoy each day to the fullest.

I am hoping to talk to my students tomorrow about how to use our after school time wisely to better ourselves and to really add to our day. Our day isn’t over after school and we should really do our best to enjoy the time we have to keep ourselves positive and to make the most of our day.

These are just a few things I have thought about as summer ended and our school year begins. These four works have not been the easiest as being permanent now full time in a very different setting has made me think differently but I am staying positive and really reflecting on the good at the end of each day and looking forward to working on new things the next day.

I am looking forward to posting every few weeks about exciting ideas that occur in my class as well as all the ways I am staying positive and making the most of each day!

September 15, 2018February 3, 2019 Deb Weston Health & Safety, Teacher Wellness

The Risks of Vaccination Vacations

……….

Canadian Health Headlines 2018

Measles case confirmed at Skookum Festival, multiple Vancouver locations

Why does Europe suddenly have measles?

Mumps makes a comeback in Canada and the U.S.

Whooping cough outbreaks in Canada tied to lower vaccine immunity

Update on invasive meningococcal vaccination for Canadian children and youth

How HPV is causing more than just cervical cancer

Tuberculosis in Canada: Over 1,700 people diagnosed

Vaccinations – In my grandmother’s day, they didn’t exist. Both my mother’s parents and many of their relatives died of complications due to Tuberculosis. My mother’s parents met in a Tuberculosis sanatorium and my mother was born there in the late 1930s. My mother lost more than a year of school due to contracting Mumps, Rubella, and Rheumatic Fever. My mother’s school lost several children due to what are now preventable diseases – and she saw many child-sized coffins during that time.

In Canada, there were no antibiotics until the 1940s (BBC,1999, A brief history of antibiotics). The 1950s brought significant vaccinations improving public health and eliminating Polio in most of the world. The Smallpox vaccination eliminated the disease worldwide in 1979 (The Immunology Advisory Centre, 2017, A brief history of vaccinations).

As a result of immunization, my children did not contract these preventable diseases nor do they have the telltale vaccination Smallpox scar as I do.

So what changed?

In the late 1990s, the manipulation of medical data was done for profit (Weston, 2013). A most notable and unconscionable example is the scientific publication of data linking the childhood Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism and gastrointestinal difficulties in children that was published in the well-respected medical journal, The Lancet (Wakefield et al., 1998). Wakefield and colleagues based their data results on a study of 12 children, which were, in turn, manipulated to discredit the MMR vaccine. Wakefield was purposely trying to discredit the MMR in order to promote his own Measles vaccine. This study was later found to be fraudulent, and the paper was retracted by The Lancet (The Editors of the Lancet, 2010).

The fallout from this publication connecting the MMR vaccine and autism resulted in a significant reduction of immunization of all vaccines among school-aged children (Smith, Ellenberg, Bell, & Rubin, 2008), and a resurgence of previously preventable childhood diseases (Dominus, 2011).

Some children cannot be vaccinated.

Some children have significant health problems which prevents them from getting the full spectrum of vaccinations. Not vaccinating one student is not impactful as populations can rely on herd immunity which comes from most people (the herd) being vaccinated.

Herd Immunity Works

A public health problem occurs when a large percentage of the population do not get vaccinated or fail to update their immunization. For mumps, herd immunity is about 90% vaccinated. Another challenge with vaccinations is that one shot of the vaccine does not provide full protection. With Measles, one dose provides 93% protection while a second shot give 97% protection from the disease.

Vaccinations do not always work on the very young or very old.

An additional challenge with immunization is that not all people respond to immunization. Very young children and seniors may not develop a very strong immune response thus making them even more susceptible to preventable diseases, even with vaccinations. This is particularly relevant for the yearly Flu vaccine. During school-administered vaccinations, I often remind my own students that vaccinations are not to protect them but to protect the very young and very old people in their families.

How do the lack of student’s vaccinations impact teachers?

In the fall of 2009, my grade 7 student had a birthday party, with most of the class attending. Most of the students came down with H1N1 and so did I. When it struck, I felt like a truck had hit me. I could hardly walk. My students, of course, recovered faster. At the time, the H1N1 Flu vaccine had not yet been released.

By January 2010, I was still weakened from my H1N1 Flu experience. A shopping trip to Buffalo – USA, resulted in me getting a “100 day cough” which turned out to be Whopping Cough. At the time, my doctor and her family were very ill with H1N1, so it took me months to finally see her – and instead I had the see of a series of walk-in clinic doctors. When my doctor did see me, she took one look at me and announced I had Whooping Cough.

Having Whooping Cough was a nightmare – I spent many nights sitting up coughing instead of sleeping. I took every Wednesday off for several weeks as I was so tired from coughing and not sleeping – I could hardly drive myself to school – it lasted 5 months. The next year, I contracted Whooping Cough again, as getting the disease does not make a person immune. My doctor informed me that the immunization only lasted about 4 years and public health relied mostly on herd immunity to control outbreaks. Now I get the DPT vaccination (diphtheria, pertussis-whooping cough, & tetanus) every 4 years.

So what can teachers do to prevent outbreaks of preventable diseases?

Update your own immunization
Immunize your children
Ensure your elderly relatives have their immunization updated
Wash your hands, often.
Stay home when you have a fever, rash, diarrhea, and/or vomiting

As teachers, we care very much about our students and their health. As teachers, we can advocate for the immunization of students. And we can work to protect the health of others.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

This blog is for the purposes of information only and is not a venue to engage debate.

References

Dominus, S. (2011, April 20). The crash and burn of an autism guru. New York Times Magazine. The Editors of The Lancet. (2010, February). Retraction–Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 375(9713), 445.

Smith, M. J., Ellenberg, S. S., Bell, L. M., & Rubin, D. M. (2008). Media coverage of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism controversy and its relationship to MMR immunization rates in the United States. Pediatrics, 121(4), 836-43.

The Editors of The Lancet. (2010, February). Retraction–Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 375(9713), 445.

Wakefield, A. J., Murch, S. H., Anthony, A., Linnell, J., Casson, D. M., Malik, M., … WalkerSmith, J. A. (1998). Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 351(9103), 637–41.

Weston, D. (2013). A Positive Constructivist: An Internal Debate on Opposing Educational Philosophies. Teaching and Learning, 8(1).

September 15, 2018September 15, 2018 Deb Weston Teacher Wellness, Women's Health

Let’s talk about P

Image result for teacher bladders

Yes, this blog is about teachers’ urination and the lack of opportunities to do so!

I’ve been teaching over 19 years now and I know I am having a good day when I have eaten my lunch – before 3 pm, and had a pee break. Teachers often joke about this, but based on anecdotal evidence, I believe that teachers are so busy that they often don’t have time to pee.

Teachers are known to have large bladders, probably due to their practice having to hold it. Too bad some of our “break-seeking” students haven’t tried this yet. After several bouts of whooping cough and two months of bronchitis (and two natural childbirths), I found myself paying attention to the special underwear protection commercials. I felt resigned to using these products for the rest of my life.

One day while sitting in my physiotherapy clinic, I noticed signs for women only Pelvic Floor Therapy group information session. The thought of not wearing protective products daily compelled me to signup. The session was very informative.

Did you know that holding back on urination actually helps develop pelvic floor muscles and bladder control? Instead, I was rushing to the washroom in order to avoid an accident.

Other things that strengthen bladders include limiting coffee and tea (I am still drinking my two cups every morning – for my students’ sake). Bladders and the rest of the human body need regular hydration through the drinking of water. I find teachers often have a drink in their hands as teachers need to talk a lot in their job and vocal cords need to stay hydrated to keep working well.

The last thing women need to do strengthen their bladder control and pelvic floor is Kegel exercises (you were probably wondering when I was going to get to this). After having a private session with my physiotherapist, I discovered that when doing Kegal exercises, you are not supposed to use your leg muscles. My therapist showed me how to do proper, pelvic floor strengthening, Kegel exercises. She also showed me how to sneeze and lift things to avoid the dreaded leakage. Further, she gave me excellent tips such as doing Kegals at stoplights and other times when my partner might notice. Within a few months, I was free of the protective products, and still am.

My physiotherapist, a woman, is specially trained and certified in Pelvic Floor Therapy. She also had two natural births in the last few years. This therapy made a huge difference to me in my life.

So when you see a woman at a stoplight, in her car, with a concentrated look on her face, consider what she may be doing for her own health and wellbeing.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

October 31, 2016October 31, 2019 Will Gourley General, Teacher Wellness

What’s really scary

Ir’s October 31st, and in the chilling shrills of SCTV’s Count Floyd, “AAH-OOOOOOOOOOOOO, it’s very scary!!!!”

That’s right zomboys and ghouls, two months of school have flown past faster than a banshee in a frighter jet. Did you stop to breathe? Have you had a chance? Did the start of the new school year take your breath away? A new year can be full of tricks and treats for both new and experienced teachers alike.

Congratulations, by my calculations 20% of this year’s pumpkin pie has been sliced and served. What memories will you take away from these first two months. In my class we take some time to thresh out what’s been alright from the blight.

We had another reorganization due to rapid growth in our school. That meant quite a few changes. Some students had to be moved to new classes, we welcomed new staff, and in some cases routines needed to be re-established with a completely new classroom dynamics. Did you have to re-organize after prepping all Summer for a different grade?

Did you smile? Did you know that some teachers were taught not to smile until November? I couldn’t make it past the first day. Chris Emdin’s TED Talk Teach teachers how to create magic shows us a better way. Now this is something to howl about. AAH-OOOOOOOO!!!

Has your year been a fright or a delight so far? Beware as the chilling thoughts of report card writing are lurking around every corner. When I first started teaching I was tormented by minutia of learning the operating system, communicating learned, strengths, and next steps in parent friendly voice, administrative preferences, and to make sure I had enough data to back it all up. VERY SCARY!!!! With the support of my grade partner(s) and a cauldron of caffeine I have slain the very beast that haunted my early practice.

How are you balancing the tricks and treats of classroom life? Did you give yourself permission to enjoy the experience? I find that teachers get so caught up acting like humans doing that they forget to enjoy that they are human beings. Where’s the treat in that?

You owe it to yourself to take time to take it all in while taking care of everything in your classroom. You’re an educator who stands alongside a room full of time machines, each with boundless ideas and imaginations. So that if we’re going to be afraid of something it will only be the boundaries we try to put around ourselves and therefore our students. Now that’s something scary. Happy Hallowe’en.