Will Gourley Assessment, Celebrating Success, Differentiated Instruction, Feedback, General, Mental Health, Professional Judgement, wellness

The Downside

It’s a wonderful time of the year…ish. However, there are a few downsides.
Starting with the scary winter weather commutes, bone-chilling outdoor supervision at -16C, or the daily loss of at least a half hour of instructional time while students remove their winter wear or gear up for recess. Today I was convinced that a child went out for recess and returned as a snowman. It was touch and go whether we would need a lifeguard on duty once all of the snow the students brought inside began to melt.

Then, there’s the realization, that maybe, just maybe I missed assessing something for my upcoming report cards. That sent a shiver down my spine. In my mind I just wrote report cards a few weeks ago. 10 weeks is a few, right?

The end of January signals the half way mark of our instructional year and things are clicking in the classroom. We have our routines back in place, students have shown a lot of growth since September, and there is a feeling of hope in the air at times. Maybe that’s tied to the temperature rising a few degrees and for the days when the trek between the portapack and the main building does not require a Sherpa or tethering students to a guide rope. With chilly temperatures, indoor recesses, and daylight still getting longer, this time of year can sneak up on your mental health and well being to blind side you when your not expecting it.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherpa_Glacier,_Cascades.JPG#file CC BY-SA 4.0
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherpa_Glacier,_Cascades.JPG#file CC BY-SA 4.0

Today, a student was having a bad day. No one saw it coming. I was called into another class to provide support. The student was experiencing an anxiety attack. The entire class was genuinely concerned for them, and offered their support and kind words. Seeing this warmed my heart on a chilly day, but it also screamed about the fragility that exists in our learners. In my opinion, we never get the whole picture of our students lives. Finding time to fit it all in beyond the superficialities is difficult when deadlines and commitments loom.

Although we are in each others’ presence 6+ hours per day, we are often humans doing more so than humans being aware of one another when they are feeling sad, frustrated, or stressed. I am finding it more and more important to let students vent about what is weighing on their minds. Yes, it’s during instructional time, but it is an absolutely integral part of my classroom mental health strategy.

If my students are sharing from their hearts, they will also know they are being heard in a safe and supportive space. If we miss these chances in favour of trudging through the lessons hoping it will just go away, or that the student will get over it in time, then we are at risk of missing our opportunity to help our students when they need us most. There is a downside to this that could lead to depression, disconnection, and despair.

In his 2017 TEDxKitchenerEd Talk, Andrew Campbell shares the reason why he meets his students at the door each day. While watching him share this incredibly personal message, I wondered whether all of the other educators in the theatre wanted to be back at school at that very minute to greet their own students. I know the next day couldn’t come fast enough for me. I wanted to make sure they knew they mattered, that our classroom cared, and that even though we had just started the year, I cared too. It is only through these connections with students that I see any learning made truly possible.

The choice of whether to support, stand still, or dismiss could mean the world of difference to someone who is struggling. Choosing to connect and care over the curriculum at times may be the cure. No downside there.

 

Deb Weston agency, Health & Safety, wellness, Wellness, wellness

Precarious Absences – The impact of teacher intervention truancy systems

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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 11th 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.

Michelle Fenn Constant Learning, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Mental Health, Mindfulness, self reflection, Wellness, wellness, wellness

Mindfulness Tips for Stress Reduction

I’ve recently spent some time with fellow educators and health care practitioners in order to find solutions to an all too prevalent issue.  Burn out, stress, compassion fatigue or empathy fatigue; whatever you call it, it is a reality for those in caring professions like teaching and health care.  The room was filled with women from all over the province.  Although our stories were different, we were all exhausted, overwhelmed, and consumed by feelings of guilt and inadequacy.  We had a common purpose for coming together; to find ways to put mindfulness and stress reduction into our daily living.  
The most common excuse that people use with regards to self-care is that they don’t have enough time.  I used to say the same thing.  Then I realized that if I have had enough time to watch two episodes of something on Netflix, I had enough time to go to the gym or cook a healthy meal.  As I have learned more about mindfulness and meditation I have realized that it doesn’t have take a huge amount of time and it really doesn’t take a whole lot of effort.  You just have to start.
I’m an “all or nothing” kind of person and a perfectionist.  I used to set lofty exercise, meditation and healthy eating goals for myself and then quit when I haven’t met these unrealistic expectations.  Now, I start one thing and do it, slowly and simply.  I try to adopt Nike’s “Just Do It” advertising campaign as my mindset towards mindfulness.  I have to remind myself to be patient, kind and compassionate around my mindfulness practice.  I forget, I get distracted and I feel disappointed in myself sometimes.  The most important thing that I try to remember is I can always begin again.  I can begin again every moment.  The judgment that I have about missing days at the gym or on my meditation cushion is my own.  There is no one that works at the gym that will berate me when I come through the door.  They will welcome me and I have never left the gym or my meditation cushion wishing that I had done something else with my time.  I thought it might be helpful to share some simple and quick ideas that can easily become habits in order to become more mindful and practice self care.

1.  Begin each morning by spending three or four minutes lying in bed awake before getting out of bed.  Pay attention to your breath and set your intention for the morning rather than shutting the alarm off and immediately swinging your legs to the floor.  It seems like such a simple thing, but it can make a positive impact on how you face the day.

2.  While doing any mundane task such as washing your hands you can simply pay more attention to the task.  Don’t try to multitask and don’t be on “auto-pilot”.  Be aware of what you are doing and do it slowly.  Actually enjoy the simple task of hand washing.  It may take you a few seconds longer but it gives your brain and body time to become more grounded.  Pay attention to your breath.  Are you holding your breath?  Are your shoulders tense?  Let the warm water flow over your hands and be grateful for the water we have.  Lather the soap and feel it squish through your fingers.  Dry your hands completely, taking the time to appreciate the act.  We know in the teaching profession how important the act of hand washing for our health and we do this many times a day but how often do we wash our hands mindfully?  Take these few extra seconds, breathe, be aware and be grateful.

3.  Each morning before exiting your car at work take a few minutes to check your breathing.  Be grateful for the day, be aware of your intention for the day at work.  Try to do a quick body scan to see if you are holding any tension and let it go.  If you aren’t really looking forward to the day, force a smile.  The silly act of putting a smile on your face on purpose while alone in your car will often produce a genuine smile!

4.   Be mindful about your cup of tea or coffee.  Over the years we have become accustomed to having our tea or coffee “to go” that we are no longer mindful about drinking it.  In fact, we have adult sippy cups to ensure that we don’t spill it and companies that put warnings on the side of cups to remind us that the contents might be hot.  As a society, we have become pretty mindless about drinking hot beverages.  Our coffee and tea have become caffeine that is fuel to be consumed rather than a comforting and tasty beverage to savoured and enjoyed. So take the time when drinking your hot drink.  Take the time to smell it, feel the warmth in your hands, to really look at it and to enjoy and be grateful for it.  


For more information about “Tea” Meditation and mindfulness visit Tea Meditation – Plum Village

5.  In order to incorporate mindfulness practice into your work life, practice it with your students.  Each day I have a morning meeting with my class.  I use a singing bowl to draw attention to our practice and we sit in a comfortable position.  We only do this for a few minutes each day but we pay attention to our breathing, we close our eyes or choose a spot to land a soft gaze.  The students have said that they can feel the energy in the room become more calm and peaceful.  I do the practice along with them.  I have grade 4 and 5 so we also talk about mindfulness and what it means.  It works hand in hand with self regulation.  If students are mindful about their behaviour then it becomes easier for them to practice self regulation strategies.

I do not claim to be any kind of mindfulness or meditation guru.  I have not painstakingly researched the positive effects of mindfulness from a scientific perspective.  I’m just an elementary teacher and mom trying to bring balance to my life, one moment at a time.

 

Michelle Fenn Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Modern Learning, Professional Judgement, self reflection, Technology in school, Use of Technology, wellness, wellness

Finding Balance in a Digital World

When I first began teaching, over 20 years ago, I spent a lot of personal money on “resources”.  In teacher’s college I worked part time at The Teacher’s Store and spent the majority of my paycheque on black line master books, “units” and teacher’s guides, which took up space on my book shelves and in large plastic totes in my basement.  Now I can access free downloads, use Teacher’s Pay Teachers, Twitter, Pinterest or any number of educator websites.  It is difficult to deny that the use of technology is a huge part teaching.   I access the curriculum documents online on a regular basis. In fact, I don’t even own a paper copy of the curriculum documents.  Attendance, IEPs and report cards are now web-based.  Student portfolios are digital and parent communication is mostly electronic.  We communicate with our staff on Edsby and post our students’ triumphs using digital platforms such as Seesaw.  When I am away from school for the day, I book an occasional teacher online and send in my plans via email. As a parent, I pay for my son’s school trips online.  Almost everything we do in education seems to involve technology in some way.  It makes our job so much easier!  Doesn’t it?

Herein lies the rub.  As wonderful and “easy” as it all is, digital information and communication can also be suffocating.  For example, it is easy to ask a question of a colleague in my large school something by email or text and get an answer in seconds without having to take ten minutes to walk to his or her classroom.  However, it also may mean that I won’t see my colleague all week.  It is easy for a upset parent to send an email in the middle of the weekend and then I stew about it until I can take care of it when I am back at school on Monday.  It is easy to spend hours following the trail down an internet rabbit hole trying to find the “perfect” lesson plan.  It is easy to look at examples of art lessons on websites like Pinterest and then feel inadequate as an educator because mine didn’t go quite according to plan. It is easy to send an email in the middle of the weekend, just to get it done, when I should be spending time with my family.  It is easy to get into a chat on Twitter with educators around the world and learn all kinds of cool stuff, and then realize that I have missed going to the gym…again.  Digital information and communication is never done.  There is always something to check or answer or post.  Yes, I admit that it is a little ironic that I am writing this on a blog post, but wait…here’s why.

I have decided to try a few things so that digital information and communication will not suffocate me.  I have created “office hours” for communication.  I have told the families of my students that I will only respond to emails or messages on Edsby or Seesaw between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. If I take the time to communicate something to families outside of office hours, then I will draft it and save it and send it during office hours.  If there is something urgent, families are instructed to call the school.  I have turned off notifications of email on my phone.  I no longer go on Pinterest and have stopped going on Twitter.  I will only check Edsby once a day.  If there is something of urgent importance, I have no doubt that someone will find me and let me know.  My students will update their own digital portfolios. I am going to try to be mindful of the amount of time I engage in digital communication and information for my job in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance.  It will take some practice and I’m sure that I will find myself getting into some old habits.  However, my mantra this year for my class is also for me…strive for growth and progress, not perfection.

Mike Beetham Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, self reflection, Wellness, wellness

THANK YOU!

It has been a long, arduous journey from September to the end of June and we are just weeks away from closing the chapter on another academic year. I am going to relive the last ten months of a fictional elementary school teacher.

A group of twenty plus disconnected, diverse individuals arrived in your classroom with a variety of needs beyond their academic status. Through careful planning, creative thinking, endless commitment and tremendous flexibility you were able to to:

  • make each child feel welcomed and loved
  • create a learning community
  • develop the confidence and self-esteem of your students
  • help them move forward in all academic areas
  • taught them the power of being a team
  • provided off campus, intramural, choir, club and athletic opportunities for them
  • offered them a high five to celebrate and emotional support when needed
  • in some cases provided food to meet their basic needs
  • laughed and cried with them
  • believed in them enough to provide tough love
  • wrote reports, called parents, attended meetings
  • organized assemblies and spirit days
  • created Individual Educational Programs
  • purchased necessary materials for your class and students
  • spent endless hours beyond your school day
  • gave up personal and family time for your students
  • helped develop future global citizens
  • attended a variety of professional learning opportunities to help in your journey toward best practice
  • you have sacrificed personal health for your class and school
  • please continue this list with anything I have missed

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! On behalf of students and parents everywhere, you continue to be a part of one of the most rewarding and important roles there is. You are a teacher!

I would also like to take this time to thank ETFO for the opportunity they have given me to be a part of the Heart & Art blog for the last 5 years. In that time I have had the wonderful opportunity to learn from many talented people. I have had comments shared with me that reminded me how proud I am to be a part of this profession. Finally, I have become a better teacher as my blogging has helped me reflect on the day-to-day work in my classroom. I am making this my last blog and challenge the many talented and inspiring teachers in ETFO to join in and share the expertise that lies within you and your teaching. THANK YOU!

Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Challenging Topics, Mental Health, wellness, wellness

Balance

Have you ever been driving along and all of a sudden you hear a low chime and look down to notice your fuel gauge has lit up and you are in desperate need of a fill up? Well, I can truly tell you this last week was just that feeling. It was like I was running on fumes and was hoping to be able to make it to Friday afternoon and the start of March Break. When I look back at a bad cold and three days off work, demands of our class’ annual play, contract voting, work on local committees, ETFO Executive role, monthly team meetings, staff meetings, report cards, school initiatives etc… there is no wonder that my tank was nearing empty. The bigger and more important question is how I let myself get to such a low.

In the first two thirds of my career the above stated condition was just what teaching was about. That is why we had Christmas Break, March Break and of course the famous summers off. What I found was that throughout the year I had put so much into my teaching, my students and my school that there was very little left for me and my family. The first two weeks of summer felt like being in recovery where my body just shut down and said, ‘REST’. I would then enjoy several weeks of life trying to get caught up with family time and me time. By the second week of August, I was starting my new cycle by pondering and preparing for the upcoming school year.

Then it hit me, well it felt like it hit me as I lost my voice for a two-week period and had damaged my vocal chords. The simple diagnosis was that I was doing too much and not allowing enough rest time for my vocal chords. I thought to myself, if that was occurring with my voice, it is likely occurring with all of me both from a physical and emotional state. That simple but important event helped me understand the word balance and how critical it is to every one of us no matter what career path we choose in education or other fields. The simple remedy was that I needed to get and maintain balance in all aspects of my life.

I began by prioritizing events, tasks, extra curricular time, family time and me time. My first professional priority was to teach and help my students be successful. That is where most of my school time should go. Any extra events I choose to be a part of are now based on my overall balance picture and what I think I can contribute while still maintaining a healthy life balance. As I have learned, that changes from month-to-month at times.

The second shift was to ensure that what I needed to maintain a balance in life (exercise, time in the outdoors, family time, friend time, alone time) was also a planned component of this new and improved work smarter not harder picture. No longer was I ever going to listen to my youngest son (5 at the time) tell me it is okay that I was not able to talk to him now, we could do it in the summer. So I have found that by just writing this blog it once again has forced me to revisit my life/work balance. It seems I was moving into unhealthy patterns again. Take care of yourself by striving for balance as teaching is a marathon and not a sprint.