Teachers, This One’s for You
It’s post-Labor Day. Kids, teens, young adults have just been coming back to the classroom for the first in-person Fall in over two years. Likewise, their teachers, school administrators and staff are going to be back in the buildings. Congratulations to all of you on making it!
I confess that I’ve always felt a kinship bond with teachers.
I’m often struck by how much teachers and therapists have in common: A desire to help others, to connect with other people regularly, and a pull to do this work because it felt like them - not just a job, but a calling. We often take on concerns and work that are not outlined in the job description, but we understand as needing to be addressed.
I’m also struck by the particular skills that teachers have to master: Organizing and maintaining the focus of an entire classroom on a regular basis, while also grading work and addressing the behavioral and health concerns of these students. And dealing with requirements of the job, beyond the classroom. This means answering to department heads, administrators, and parents. Among others. So teachers, this one’s for you. I’m talking to you in today’s post.
What does being back in person look like, for the first academic year start since 2019? On one hand, there is excitement. Finally, some normalcy! Online classes have been so hard on so many students and teachers, that it’s affirming to get classrooms organized and start thinking about lesson plans and group activities, back in the building. To be face-to-face with students and colleagues. To just be in each other’s presence without a screen. To have work life be physical separate from home. Finally, doing what you intended to do when you went into this profession.
In another way, though, anxiety may be rearing its head. Yes, this fresh in-person start feels great. But you’ve come back in fits and starts for the past year, especially this past Spring semester after two years of teaching online. COVID, that virus that we are all so sick of, has refused to go away, though it’s not nearly the threat it was at the start — for most of you. You got mixed and shifting messages on what safety precautions were to be used, all this time. Half of the parents and students were upset about the lack of COVID precautions and being back in person, while the other half were upset at all the time away and the masking requirements. Those of you with health concerns for yourself or a loved one were, and maybe still are, concerned about what in-person teaching means for you.
Not to mention the societal pressures on teachers right now. When you went into teaching, did you ever think you were going to need to handle a shooter scenario as part of your training? Or that you would get backlash for reading a particular story or presenting a lesson a particular way? Some high school teachers notice that it’s been hard to engage their teens, who may have been coping with their own stressors at home. Back in person, some of these students are shut down, distant. Like they didn’t know how to be in a classroom setting after all this time out. They were chronological Sophomores, but had the mentality of Eighth Graders. Some teachers have decided to resign or retire, for a number of reasons. Some administration and other staff may have done the same. If you haven’t retired or changed jobs, you may have seriously considered it. Educational systems have not been immune to The Great Resignation, after all. Those of you hanging in there are facing challenges.
So what to do?
Let’s start with acknowledgement of your feelings and state of mind right now. This is where you are. Part excited, part apprehensive. Notice it and give space to it.
Acknowledge that part of you wants to get back to normal. Yet, with all that has happened in these past few years, you aren’t the same person you were two years ago. So if “normal” is hard to picture, we need to give space to that. We have some battle scars, and for awhile, that may be part of our normal.
Have compassion for yourself. A great way to do that is to say, “No wonder.” As it, “No wonder I’m so drained right now. I just had to get through two really hard years of juggling needs.” or, “No wonder I’m sick of people right now. I feel like they are always angry when we speak.”
Look to your supports. What or who helps you personally and professionally? Start small. You aren’t trying to rebuild the whole system, just tweak one moment of right now. Deep breaths, a meditation, a game of ball or chess.
Be aware of all-or-nothing thinking. Remember that this road to being present in our work and lives is a process. We have the fantasy that we will come back full-force and kicking ass. Some moments, we may. Others, we may tired or scared. Both are part of us. No wonder - we have motivations and challenges. It’s not a straight line up or down. It’s a path with windy roads.
And here’s a thought to add to this new school year: You don’t have to go at it alone. You don’t have to ignore or push down the concerns you have, all the time.
You can add a tool to your life toolbox. You can seek a space to unburden your concerns, look at what’s weighing on you, and do this confidentially with someone who is not here to judge you or tell you what to do.
That’s where therapy can help. Here’s what to expect with me:
We will work together to bring relief and resolution , so that you can then have the energy and clarity to decide what you need to do.
I work differently than most therapists. Our sessions will be structured, but focused on you, always. The results are often more powerful, more quickly. It’s like therapy and coaching rolled into one.
If your pain points involve upsetting incidents you have experienced or witnessed, know that that’s one of my specialties, Traumatic Incident Recovery. Together we will “rework” them so they aren’t as overwhelming.
From the start, we will develop a “Case Plan” of items to work on. We will assess where you are with them after twelve (12) sessions. Don’t worry - it’s not a report card! It will be a collaborative, honest look at where you feel stress is lessened, and where you still feel stuck. This is a process. You don’t pass/fail therapy. But it is a process with your goals in mind.
Will this solve all your problems? No, therapy doesn’t do that. But the work can help you feel calmer, clearer, on the areas where you do have agency to make changes. That, in and of itself, can be very powerful.
And if you are a teacher or administrator who has recently left your job or the profession, I welcome you, too. My job is to work on your particular issues, whatever they are.
If your concerns have nothing to do with your work as a teacher, that’s ok, too. Maybe it’s a personal issue that is weighing on you. Whatever the issue, I will be here for you.
No matter what, you don’t have to go at it alone.
When you’re ready, call me.