Part 1: Stories of Resilience

After listening to what she had to say and her story, she's right. I don't think we can truly move on from grief or past experiences that leave an mark on our lives. It will always be there in the back of our mind or at the forefront because something brought it back up. We need those experiences and hardships to help us move forward and see what we have and make the most of at different moments in time. It allows us tog row as people and help those that are where we used to be. 

I watched the video that Sir Ken Robinson narrated on Flourishing. He made a comparison that just like the Earth's natural resources, often time human talent and human resources are also buried within. And in order to tap into that potential humans have to be intrinsically motivated and have to actively go "looking" for their talents. He suggests that this is a necessary thing that we do and that it does not come easy. He argues that old educational models and systems push conformity, however, we need to take on a model that supports individuality and diversity. Education should not be a linear mechanistic process but instead more like an organism. Just like an organism is a product of its environment, under certain conditions students will fade while in other conditions those same students can flourish.

I watched the TED Talk entitled, "Learn to Shine Bright" by Kelly Hopkinson. In the beginning of the video, Hopkinson states that 1 out of 83 teachers were on sick leave because of stress or anxiety. While this number wasn't shocking to me, what was shocking is that this talk was from 2018. Knowing the toll COVID-19 and remote learning took on students and teachers, I can only imagine what that number looks like now. Later in the video, Hopkinson details ways that educators can "learn to shine bright" and maintain their mental health better. Hopkinson states that, "your light is the most important thing in your life that needs protecting." While a bit cliche, this statement is one worth remembering. I do think that we can sometimes forget to take care of ourselves amidst the grind of daily life. 

I think these videos repeat information that we know but don’t always act on. Many of these videos are from before COVID and I think it is interesting to think that teachers entered the pandemic with compassion fatigue and post-pandemic with just deeper levels of compassion fatigue. There are even more pressures now than ever and these videos show the importance of acknowledging and overcoming compassion fatigue. 

I found this playlist interesting because some of the questions that I had at the beginning of it were answered as it went along.  I’m not sure if it was organized to work that way, but it did for me.  By the time I got to the end of Hopkinson’s “Learn to Shine Bright,” I was left with a simple question: How?  Hopkinson encourages use to simply take care of ourselves, but I would argue that’s not so simple.  I found myself agreeing with her arguments that we need to stop wishing our time away—something that I hear lamented in other teacher forums of which I am a part—but I didn’t think her solution was so easy.  It felt like another task.  Another initiative, when so many of us already have enough of those.  “Drowning in Empathy” started to answer my question of “how?”  I really liked how Cunningham discussed carving out ten minutes of time for ourselves.  That felt really doable.  I’m not sure that ten minutes can undo some of the compassion fatigue that we experience, but I think it’s a doable start. 

"Learn to Shine Bright" was all about the importance of self-care for teachers.  The entire time I was watching, I wished that I had seen this years ago, when I was struggling the most as a teacher.  I left he classroom, took time off, and reflected on where I wanted to go in my lifetime.  Kelly Hopkinson said that self-care as teachers is most important to moving mountains in the profession, IF we can all collectively dedicate ourselves in doing it - balancing work and home life, putting ourselves first.  Now, I am again a teacher, in a new role outside of the classroom, have a family at home that remains my priority, and can finally appreciate the profession because it isn't my WHOLE life, just an important part.

We have likely always experienced collective trauma as a society for as long as we have existed in this way, but it has definitely felt like all of these emotions are at an all time high. This video made me think of the importance of putting a name to vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue. It changes the way we think of, approach, and eventually prepare individuals for different professions. It will make a work of difference moving forward to look at educators as trauma support and specialists. Teachers have naturally learned the importance of supporting the whole person, not just their academics, in order to achieve the best results, but we now have research to aid us in doing the correctly and effectively. 

After listening to Kelly’s Ted talk I am right back to thinking about the importance of self-care. As an educator we are always putting our students, parents, and co workers first. Answering emails, phone calls, remind messages, questions the list goes on, throughout the work day and even after hours if there was an issue during the day that needs to be addressed. Many times, this is very overwhelming and makes it very difficult for anyone to find time for themselves. Kelly’s words remind me that I need to set boundaries to ensure that I find something I enjoy doing, like going to the gym to decompress. Balance between work and home is essential to be the best educator I can possibly be for the students in front of me. I was amazed to hear that 1/3 of teachers quit teaching within the first five years because of the strain it has on them. This stresses the importance of self-care, balance, and over all just taking care of yourself in positive ways.  

Is there a "sweet spot" between caring and not caring...? THAT is the question! It's ok to have healthy boundaries for self-preservation. One can't lose sight of their own mental health when offering support to another. It's important to be kind and and have patience with students, which can be challenging given their circumstances and difficulties. They can wear on us, too. Our role as teachers is to be strong for them and make sure they know they have support, but also to maintain our sense of sanity and not take on too much burden. In doing that, we can find balance and maximize what we are able to do for them.

I honestly could connect with everything that Kelly stated.  It seems so simple to just take a break and work on helping yourself.  But it very much is "easier said than done".  Everyday something comes up that seems more important to take care of than myself, whether it is at work and involves a student or grading or prep for the next day or an issue that comes up.  Or at home and I have daily "chores" to take care of or to help my son with his homework or if someone has an appointment.  The list honestly goes on and on.  I have to be better about taking even just a few minutes a day to do something to decompress before I myself end up burned out. 

The video I selected was Ken Robinson's view on the idea of "flourishing" and what it means in our education system. In our human quest to learn about who we are, our strengths, and our potential, we only grow as much as our surroundings and learnings allow us to. Robinson notes that education is not a mechanism but more like organisms.; we flourish is certain conditions and we fade under certain conditions. For students to grow into themselves, we need to create an environment that supports their learning but also doesn't try to push them through processes. We have to learn to be flexible and change the environment if we find they aren't growing.