Staying Well at Teaching for Teachers in British Columbia Specifically! By Laurence Grief and Gina Casella

“Teaching is like when you’re on an airplane. The flight attendants always let you know that in cases of emergency- put your mask on first before you assist others.”

This was such an amazing metaphor stated by Gina Casella to begin this segment.  We as teachers so many times run ourselves down (literally- until your body forces you to finally lay down because you’ve caught some sort of plague due to your lack of immune system because you neglected… well… you.) Working yourself to the point of being sick is not a competition and is not part of the job. Do I need to repeat that for those in the back?

As a rookie teacher myself (only 3 years experience with SD28 and now currently attending the UNBC Renewed B.Ed Program) I find we have these ridiculous expectations put upon us… by the public, by our peers and oh yes- us! It was so nice to be able to attend a professional development session where I felt there was finally a justification to me wanting to actually leave school on Friday by 3:30pm (let’s be honest- that never happened and I always stayed until at least 6:00pm because “I needed to__________” fill in the blank with a million excuses) But guess what? I can leave. And you know what? My lesson will still happen Monday, my students will still learn and we will all carry on with our lives even though I didn’t stay late.

You know what else won’t stop the world from going around? Boundaries.  If I refuse to check my email over the weekend, the world will continue to rotate.  If a student comes to me and asks me about Birth Control (an example given by Gina) then I will gladly, respectfully and professionally find you someone certified to have that conversation with you (i.e.: Councilor)

R-U-L-E-R is a way to express our emotional literacy (yes, emotional literacy is an expression, and once hearing that, I realized I was quite illiterate in the manner.) In order to have control over our circle of influence (The area of which you actually have control over your life) and to have that pushing out towards the Circle of Concern (where you have zero control), you have to acknowledge that emotions fluctuate, the circle can turn on you, and develop the RULER tools you need to get yourself back on track.

R- Recognize

U- Understand

L- Learn

E- Expressing

R- Regulating and Reflecting

 

The goal is to acknowledge that concerns will always be a part of your life, but to have healthy regulations and coping mechanisms that stabilize your center of self and your circle of influence.  If you can be proactive with your circle of influence, it can change the outcome of how you react to the concern, rather than reactive where the concern controls how you react.

 

Lastly, Gina and Laurence discussed a “Wellness Wheel” and suggested we as educators should reflect on what we enjoy in the areas of: Physical, Social, Emotional, Environmental, Financial and Career wise. “What sparks happiness” in those categories.  Maintaining a balance in those areas of well being are crucial to being an affective and effective teacher, because if you aren’t taking care of you, how can you take care of others and their learning?

 

Lastly, (and I personally found this one of the most beneficial learnings of all) Laurence touched on some of the programs out there for teachers when we are going through those times in our life where managing everything on our own may be too much.  For example, currently we are in a global pandemic, and if you happen to catch COVID- 19 as a teacher, you have to use your sick days for quarantine/ recovering.  Now, to put that in perspective for you, I raised the question that as a non-certified teacher (which we have many in our neck of the woods) our sick days do not carry over at the end of the year, we start with a fresh 12 the next year- 12! Which seemed like so much- until you realize quarantining requires 14 days. Laurence informed us to that if we simply self refer ourselves to the BCTF, they can direct us to the, “Salary Indemnity Service” that supports teachers in that exact situation- phew! Thanks Laurence, that is really great to know, and I wish it was more well known! We were also informed of an “EFAP” plan for if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed as an educator (not a typical Tuesday type of overwhelmed, but overly– overwhelmed you know what I mean.) It is through the EFAP program that free counselling is offered- who knew we could actually take care of our mental health!

 

I cannot thank Gina, Laurence and School District 28 enough for opening my eyes into this world, where I now feel so much more confident as a beginning teacher knowing the resources out there that can help me- regardless of the world’s judgements (or my own.) Dually noted that in order to be an effective and affective educator, I do not need to run myself into the dirt to prove I am one.  In the future, I will remember to “put my mask on first before I assist others.” – Gina Casella