Teaching is hard

by Carol Wolff

Teaching has always been hard, but it's never been like this !!!!

In what way?

What about us? We (the teachers) are forgotten

• Staff shortages
• Demands on parents / school system
• Disputes between government and unions

In the news we hear...

Incredibly challenging. We are barely hanging on. We are utterly overwhelmed, overworked and exhausted.

Once we understand it, and verbalize it, we can deal with it.

In what way?

Students in the same grade have even more widely varied academic achievement levels than usual. We are constantly having to figure out how to teach material in appropriate sequences while accommodating student absences.

In what way?

• Basic learning skills - how "to be" a student
• emotional dysregulation
• disruptions
• defiance - behaviour we have not experienced

... These are more common than they used to be. We are forced to spend more time restoring order before we can teach.

Some challenges are...

• We are giving up prep time/free time to substitute for sick colleagues

• Scrambling to find ways for kids to catch up

• Being creative to engage students

Challenges

I am a teacher and I believe...

Complete the sentence

We never give up

communication listening collaboration adaptability empathy patience

Our Strengths

Relax Each day, try to relax after you get home from work. Don’t overwork yourself Teaching MORE does NOT mean your students will learn MORE. Don’t burden yourself grading their tests/work Do not spend your weekend planning lessons Learn to say no One quick way to burnout is by overstretching yourself - learn to say no without feeling guilty or bad.

Feeling drained?

Volatility - Stability Uncertainty - Certainty Complexity - Simplicity Ambiguity - Clarity

VUCA

Volatility - How will you respond? Uncertainty - How to prepare for it? Complexity - How do you manage complexity? Ambiguity - How to deal with the feeling of vagueness and chaos?

VUCA

Vision Understanding Clarity Agility

• be transparent
• be flexible
• establish guiding priorities
• experiment to learn

VUCA translates into...

Sense of agency refers to the feeling of control over actions and their consequences

VUCA education means embracing CHANGE, and welcoming it. It means learners directing their own course through education, and discovering joy in the sense of agency that it brings.

VUCA education... It means falling in love with the journey and not the destination. It means focusing on the skills that will help us meet an uncertain future with our best foot forward. Learning from setbacks, persevering through adversity, knowing who we are and anchoring that deeply to weather any storms that come.

Teachers are the engine that drives social and emotional learning practices in classrooms; their OWN social-emotional competencies and well being does not only protect them from burnout and allows them to teach better (Gustems-Carnicer, Calderón, and Calderón-Garrido 2019), it also strongly affects their students (Jennings and Greenberg 2009; Hulburt, Colaianne, and Roeser 2020).

SEL: BEGINS with the TEACHER

26 Simle ways to integrate SEL

Video lessons of the week

Infusing SEL in what you are doing

Instructional practice

Take a look at these and begin each lesson with SEL 🙏🏻🙏🏻 It doesn't have to be a long thing

90+ Activities

SEL

Fundamentals of SEL SEL can help all young people and adults thrive personally and academically, develop and maintain positive relationships, become lifelong learners, and contribute to a more caring, just world.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF

Taking care of yourself is the best gift you can give your students. Make a list of the things you like to do that feed your heart, your body, your mind, and your soul. Get out your calendar and make time for yourself EVERY day. Give up all guilt about taking time for yourself, or for taking time to be with people who boost your energy and your joy. Keep a gratitude journal. Ask for help when you need it. After all, you aren’t asking for anything you would not be happy to give. Allow others the blessing of giving to you. Laugh and learn from your mistakes.

Remember to have fun, take care of yourself first- self-care is NOT selfish Have an awesome week