Hello Teachers,

With the past year and the rise of a new variant for Covid-19, I think all of us have witnessed the dramatic decrease in mental health due to the lack of connection and social interactions with both peers and teachers alike. I could sense that many of us were feeling overwhelmed, tired, and anxious.

We all strive to be caring, authentic teachers and we want our students to grow and be successful. As teachers, we promote whole-group discussions with our students about our thoughts and experiences. This time is valued because it allows us to get to know our students, understand their thinking, and relate to them as people. However, often, we are faced with the pressures of time. This is especially true for those pivoting to online spaces to provide a place to connect with our students. Often, academic learning and “getting through the content” outweighs social emotional learning in practice despite teachers understanding the importance of both. We all want to establish foundations of our curricular content for the students, so they are prepared for next grade level. However, we also need to address the basic needs of our students. It is a delicate balance. When students are preoccupied with social and emotional needs, their capacity to be present and engaged in learning is compromised. How do we balance our students’ well-being and expressed needs for emotional support while trying to teach our subject matter without burning out? 

The key is to know that our students’ well-being is connected to our well-being and our well-being is connected to theirs. As Nel Noddings has said, “time spent on building a relation of care and trust is not time wasted.” It is important to understand that this time has taken a toll on all of us. A constant reminder, especially this year, is that we need to be kind to ourselves and our students. We must remind ourselves to take a deep breath and redirect the focus of ours lessons with the students by looking at what their attitudes and behaviour are telling us. This is essential in building genuine relationships with our students and helping them develop strategies to cope with the stresses and anxieties as we navigate the uncertainties of this year. The Blended Teacher Support Team would love to hear about your experiences and how you have been supporting yourself and your students.

Below are resources that can help:

Take Care,
Michael Ho