Mental Health & Teacher Burnout

In critical issues in education this semester, we addressed many deep concerns that both students and teachers face while in school.The two themes that stuck out the most to me were mental health and teacher burnout. Both of these important themes highlighted the importance of mental health for both the students and the teachers. As a future teacher, it is important to make sure that I look out for the well-being of my students. It will be even more important for me to look out for my own well-being. If I don't take care of myself, how will I take care of my students?

Because of these themes this semester, I have thought hard about how I will try to make sure to maintain a work-life balance. To do this, I intend to be proactive so that I will seldom have to do intense work from home. I am determined to make sure that my work does not interfere with my leisure and affect my mental health.

In relation to my students, I intend to maintain open communication with them to ensure that they know that I am an ally when it comes to them experiencing any type of adversity. I need to do my job as an ally by making sure that the mental health of my students come first. In doing this, I will be able to help them learn as much as possible because all of their needs will be met otherwise. These are big claims to make because I am a pre-service teacher, but I truly hope that this is something that I can stand by when I enter my first year of teaching. I'm truly thankful for this class because I learned a lot about things that they don't always teach about in the textbooks.

State Mandated Workshops

School Violence Prevention and Intervention Workshop- February 3rd

          The first workshop that I went to was the school violence prevention and intervention workshop. In this workshop, Dr. Schiering made it interactive and informative. There were a few important ideas that stuck with me. Thinking about all the school shootings that have occurred lately in the media, it is important to enforce habits to make this less likely to happen. Dr. Schiering began by telling us about the three forms of violence: physical violence, verbal violence (which includes bullying, name-calling and put downs) and indifference. She described indifference as someone ignoring or leaving out someone. She also referred to it as grudge holding which causes retaliation. The first example she gave for this type of violence was the Columbine shooting. In that case there was a child was left out and his feelings begin to grow until he exploded and decided to retaliate by shooting students and teachers. 

Source: Giphy.com

          In the supplementary materials that Dr.Schiering provided there was important information about building level emergency response plans. These need to be put into place in the event that there is school violence, a fight or a school shooting. But it was emphasized that these things can truly be prevented by the teachers in the classroom. I also learned that stress can cause violence. A stressed-out child can feel anger which requires an outlet like yelling or withdrawal. A lot of this anger is caused by stress-related situations such as parents getting divorced, family members being hospitalized, parents losing jobs, speech issues, financial issues, lack of friends and feeling disconnected. This is why it is important for school to be responsive to all children, by reading and knowing the district code of conduct and educating them of what a good citizen is. The main thing that Dr. Schiering emphasized was to create community in the classroom to prevent school violence. That was the biggest take away for me from this workshop because it related to the education weekly article that I read about tips for teachers to make their LGBTQ students feel more comfortable in the classroom. Those tips included creating an open and safe space for the students. These ideas from that article are also relevant for all students to prevent violence in schools. All students would benefit from conditions where their teacher makes them feel safe and heard. 

This is a poster that I made at the School Violence Workshop. The assignment was to make something that showed what you took away from the workshop.

Training In The Identification & Reporting of Child Abuse & Neglect-February 29th

          The last workshop I went to was the reporting of child abuse and neglect. In this workshop I learned that certain professionals are required by law to report suspected child abuse or mistreatment in the state of New York. These reports are made to the New York 
Statewide Central Register (SCR) for child abuse and maltreatment. I learned that this law also protects teachers or professionals by allowing them to report anonymously. However, it also makes it illegal for them to not report suspected cases. This workshop taught us the difference between child abuse and maltreatment. We learned that this abuse can be physical, sexual, verbal. When reporting to the SCR, a trained specialist will determine whether child protective services need to be called or law-enforcement. By being a New York State teacher, it is our responsibility to protect children in the classroom and ensure the protection of them outside of the classroom by looking out for warning signs of abuse. In this workshop we also read scenarios and learn whether or not it is proper to call Child Protective Cervices or the SCR. This is usually an issue in cases when the family is impoverished and unable to feed or clothe their children. Overall this workshop taught me when and when not to be suspicious of abuse and my rights when it comes to being a  mandated reporter. Knowing these procedures are important so that I will know what to do in the event that I suspect maltreatment. 


        To conclude, teachers have this huge responsibility to educate their students but they are also trusted with the protection of their students. This is the case both in and out of the classroom. Teachers are responsible with ensuring the well-being of the students through being an ally, mandated reporter and keeper of a respectful classroom. Teachers do this to protect the students and the learning experience.