Teachers are the most valuable resource in education and they need looking after
Imagine a classroom without a teacher. Imagine a group of children sat in front of computers and being instructed to learn without the guidance or input of a teacher: “Welcome to the world wide web. All the knowledge and information you’ll ever need is on this machine. Off you go; now sit down and learn!”
The truth is that education is not just about knowledge; it is about relationships – learning to interact socially, kindly and with compassion. Teaching involves developing connections. Most of us can remember the impact our teachers had on us – the teacher who made us feel special and encouraged us to follow our dreams, or the one whose influence was not so positive. The key here is not whether the interaction was “good” or “bad”, but simply that there was interaction.
So why is it that so little attention is paid to such a pivotal influence that can make or break a learning experience for a child? Why is so little time and money spent on looking out for the emotional and social health of the one person who is responsible for the wellbeing of that child for at least seven hours every day, five days a week?
You create the weather
How a teacher presents him/herself in the classroom has a big effect on students: how they learn and their attitude towards those in authority and their peers. For those teaching children with SEN, it is, perhaps, even more important to be in the right state to handle the challenges that can arise. It is an emotionally resilient and mindful teacher who can cope and open his/her heart to a child who has just shouted abuse at him/her, kicked him/her or destroyed their own work. Let’s be honest, teaching is a tough enough job without the added challenge of personal threats to your physical, mental or emotional stability.
We know that teachers’ daily routines can be very draining: not taking a break, rarely getting any fresh air during the day (unless on playground duty), stuffing down lunch whilst marking books or preparing the next lesson, or not making time to eat at all. It may sound like utter madness, but this passes for normal practice in many schools.
Teachers are at the heart of education and of the school community. Without energetic, healthy, mindful teachers who are centred, and socially and emotionally competent, teaching and learning will not be effective or efficient – so why isn’t there genuine investment to ensure that every teacher is fit, well and fully equipped to meet the huge demands of the “noblest profession”.
It is imperative that resources are focused on ensuring that teachers can deliver the best teaching programme appropriate to the needs of their students. Children and young people spend approximately 10,000 hours with their teachers. This is a lot of time to influence, and impact on, a young mind. Shouldn’t we be ensuring that teacher status is raised, systems are simplified and structures are put in place that help, not hinder, teachers to do the job they love?
It is time to re-align our approach to education. If you truly believe that every child matters, then surely every teacher matters too. It’s not rocket science; a happy, healthy, mindful teacher, fully equipped to deal with the plethora of challenges they face every day, will provide quality and inspirational teaching and learning for every child. It is time to ensure that every teacher has the emotional competence training and personal resources to help them navigate the myriad of social, emotional and learning needs our children and young people have in the twenty-first century.
Further information
Kathryn Lovewell trains education professionals and learners to manage stress and cope with the emotional and psychological demands of teaching and learning. She is the author of Every Teacher Matters:
http://kathrynlovewell.com
