In his essay Two Minds, Wendell Berry, unsurprisingly enough, offers up two tones of thought produced by two kinds of ‘mind’—Rational, and Sympathetic.
One is driven by logic, deduction, data, and measurement, the other by affection and other wasteful abstractions—instinct, reverence, joy, and faith. These minds struggle for to manifest in our collective behavior. That is, they both seek to control our actions–what we say and do.
Berry explains their distinctions:
“The Rational Mind of is motivated by the fear of being misled, of being wrong. Its purpose is to exclude everything that cannot empirically or experimentally be proven by fact.
The Sympathetic Mind is motivated by fear of error of a very different kind: the error of carelessness, of being unloving. Its purpose is to be considerate of whatever is present, to leave nothing out.”
It’s no surprise that these two minds exist in education as well. These are instincts you’ve likely had as an educator—a teacher, administrator, developer, or designer. Probably as a parent too if you have children. The need to be rational and deductive and strategic colliding with the enormous complexity and scale of the circumstances you face.
You’re told to be data-based—that is, to design learning experience with ‘strategies’ that are suggested by some measurement you’ve taken.
You might plan lessons and units by asking yourself, why this instructional strategy? Why this assessment form? Why group at this point in the lesson rather than that point? Why this standard with this novel?
This is your Rational Mind.
But your Rational Mind is servant to another kind of thinking—in fact, is roused and spurred by a kind of insecurity that realizes that unmistakable importance and coinciding impossibility of what you’ve made it your life’s work to do: Teach dozens and dozens of other human beings what they need to know to about (insert your content area here).
The Rational Mind (the same mind that drives policies and standards) wants to parse that task–to respond with logic. Preemptively, strategically, and analytically.
So rather than worry that this student can’t read and this student is a brilliant artist ready for a professional mentor to foster his gift and this student needs both a hug and self-knowledge more than content knowledge, you respond analytically. Your Rational Mind takes over.
You stare at standards and bar graphs and skim books by Marzano and Hattie that list the instructional strategies that their Rational Minds say will work. You listen to your colleagues, your instructional coach, and anyone else willing to offer advice. Then you teach, assess, reteach, re-assess, remediate, extend, and move on.
You’re keenly aware, though, of the tearing that has taken place by acting with logic. You’ve separated a learner from their very human circumstances—their interests, past experience, insecurities, and affections.
Academic content from their native schema.
Proficiency from curiosity.
Scientific concepts from the application of science.
Reading level from the love of reading.
The Rational Mind necessarily excludes curiosity, love, affection, and joy because they are inherently irrational. We live in an age of information that itself proceeds an Age of Enlightenment. By design, data and rationality can’t tolerate abstraction and humanity or they’d shake themselves apart in confusion.
But this requires an adjustment on our part. We have to stop being obstinate to what we increasingly see in our students. Apathy. Distraction. Superficiality.
As an industry, we are currently not just driven but dangerously preoccupied with research and science and that which is measurable and observable, having ridden our profession of superstitions like ‘patience,’ ‘self-knowledge,’ and ‘community.’
We leave it up to teachers to buffer the collision between students from policies, or sterile academic standards with communities that need more than proficiency from students. But if we are “considerate of whatever is present” and want to “to leave nothing out,” we can now see that pure Rationality isn’t fully a ‘mind,’ but an instinctive reaction to the scale of our task.
A challenge for you and I then may be to elevate teaching beyond singularities through a kind of marriage–joining our Rational and Sympathetic mind into something inclusive and awake and whole.
Always insisting, no matter what, that we don’t resort to Rationality or even Sympathy, but rather act as ‘whole teachers’ in every single one of our interactions with and analyses of students, and in doing so model for them the significant practice of being human.
Image attribution flickr user NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Becoming A “Whole Teacher”
contributed by Jean Miller, Ph.D. & Sharon Hastings, Ed.D, addendum by TeachThought Staff
How about some mental health tips for teachers?
Today, the role of teachers is expanding to include more duties and responsibilities than ever before, including building emotionally strong and healthy students.
However, society often neglects to address or even discuss the mental and emotional well-being of teachers themselves. This neglect has led to two major issues – teacher burn-out and a lack of skilled teachers available as a result.
Given their expanded duties, growing numbers of educators are struggling to cope with the changing demands of their profession. According to a recent survey of over 30,000 educators, conducted by the American Federation of Teachers, more than 75 percent say they do not have enough staff to get the work done, and 78 percent say they are often physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of the day.
The reason most often cited for leaving three-quarters of teachers feeling overworked and exhausted was the adoption of new initiatives without proper training or professional development.
With regard to the workforce, not only did teacher education enrollment fall by 240,000 (a 35 percent decrease) between 2009 and 2014 but roughly eight percent of teachers, including many who are well below the average retirement age, leave the workforce each year.
One way to curb this exodus and keep our nation’s best teachers in the classroom is to ensure they have the personal support and development they need to stay healthy and happy in both their personal and professional lives.
How To Support The Mental Health Of Teachers
According to a recent University of Phoenix survey on mental health, nearly one-third (31 percent) of U.S. adults surveyed cited social stigmas as a barrier to receiving mental health care. This is a relevant and discouraging statistic for the education industry, as many teachers may also share the sentiment that seeking counseling signals weakness or an inability to handle their workload.
The reality is the majority of high-performing teachers struggle with the demands of their jobs; in fact, this struggle causes more than 50 percent of them to burn out in less than five years. This stands as further evidence that our industry professionals have a vested interest in encouraging teachers to seek the help they need so they can be happier and more effective in their roles.
To provide our nation’s educators with the support they need, mental health resources like specialized counseling, continuing education programs, and community efforts geared toward wellness should be prioritized.
By making mental health care more easily accessible to educators, we can help them move forward as professionals and individuals while making strides to eliminate the stigma often associated with seeking mental health treatment.
A few other mental health tips for teachers?
15 Mental Health Tips For Teachers
1. Make it a mental health priority
First and foremost, mental health and wellness best practices must be incorporated into training programs early on in teacher education. It’s up to higher education and state certification boards to take the lead in establishing these programs, to ensure that mental health becomes a priority in our schools and that all teachers are provided the resources they need to succeed and stay healthy.
2. Seek out or develop resources, programs, and policies
District leaders also have a role to play in establishing mental health and wellness cultures in schools across the country. As a second step, school systems need to invest in the mental, physical, and social health of their most valuable asset–their teachers. By recognizing and rewarding teachers for all that they do (even the ‘little’ things), encouraging the use of small groups and counseling, and prioritizing mental well-being, administrators can have a dramatic, positive impact on the lives of their teachers.
3. Frame ‘mental health’ in your own mind in a healthy way
Don’t call it ‘mental health’ if a phrase like ‘well-being’ makes more sense.
A job placement that they feel comfortable with–i.e., the ‘right’ fit for the teacher in terms of position, grade level, school policies, etc. Not every job is a fit for everyone. Well-intentioned people may counsel you that the ‘kids need you,’ but you have to take care of yourself or your teaching’s simply not sustainable.
6. Set boundaries
As much as possible, clear boundaries between school and home life.
7. Avoid toxicity
Avoidance of things–people, departments, committees, events, etc.–that are ‘toxic’ while developing strategies to deal with other not-toxic-but-still-challenging teaching situations
8. Emphasize your purpose
Remind yourself of your purpose as a teacher–why you became a teacher. If you’re unable to realize that vision, see if you can reconcile that vision with your immediate circumstance. If not, that gives you a hint of what maybe should come next.
9. Develop a growth mindset as a teacher
Growth mindsets matter for students and they matter for teachers, too.
10. Teach with gratitude
Teach with gratitude as much as possible.
11. If you’re able, start small
Focus on the good things and every day, try to have more good things than bad. (That’s a start.)
12. Take care of your body, too
Take care of yourself physically: exercise, meditate, do yoga, get enough sleep, etc. Whatever it takes for your body to feel good.
13. If you need help, get help
Don’t be a hero. If you need formal mental health support (in the form of therapy or medication), there’s no reason to hesitate. Get it. Why wait until you’re truly unhappy?
14. Have a life outside of teaching
Have a life outside of teaching–one full of creativity and hope and people and possibility. No matter how nobile teaching is, it’s not worth your well-being.
15. Don’t feel stuck
If possible, never get ‘stuck’ where you feel like you ‘have to’ teach or ‘can’t quit.’ There’s always a way forward. Anytime anyone feels ‘stuck,’ it can convince you your situation is worse than it really is.
Teachers are working each day to build emotionally strong and healthy children, molding the next generation of leaders and change-makers. As educators’ responsibilities continue to grow at a rapid pace, we must do all we can to support their mental well-being. We must support the ‘whole teacher.’
By providing the emotional support our teachers so desperately need and deserve, we can help them grow professionally and live happier lives all while combating the teacher shortage in America that is putting a strain on the entire education system.
Dr. Jean Miller is the University’s Denver Campus College Chair, and Dr. Sharon Hastings is the clinical director and supervisor of the Counseling Clinic at University of Phoenix; Growing The Whole Teacher: Mental Health In Education; 13 Mental Health Tips For Teachers
Grading problems are one of the most urgent bugaboos of good teaching.
Grading can take an extraordinary amount of time. It can also demoralize students, get them in trouble at home, or keep them from getting into a certain college.
It can demoralize teachers, too. If half the class is failing, any teacher worth their salt will take a long, hard look at themselves and their craft.
So over the years as a teacher, I cobbled together a kind of system that was, most crucially, student-centered. It was student-centered in the sense that it was designed for them to promote understanding, grow confidence, take ownership, and protect themselves from themselves when they needed it.
Some of this approach was covered in Why Did That Student Fail? A Diagnostic Approach To Teaching. See below for the system–really, just a few rules I created that, while not perfect, went a long way towards eliminating the grading problems in my classroom.
Which meant students weren’t paralyzed with fear when I asked them to complete increasingly complex tasks they were worried were beyond their reach. It also meant that parents weren’t breathing down my neck ‘about that C-‘ they saw on Infinite Campus, and if both students and parents are happy, the teacher can be happy, too.
How I Eliminated (Almost) All Grading Problems In My Classroom
1. I chose what to grade carefully.
When I first started teaching, I thought in terms of ‘assignments’ and ‘tests.’ Quizzes were also a thing.
But eventually I started thinking instead in terms of ‘practice’ and ‘measurement.’ All assessment should be formative, and the idea of ‘summative assessment’ makes as much sense as ‘one last teeth cleaning.’
The big idea is what I often call a ‘climate of assessment,’ where snapshots of student understanding and progress are taken in organic, seamless, and non-threatening ways. Assessment is ubiquitous and always-on.
A ‘measurement’ is only one kind of assessment, and even the word implies ‘checking in on your growth’ in the same way you measure a child’s vertical growth (height) by marking the threshold in the kitchen. This type of assessment provides both the student and teacher a marker–data, if you insist–of where the student ‘is’ at that moment with the clear understanding that another such measurement will be taken soon, and dozens and dozens of opportunities to practice in-between.
Be very careful with what you grade, because it takes time and mental energy–both finite resources crucial to the success of any teacher. If you don’t have a plan for the data before you give the assessment, don’t give it, and certainly don’t call it a quiz or a test.
2. I designed work to be ‘published’
I tried to make student products–writing, graphic organizers, podcasts, videos, projects, and more–at the very least visible to the parents of students. Ideally, this work would also be published to peers for feedback and collaboration, and then to the public at large to provide some authentic function in a community the student cares about.
By making student work public (insofar as it promoted student learning while protecting any privacy concerns), the assessment is done in large part by the people the work is intended for. It’s authentic, which makes the feedback loop quicker and more diverse than one teacher could ever hope to make it.
What this system loses in expert feedback that teacher might be able to give (though nothing says it can’t both be made public and benefit from teacher feedback), it makes up for in giving students substantive reasons to do their best work, correct themselves, and create higher stands for quality than your rubric outlined.
3. I made a rule: No Fs and no zeroes. A, B, C, or ‘Incomplete’
First, I created a kind of no-zero policy. Easier said than done depending on who you are and what you teach and what the school ‘policy’ is and so on. The idea here, though, is to keep zeroes from mathematically ruining a student’s ‘final grade.’
I try to explain to students that a grade should reflect understanding, not their ability to successfully navigate the rules and bits of gamification stuffed into most courses and classrooms. If a student receives a D letter grade, it should be because they have demonstrated an almost universal inability to master any content, not because they got As and Bs on most work they cared about but Cs or lower on the work they didn’t, and with a handful of zeroes thrown in for work they didn’t complete ended up with a D or an F.
Another factor at work here is marking work with an A, B, C, or ‘Incomplete.’ Put another way, if the student didn’t at least achieve the average mark of C, which should reflect average understanding of a given standard or topic, I would mark it ‘Incomplete,’ give them clear feedback on how it could be improved, and then require them to do so.
4. I went over missing assignments frequently.
Simple enough. I had a twitter feed of all ‘measurements’ (work they knew that counted towards their grade), so they didn’t have to ask ‘what they were missing’ (though they did anyway). I also wrote it on the board (I had a huge whiteboard that stretched across the front of the classroom).
5. I created alternative assessments.
Early on in teaching, I noticed students saying, in different ways, that they ‘got it but don’t all the way get it.’ Or that they believed that they did, in fact, ‘get it’ but not the way the assessment required (reminder: English Lit/ELA is a highly conceptual content area aside of the skills of literacy itself).
So I’d create an alternative assessment to check and see. Was the assessment getting in the way–obscuring more than it revealed? Why beat my head against the wall explaining the logistics of an assignment or intricacies of a question when they assignment and the question weren’t at all the points? These were just ‘things’ I used the way a carpenter uses tools.
Sometimes it’s easier to just grab a different tool.
I’d also ask students to create their own assessments at times. Show me you understand. It didn’t always work the way you’d expect, but I got some of the most insightful and creative expression I’ve ever seen from students using this approach. As with most things, it just depended on the student.
6. I taught through micro-assignments.
Exit slips were one of the the greatest things that ever happened to my teaching. I rarely used them as ‘exit tickets’ to be able to leave the classroom, but I did use them almost daily. Why?
They gave me a constant stream of data for said ‘climate of assessment,’ and it was daily and fresh and disarming to students because they knew it was quick and if they failed, another one would be coming soon.
It was a ‘student-centered’ practice because it protected them. They had so many opportunities and, math-wise, so many scores that unless they failed everything every day, they wouldn’t ‘fail’ at all. And if they were,
I could approach a single standard or topic from a variety of angles and complexities and Bloom’s levels and so on, which often showed that the student that ‘didn’t get it’ last week more likely just ‘didn’t get’ my question.
In other words, they hadn’t failed my assessment; my assessment had failed them because it had failed to uncover what they, in fact, knew.
7. I used diagnostic teaching
You can read more about diagnostic teaching but the general idea is that I had a clear sequence I used that I communicated very clearly to the students and their families. It usually took the first month or two for everyone to become comfortable with it all, but once I did, grading problems were *almost* completely eliminated. Problems still surfaced but with a system in place, it was much easier to identify exactly what went wrong and why and communicate it all to the stakeholders involved in helping support children.
In the last ten years, too many teachers have left the teaching profession altogether because they feel burned out, unsupported, or unsafe. Any reassurance provided by empty platitudes like, “We’re all in this together” and trivial ‘rewards’ such as denim pants privileges on Friday now feels insulting.
Each new email may feel like a trigger as many teachers have come to anticipate new forms of stress with each school day. With no end in sight, what used to feel like teaching can often feel like a never-ending performance in the theatre of the absurd.
All of this sounds…bleak. As teachers, we want to be supported by our administrations and communities. Many of us are, and that’s great. At TeachThought, we strive to view even the most defeating and complex problems through a growth mindset lens. When teachers cannot count on their administrations or communities to support them in the ways they need to be supported, what can they do — themselves — to prioritize their own self-preservation and mental health?
As it turns out, there are (at least) ten worthwhile, specific ways that real teachers out there are prioritizing themselves and their mental health, so that they can continue to center students in the learning environment. Some of these tips are as simple as removing one’s self from a tense environment, while others require teachers to re-evaluate habits that run them down (like not setting boundaries, over-apologizing, and taking on too many tasks).
We know that extremely talented teachers are out there trying their best, and we hope these tips can help them work smarter and healthier, so that future generations can continue to benefit from their talent, expertise, and guidance.
10 Thoughtful Ways To Improve Teacher Mental Health
Choose your battles and priorities
Teaching during COVID sometimes feels like playing that Whack-A-Mole game from the arcade. One problem pops up with all the enthusiasm of a prairie dog on steroids, and as soon as the teacher has squelched it, another two sprout in its place. When we, as teachers, get in a pattern of reacting to our circumstances (instead of anticipating them or considering how they are part of a larger problem), we are essentially quickening our journey to Burnout Town. Solving minor problems can, in a weird way, feel good, because we feel control in our ability to check the small things off of our list. However, if we do not choose our battles and priorities, and if we expend too much energy trying to control that which is out of our hands, we have less time to focus on the most important responsibility of all — our students and their learning.
For these pretty convincing reasons, we advise controlling what you can control and prioritizing what’s really important. To start, consider asking yourself, “What is the most important thing I can accomplish today that will make me feel good? That will help me know my students are learning and growing?” Once you have identified your own ‘thing,’ all other priorities can stem forth from your main goal.
Let’s set up an example. Say that your main priority is to give students more timely, authentic feedback. When it comes to prioritizing, many teachers feel overwhelmed by the amount of grading they ‘have’ to do. Let’s think about the phrase ‘have to do.’ Do we have to grade an assignment because our department policy stipulates it? Because we have x number of assignments in the Test/Project category but no assignments in the Quizzes category, and progress reports are coming out soon? Does your heart rate increase just by reading the last two sentences? Perhaps this is an indication that we are reacting when what we need to do is take a step back.
Does every student assignment need to be graded? The answer has to be a resounding ‘No.’ Particularly when it comes to formative assessments, meaningful feedback is much more valuable than receiving a number grade. If assessment and feedback is your priority, consider using an app like Ziplet to grade checks for understanding quickly, so that you can devote more time to providing substantial feedback. In addition to assessments, there are other areas where you can choose your battles wisely. Does that email really need an immediate response? Will the world end if you have to reschedule that meeting? When you prioritize based on your values, you come to realize that many of these items that fall under the ‘miscellaneous duties’ category of your contract aren’t as urgent as you previously perceived them to be.
Form a self-care collective
Part of the reason why teachers are tired of hearing statements like, “We’re all in this together” is because it doesn’t feel like a reality. Being part of a support group can help teachers keep each other positive and focused on what’s important. These groups can take multiple forms — within and/or outside of the school building and school hours, open to all who wish to join or limited to a few colleagues whom you can trust not to bring you down with negativity (or toxic positivity). You can talk openly about your challenges at work or refrain from mentioning work at all, instead of focusing on the other people and activities that bring joy to your lives.
For many teachers, these groups can grant a sort of permission–a permission to feel what they are feeling without feeling like they are complaining or burdening. They can be a space to develop and propose ideas to an administration, which can be harder to do as an individual teacher. We know of one band of teachers that hosts a supper club at a different person’s house each month, where they each contribute an offering and engage in a fun activity, like karaoke, holiday decorating, or relaxing with at-home spa treatments.
There’s one thing we know for certain: keeping emotions and frustrations bottled up can impact your physical and mental health, and result in feelings of guilt or resentment. Find a way to talk about your challenges in a healthy, solution-oriented manner. It’s too easy to be an ‘island’ in a school building, and the challenges that come with going it alone may lead you to burn out more quickly or turn into the cynical educator you hoped you’d never become.
Remember that every behavior is a communication
It’s uncanny how when you’re under extreme stress, every little thing can feel like a trigger. After making transition after transition in a tense sociopolitical climate, there’s a real temptation to ‘tolerate less’ from our students. The things that annoyed us in the past — interruptions, distractions, disrespect — can come to feel like personal injustices. In the moments where your jaw is tensing up, you’re exhaling deeply (or forgetting to breathe entirely), and you’re biting your tongue to keep from making a hurtful remark to a student who isn’t on task, remember that every behavior is a communication. Meaning, behind every action is a need that a student does not know how to better articulate.
Students act out for many reasons. They may be seeking attention that they aren’t getting at home. They may feel insecure in an unfamiliar learning environment and shut down or act out. They may have a hard time focusing. It’s hard enough sitting in desks for 7 hours a day — now add staring at a screen to that.
When your patience is tried, do your best to get curious before making judgments. Approach with empathy rather than shame. Ask questions before issuing directives. This is a good policy across all learning environments, as asking questions like, “What are you doing?” and “What are you supposed to be doing?” and “How can I help you?” put the responsibility of changing a problematic behavior back on the student. And even though it seems like their actions are rebelling against structure and accountability, that may be exactly what they’re craving.
Get moving
Endorphins have been proven to reduce emotional stress. Whether at school, at home, or both, there are many ways to get those endorphins flowing. Try walking the track during an available planning period — some days you might need time to yourself, while other days you might want to ask a co-worker to join.
Consider setting up a ‘meditation station’ in your room. Unroll a yoga mat, dim the lights, and take advantage of guided meditations from apps like HeadSpace and Insight Timer. Many of these apps offer weeks-long or months-long courses for all levels, from those just starting out with meditation to experienced people seeking to deepen their practice or focus on a particular intention.
Are there free community yoga classes nearby? Oftentimes, yoga teachers will host classes outdoors, whether in a park, on the beach, or in a peaceful setting.
Some teachers who are physically active on a regular basis might find empowerment in working towards a goal, like completing a 5K run or other community-based racing or walking event. Accomplishing and celebrating the incremental steps you make toward your larger goal can provide feelings of competence and confidence in an environment where you otherwise feel depleted, overwhelmed, or out of your element.
Regardless of how you get moving, we want to offer a friendly reminder that part of the reason you might do so is to feel like you have something for yourself. Many teachers feel tempted to continue working as soon as they get home — choosing to do physical activity may help you feel like you have control over how much work you allow into your home space, and help rejuvenate you before you sit back down to grade (if you choose to do so, that is).
Bring fun into the classroom
There’s a caveat we’d like to add with this idea — bring fun into the classroom without creating more work for yourself. We know that teachers are the experts in fun, but sometimes these well-intentioned efforts bring additional stress into their lives. Fun can be as simple as celebrating a theme of the day, week, or month. To make it easy, have students decide! Crazy hair day, silly socks day, and other dress-up themes are easy for students to participate in. Unlike the abominable Tik Tok challenges that are making their way around schools these days (like physically assaulting teachers or stealing and vandalizing school property), institute a theme of altruism by challenging students to perform random acts of kindness. Another easy idea is Secret Note Day, where students write positive, meaningful, and specific notes to each student and staff member.
Part of the reason why teachers (and students) may feel bored is because of the monotony of an online learning platform interface or a lack of novelty in online teaching. Consider inviting guest speakers to engage with your students, or take them on a virtual field trip to a place that has significance for your content area (and relevance to the students’ lives). Remember that there are plenty of adults in the school building that your students might like to hear from, as well. Principals, assistant principals, guidance counselors, resource officers, cafeteria workers, office staff, and other school-based staff can serve as guest judges or participants in discussion-based activities. And we all know they could stand to benefit from a little fun, as well!
Use available resources
Too often in education, we try to re-invent the wheel before searching for existing resources. This is understandable, as the pace of new technology and learning apps can feel overwhelming. Within this context, we’re talking about using the resources in your school building or community — people, places, and organizations that can provide you with different kinds of support, based on your needs.
Keep in mind that the guidance office, nurse’s office, and library are your spaces, too. If you’re feeling the anxiety well up, consider walking down to the infirmary to ask if there is a quiet, dark space for you to calm down and re-center. A school guidance counselor may be able to point you to different support groups or communities that can help you regain a sense of contentment and support. Taking your laptop into the library, or perusing the shelves for a YA book can prove to be the mini-break from your classroom that you didn’t know you needed.
Set boundaries between work and home
This tip might be the most important one, as well as the hardest for teachers to accomplish. Pandemic or not, the pressure to extend a teacher’s workday into the evening hours at home is constant, for many. With all the love, kindness, and empathy from having been in this position, we want to remind teachers that they can choose (see item #1).
There is no judgment in choosing not to work from home and to instead dedicate your time to your family, friends, and habits which bring you happiness.
There is no judgment in choosing to continue working outside of the school day. Many teachers voice that working in the evening allows them to feel better prepared as they go into a new school day.
Regardless of your choice, we want to emphasize the commonality between the two…they are choices, and viewing them as such can help you feel more agency in stressful times.
If you’re going to work from home outside of school hours, we do suggest creating a dedicated workspace so that your work life doesn’t spill into all the areas of your home life. Do you have a guest bedroom that can function as an office? A bistro table on an outside patio, where you can enjoy some sunlight and listen to the birds chirp? A basement? Garage? She-shed?
Despite how tempting it can be to work in bed, research shows that that’s not a good idea–for children or adults. Your bedroom is your space to quiet your mind and body before getting ready to sleep. Same with the kitchen, which is typically a place to engage with family. Compromising those boundaries may send a message you don’t intend to send to loved ones who want to spend time with you, apart from a screen. If you’re working on the weekends, consider relocating to a park or cafe.
Practicing asking for (and accepting) help from others
Did we say the last item was the most challenging to do? What is it about this profession that makes it so difficult to ask for help? And to accept help when it is offered? Likely, because we know that everyone else is going through the same thing we are, and we may feel guilty for putting our needs first.
Think about it this way, though. If your needs aren’t being met, how will that affect the way you’re able to perform your job? How will that impact your relationships with your students? Co-workers? Your own friends and family? Perhaps, in seeing you ask for what you need, and accept help in return, others around you will feel that they, too, have permission to be the healthy kind of selfish. We are all selves, after all, and we have to take care of ourselves before we can be there for others. Like the flight attendants say, we have to put our masks on first.
Another observation that falls into this category–we have to be better about removing “I’m sorry” from our vocabulary when an apology is not necessary. Just as we take ownership of our choice to work outside of school or not, we do not need to take ownership over what is beyond our control.
We cannot control the spread of a novel virus.
We cannot control policies that are passed down and altered on a seemingly arbitrary basis.
We cannot be responsible for our students’ well-being outside of the classroom.
We cannot control when stressed parents lash out, from time to time. Expressing that we are sorry for those things does not make it better; if anything, it gives people the wrong idea that we do have responsibility for those uncontrollable decisions. And it certainly does not make us feel more valued, competent, or hopeful.
Set realistic expectations
This tip is partly related to item #1, but it takes it further. Once we choose our priorities, we have to also remember to be realistic about our expectations.
As an example, let’s say your priority is parent-teacher communication. As a parent yourself, you empathize with parents who are trying to balance work and managing their child’s learning (particularly if they are learning from home or in quarantine). Setting parent-teacher communication (or any other part of your job) as a priority does not mean that you are indebted or obligated to that priority.
If parent-teacher communication is important to you, then how can you set up a system that allows you to fulfill that priority? Does it mean designing a template that you can reproduce in order to send out a weekly newsletter? Does it mean scheduling communications to parents in advance during a single planning period? Does it mean embedding a form on your class webpage where parents can sign up for a conference?
When we talk about setting up systems, we’re talking about anticipating scenarios instead of reacting to them. By putting yourself in the shoes of your students’ parents and imagining what might be difficult for them, you can create solutions that work for them and for your students and for you. Systems afford greater opportunity for structure and consistency and, ultimately, freedom, which many of us find ourselves craving in these uncertain times.
Practice how to say‘No,’ and then do it
For some teachers, ‘No’ is the hardest word to say. We may feel pressure to be everything for everyone, but that’s simply not realistic, and not a best practice. Younger teachers may especially feel this kind of pressure to ‘carry the weight’ as other department members have done before them. This could mean agreeing, volunteering, or being volun-told to do things beyond the scope of teaching, like attending after-school events, hosting a booth at a career fair or new student orientation, leading a student club that is desperate for an adviser, or purchasing supplies for students who consistently show up to school without them.
Saying ‘No’ does not mean that you do not care. In fact, saying ‘No’ could mean just the opposite…that you care enough to focus on what you’re best at doing, that you care enough to afford someone else the opportunity to lead, that you care enough to model self-preservation for your students and colleagues.
‘No’ does not need to sound harsh, nor does it need to stand alone. And it definitely does not need to be juxtaposed with “I’m sorry.” Saying no does not even need to involve the literal word ‘No.’ Here are some alternatives that can get your message across in a way that feels empowering and professional:
It means a lot to me that you think I would be an ideal person for this job, but now is not the best time for me. I’d love to be considered for a similar opportunity in the future.
I’m not able to commit to this project right now, but I know someone who might be a great fit. Can I put you in touch with them?
If I’m being honest, I think that if I took on extra responsibilities right now, I’d find myself spread too thin. And it’s really important for me, when I make a commitment, to give my best energy.
I am really interested in being a part of this, but not in a leadership role. Here are some tasks you could delegate to me that I would feel comfortable working on.
I love this idea, but I don’t think I could do it by myself. Would you like to do it with me? Or help form a group of people that could work together?
Realistically, I have a tendency to take on more than I can handle, and I think saying ‘Yes’ would be taking on more than I can handle.
I’d like some more time to think about whether or not I can commit to this — can I get back to you in __ days?
Here’s the thing — the pressure to have all the right answers, solve all our students’ problems, and maintain a bottomless reservoir of energy is a real force inside and outside of a pandemic. To feel more valued and capable in our roles, we have to believe in our own agency and importance to the teaching profession.
Just as we are capable of making evidence-based decisions that inform our curriculum and instruction, so must we extend that lens to how we view our self-preservation. By setting boundaries, forming partnerships, using available resources, and creating joy, we can set a positive example for our students and colleagues, stay in the profession if just for a little longer, and support more students who will ultimately grow up to make teaching and other professions more sustainable in the future.
Grading problems are one of the most urgent bugaboos of good teaching.
Grading can take an extraordinary amount of time. It can also demoralize students, get them in trouble at home, or keep them from getting into a certain college.
It can demoralize teachers, too. If half the class is failing, any teacher worth their salt will take a long, hard look at themselves and their craft.
So over the years as a teacher, I cobbled together a kind of system that was, most crucially, student-centered. It was student-centered in the sense that it was designed for them to promote understanding, grow confidence, take ownership, and protect themselves from themselves when they needed it.
Some of this approach was covered in Why Did That Student Fail? A Diagnostic Approach To Teaching. See below for the system–really, just a few rules I created that, while not perfect, went a long way towards eliminating the grading problems in my classroom.
Which meant students weren’t paralyzed with fear when I asked them to complete increasingly complex tasks they were worried were beyond their reach. It also meant that parents weren’t breathing down my neck ‘about that C-‘ they saw on Infinite Campus, and if both students and parents are happy, the teacher can be happy, too.
How I Eliminated (Almost) All Grading Problems In My Classroom
1. I chose what to grade carefully.
When I first started teaching, I thought in terms of ‘assignments’ and ‘tests.’ Quizzes were also a thing.
But eventually I started thinking instead in terms of ‘practice’ and ‘measurement.’ All assessment should be formative, and the idea of ‘summative assessment’ makes as much sense as ‘one last teeth cleaning.’
The big idea is what I often call a ‘climate of assessment,’ where snapshots of student understanding and progress are taken in organic, seamless, and non-threatening ways. Assessment is ubiquitous and always-on.
A ‘measurement’ is only one kind of assessment, and even the word implies ‘checking in on your growth’ in the same way you measure a child’s vertical growth (height) by marking the threshold in the kitchen. This type of assessment provides both the student and teacher a marker–data, if you insist–of where the student ‘is’ at that moment with the clear understanding that another such measurement will be taken soon, and dozens and dozens of opportunities to practice in-between.
Be very careful with what you grade, because it takes time and mental energy–both finite resources crucial to the success of any teacher. If you don’t have a plan for the data before you give the assessment, don’t give it, and certainly don’t call it a quiz or a test.
2. I designed work to be ‘published’
I tried to make student products–writing, graphic organizers, podcasts, videos, projects, and more–at the very least visible to the parents of students. Ideally, this work would also be published to peers for feedback and collaboration, and then to the public at large to provide some authentic function in a community the student cares about.
By making student work public (insofar as it promoted student learning while protecting any privacy concerns), the assessment is done in large part by the people the work is intended for. It’s authentic, which makes the feedback loop quicker and more diverse than one teacher could ever hope to make it.
What this system loses in expert feedback that teacher might be able to give (though nothing says it can’t both be made public and benefit from teacher feedback), it makes up for in giving students substantive reasons to do their best work, correct themselves, and create higher stands for quality than your rubric outlined.
3. I made a rule: No Fs and no zeroes. A, B, C, or ‘Incomplete’
First, I created a kind of no-zero policy. Easier said than done depending on who you are and what you teach and what the school ‘policy’ is and so on. The idea here, though, is to keep zeroes from mathematically ruining a student’s ‘final grade.’
I try to explain to students that a grade should reflect understanding, not their ability to successfully navigate the rules and bits of gamification stuffed into most courses and classrooms. If a student receives a D letter grade, it should be because they have demonstrated an almost universal inability to master any content, not because they got As and Bs on most work they cared about but Cs or lower on the work they didn’t, and with a handful of zeroes thrown in for work they didn’t complete ended up with a D or an F.
Another factor at work here is marking work with an A, B, C, or ‘Incomplete.’ Put another way, if the student didn’t at least achieve the average mark of C, which should reflect average understanding of a given standard or topic, I would mark it ‘Incomplete,’ give them clear feedback on how it could be improved, and then require them to do so.
4. I went over missing assignments frequently.
Simple enough. I had a twitter feed of all ‘measurements’ (work they knew that counted towards their grade), so they didn’t have to ask ‘what they were missing’ (though they did anyway). I also wrote it on the board (I had a huge whiteboard that stretched across the front of the classroom).
5. I created alternative assessments.
Early on in teaching, I noticed students saying, in different ways, that they ‘got it but don’t all the way get it.’ Or that they believed that they did, in fact, ‘get it’ but not the way the assessment required (reminder: English Lit/ELA is a highly conceptual content area aside of the skills of literacy itself).
So I’d create an alternative assessment to check and see. Was the assessment getting in the way–obscuring more than it revealed? Why beat my head against the wall explaining the logistics of an assignment or intricacies of a question when they assignment and the question weren’t at all the points? These were just ‘things’ I used the way a carpenter uses tools.
Sometimes it’s easier to just grab a different tool.
I’d also ask students to create their own assessments at times. Show me you understand. It didn’t always work the way you’d expect, but I got some of the most insightful and creative expression I’ve ever seen from students using this approach. As with most things, it just depended on the student.
6. I taught through micro-assignments.
Exit slips were one of the the greatest things that ever happened to my teaching. I rarely used them as ‘exit tickets’ to be able to leave the classroom, but I did use them almost daily. Why?
They gave me a constant stream of data for said ‘climate of assessment,’ and it was daily and fresh and disarming to students because they knew it was quick and if they failed, another one would be coming soon.
It was a ‘student-centered’ practice because it protected them. They had so many opportunities and, math-wise, so many scores that unless they failed everything every day, they wouldn’t ‘fail’ at all. And if they were,
I could approach a single standard or topic from a variety of angles and complexities and Bloom’s levels and so on, which often showed that the student that ‘didn’t get it’ last week more likely just ‘didn’t get’ my question.
In other words, they hadn’t failed my assessment; my assessment had failed them because it had failed to uncover what they, in fact, knew.
7. I used diagnostic teaching
You can read more about diagnostic teaching but the general idea is that I had a clear sequence I used that I communicated very clearly to the students and their families. It usually took the first month or two for everyone to become comfortable with it all, but once I did, grading problems were *almost* completely eliminated. Problems still surfaced but with a system in place, it was much easier to identify exactly what went wrong and why and communicate it all to the stakeholders involved in helping support children.
