In keeping with this issue’s focus, John sent out the following question to the members of the panel:
Based on your experience in Christian schooling, what advice would you give to new teachers or administrators about dealing with the stress that is inherent in our work, or about ways they can support students dealing with stress or mental health issues in their lives? Feel free to recommend resources as well.
Gayle initiated the conversation by offering a helpful perspective on stress:
Stress? What stress?! I once read that in an experiment, some little organisms were placed in a completely stress-free environment, and they all died! I guess that the moral of the story is that we all need some stress in our lives, but the question is how much is enough and what do we do when we feel we have too much?
I think that an important thing for teachers (including principals) to remember is that there are rhythms to a school year. There are times when the tasks before us seem endless, and we leave from work exhausted, only to do another couple of hours of work at home. Those are super stressful times! But then there are other times when the pace of work is more reasonable. And then there are those glorious vacations: Christmas, Easter/spring break, and summer holidays!
I think that recognizing this rhythm is an essential part of dealing with those really stressful times. Be okay with the stressful times, knowing that they won’t last forever. I found a helpful article by Kate Hilton that included a quote with a great perspective:
“Or, as Lil Parker says in The Hole in the Middle: ‘No one is going to hand you a medal at the end of all of this because you ran faster and harder than everyone else. The point is to enjoy it.’ So forget about work-life balance, and try instead for joy in the midst of chaos. It sounds like more fun, doesn’t it? And even better, it’s actually achievable.”
—From “The Work-Life Balance Myth,” by Kate Hilton. January 12, 2014. HuffPost Living.
<huffingtonpost.ca/kate-hilton/work-life-balance_b_4578769.html>
Christian responded:
Gayle, I like your take on this. Life, generally, is a rising and falling of stress-inducing situations. The best we can do is to recognize them, manage them, channel them, and deal with them. That said, there are times when it all just becomes too much. In these moments, we need to find a way to step away from it all briefly, especially when one of those prized breaks is still many weeks away.
Perspective is also important. We all want to do our best, and we feel the pressure of wanting to impress others and get ahead. Yet, we need to be honest with ourselves and our students by recognizing that no one is going wind up drunk and in the gutter if an assignment comes in late, a lesson plan falls flat, or a certain history teacher at Chicago Christian forgets to go to a morning staff meeting, even though he had been in the building since 6 a.m. grading papers . . . I’m just sayin’. Quality work done on time counts for a lot, but we can do great damage when there is no grace, flexibility, or understanding for extenuating circumstances. The Germans have got it right: no work emails after 6 p.m. Whoops, it’s 9:36 p.m. Gotta go.
Justin responded, and also shared some insights about balance, community, and relational health:
Glad to see you cut yourself some slack, Christian! I think your personal (and playful) anecdote is so helpful. We will thrive when the outer and inner landscapes of mental health are a priority, and the intensity of our work is balanced by an ethos of honesty, grace, and joy as Gayle’s quote reveals. Parker Palmer is so helpful here in The Courage to Teach, when he talks about “the heart of a teacher,” “the hidden wholeness,” and the role of community. Palmer’s Centre for Courage and Renewal is also a great resource.
As Gayle also mentions, stress is not only inevitable, but also necessary. It is so important for any workplace to have an honest, supportive, relational ethos where the professionals are given opportunity for personal reflection, where failure is expected as a learning opportunity, where the leadership is approachable with difficult situations, and colleagues are courageous in confronting and supporting each other in their common lives together. This ethos also needs to extend to students, with an intentional focus on social/emotional learning. We now know that emotions, behavior, intelligence, and learning are all interrelated. More and more we’re recognizing that there are usually underlying issues and motivations that need to be explored if we are to understand our unhealthy behaviors and our struggles in executive function and self-regulation. These interventions are often structured in Response to Intervention (RTI) tiers to ensure that all are supported.
Many of our schools in Ontario (and beyond of course) use formal structures and approaches to relational health. Schools have established confidential assistance programs with counseling agencies like Shalem Mental Health Network for both students and staff. Other schools are committed to restorative practices as a way to be healthy and to address conflict. Both classrooms and staff members use circles habitually to “check-in” and see how individuals are doing. Other schools have focused on “Tribes” learning communities or “The Leader in Me” based on Covey’s seven habits. Relationships, as opposed to rules, are the glue that holds us together as communities.
These informal habits and formal structures add validity to the importance of mental health. That new teacher or administrator from your prompt, John, would benefit powerfully from a mentor who embodies the health we’re all describing here. When I started my career at Fraser Valley Christian High in British Columbia (now Surrey Christian Schools), I was given a copy of The Courage to Teach. That text acted as a mentor to me, as did my colleagues, who embodied it every day. What an amazing gift to me!
Rebecca concluded the conversation with some practical advice:
Thank you Gayle, Christian, and Justin for your words of wisdom on this topic! I can’t add much more to the conversation except some practical advice for dealing with the stress of your job (or the stress of life).
- Acknowledge that you are under stress, and see if you can pinpoint the source of it. What is it caused by? Will it have a definite ending time? Are others in the same stressful situation? (Misery loves company!)
- Make a plan for getting through it. Set specific times for correcting that stack of research papers, for working on report cards, for planning to meet with parents about a student issue—whatever the situation may be. Find another area to ease up on while you work through this stressful period.
- Take care of yourself. Eat well, get enough sleep, find time to exercise, and take a few minutes each day to read or talk with someone you love.
- Spend time each day reading some encouraging words from scripture and praying for God’s strength, wisdom, patience, and joy as you navigate this stressful time. Then trust God to see you through—because he will!
The panel consists of:
- Christian Altena, who teaches at Chicago Christian High School in Palos Heights, Illinois.
- Justin Cook, who serves as the director of learning at the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools in Ancaster, Ontario.
- Rebecca De Smith, who is the Discovery Room coordinator and the curriculum coordinator at Sioux Center Christian School in Sioux Center, Iowa.
- Gayle Monsma, who serves as principal at Covenant Christian School in Leduc, Alberta.
- John Walcott, who is assistant professor in the education department at Calvin College.