A teacher is a human being and it is impossible to go through our 30+ teaching career without having students that make an impact on our lives. There's always students that stick in your memory, for good and bad reasons, but one hopes that after those 30+ years, you'll remember mostly the good. We cannot completely remove ourselves from the fact that we teach students, and just like us, they are bound to have problems in their lives. The teacher in this case, did everything they were supposed to do. They didn't try to fix the problem on their own, they took Carl straight to the counselor, and phoned Child Welfare. I believe that in cases like these, it's impossible not to be empathetic, however, we cannot beat ourselves up for not recognizing sooner. We can take from that situation and keep that in mind the next time you see a student falling behind. If we blamed ourselves for every child's problems, we would fall apart and burn out so much faster.
The teacher said that they were a teacher of subjects, however, it takes a self reflective person to be able to recognize that in yourself. This teacher realized it, maybe a little too late, but they are now aware. Being aware of your own tendencies is important so you can improve. Teaching teaches you to be a better teacher, you just have to recognize those “teachable moments”. One of the best things that I have learned from observations, is that simply taking a step back and looking at yourself (as the teacher) objectively can lead to identifying and fixing problems.
I am not saying that you have to be completely removed from your students, I just think that you need to realize when you are “consumed” and feel responsible for your student's problems. Do not beat yourself up if you fail to recognize a student in distress, for we all make mistakes. Just know for the future.
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I really like the point you're making here. It's important to realize that, yes, we will inevitably be faced with stories that touch our hearts and children who need our help. I imagine the primary reason most of us have been drawn to this career path is because we want to help kids. It comes with the territory.
ReplyDeleteThe important point you make here Karen, is about self-care. As people, our primary responsibility is to ourselves because we are useless to others when we ourselves are in shambles.
There are a few preventative measures which would allow this teacher to help Carl without being overwhelmed by his case. The most important of these tactics is boundary setting: you need to draw a line and give yourself time to re-group, rest and re-juvinate before you step back in the game. Otherwise, you will wear out quickly and soon be useless.
Legally, it is also important to realize the parameters of your rights and responsibilities. This teacher massively over-stepped his vocational boundaries which may have unforseen consequences.