The Power of Teachers in Times of Crisis

I had another post ready for today, but decided not to post it. After the recent events this week, it seemed a little silly. After much thought I decided to write about something else. This post may not be as polished as some of my other since I just decided to write it last minute, but I thought it was something I needed to write.
During times of crisis or tragedy, teachers have a unique position to inspire and give children a sense of safety. I believe it is one of the most important parts of our profession. We do so much more than teach about math, writing, and reading. When global, national or local tragedies happen, children come to us often confused and afraid. Children hear about things going on from TV or even adults that don't even realize that children are listening to them. There are certain things that we as teachers need to do in order to create an environment children feel safe in.

Listen

One of the easiest and possibly the most important thing we can do is to listen to our students. Allowing them to express their feelings helps students to feel validated and important. A few years ago, at my previous district, we had a threat made by a member of our community. He mailed a letter threatening the superintendent and his family and even coming campuses to harm students. The local law enforcement worked together with out district to get to the bottom of who was sending threatening letters. Our district was open and honest with parents. Many parents didn't want to send their students to school and of course were worried. My oldest was attending school on my campus at the time and even my husband was worried about me going to work and her going to school. Only a handful of students attended, but I thought it was important for those students that I go to school just like they were. Our district for years had already provided an officer at each campus so I felt safe being there. My students who did attend were a little afraid. They were telling each other stories about what they had heard from parents, the news, or even older siblings or friends. I allowed my students to share and ask any questions that they might have. I told them if they wanted to talk in private with me, they could do so as well. I felt as though most of my students just wanted to be heard, and assured that they were safe along with a big hug. After a day or so, most of my students felt more comfortable and less scared of being at school.

Be Honest

 Sometimes when students or even our own children ask hard questions, we don't know what to say. I find the best thing to do is be honest. Children can always tell if you're not being honest and that will cause them not to trust you. At the beginning of last school year, I was going over the procedures for the different drills that we would practice on through the year. Many of my students had lots of questions about our lockdown drill. One of my students asked if it was true that we would do a lockdown drill if someone came on campus to shoot us with guns. Honestly my heart kind of sank when I realized that having to prepare for something like that has become a necessity in our schools now, but I knew that I had to tell my children the truth. I told my students that sometimes there are people out that there that do want to harm us. That is why we need to practice these drills as if they are the real things so that if it ever (hopefully not) happens, then we will try to be the safest we can be. I promised them that I will always try my best to keep them safe. And it's always ok to tell your kids that you may not know the answer. Kids will respect you much more if you're honest with them.

Ask for help

We are professionals, but even we don't have all the answers. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Go to another teacher, the counselor, or administrator. They may be able to guide you. You can also go to outside resources like a parent who has knowledge on the topic or even search online. Tonight I watched a Periscope from Sheila from Sheila Jane Teaching about the recent events this week. In it she compared us to first responders (not taking away from first responders who are there on the scene of tragic events) in the sense that we deal with the emotional and mental trauma that can be an after effect of tragedies such as this. I love the online teacher community because we are always there to offer help and encouraging words when we need it. 

Click here to go to Sheila Jane's Periscope

As a woman, a minority, and a proud Texan, I am devastated by the recent events this week. In a time that can sometimes feel so helpless, we teachers are there teaching the most important members of our society, our children. Let's remember that no matter what ethnic background you are, what race your are, whether you're a citizen or immigrant, or what your socioeconomic status is, we are all people. We all deserve to live in a country where we feel safe going to school, to the store, or going to work.