44. How To Help Students Feel Safe in Troubling Times

There's a lot going on in the world that is making our most vulnerable students fear for their safety. They see things on the news, on social media, or even down the street where they live (maybe even at their front door) that are scary and violent. It's a lot for an adult to process, much less a child. This is a short episode about what to keep at the forefront in your classroom during troubling times to help your students feel safe. Please know that what you do every day, beyond what you teach, to help your students grow and become the people they are meant to be, matters more than you will ever know. 

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Transcript

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Being a teacher isn't what it used to be. The good news is you don't have to figure it out on your own. If you're looking for truth, inspiration, and tips for success, in the classroom and beyond, you're in the right place. It's time to turn the page to the future of the profession. This is the next chapter for teachers podcast. Hello everyone, this is Erin Spinagle for the next chapter for Teachers Podcast. Welcome back. I wasn't planning on doing an episode this week. This was actually going to be my week off, but I feel like current events kind of necessitated it. So I just wanted to jump on here for a few minutes and just share my thoughts on things and what we need to be focusing on with our students right now because the news is heavy. What we and our students are seeing in current events online or right outside your front door, perhaps, is very upsetting and jarring and involves other people's safety and well-being. And if you're not sure what I'm talking about, if you live in the United States, there are events that are happening that are very disturbing to the well-being and safety of the people around us. And our students are seeing that. It could be their families, it could be their friends, and they're the ones that have to process this, along with us as adults, but we are in charge of the students when they are in our care during the day, and many of them are coming to us thinking and feeling the heaviness of what is going on around them. And it's not an easy task as a teacher to teach, number one, and number two, help process what is going on in this world. So what do we do? We are with our students all day long, and they come to us with questions and concerns and fears for their safety and for the safety of those around them. And we are tasked with being their support system. And it's not easy. And we are surrounded by hurt and hate. So what are we to do? So I just wanted to leave you with some thoughts today on this three-day weekend, Martin Luther King Jr. weekend is when I'm recording this, about what we need to focus on when our students are afraid and are coming to us with fears. And they they all begin with R. I don't know how that all worked out, but it did. So the first thing that we need to do is provide reassurance. And we are there to protect them and to nurture them and to help them with their needs. That's one of our roles as a teacher, as an educator. It's not all just math reading, teaching the what's in a book. And regardless of your a political affiliation or your personal beliefs, as a teacher, those students are in your care and they depend on you, or they're looking to you for direction and support on things more than just what's academic. So our first thing is to reassure them that we are there to help them and to keep them safe and to look out for their needs when they are with us during the day, that school is a safe place, or as safe as we can make it. We are there to keep them safe when they're with us. Another thing to we need to keep in mind is that we need to redirect. That doesn't mean we ignore it. That doesn't mean that we pretend it's not happening, but we need to redirect and focus on things that are good for their well-being and for their for their growth. You know, it goes back to Maslow's before blooms, you know, the hierarchy of needs. Kids need to feel safe before they can learn. Before they can do the hard stuff or do the hard work of learning, they need to have the basic needs in their life met. And even when we're at school, we need to focus on providing that and doing what we can to keep their mind on what matters, what they should be focused on or should have to think about. Not the super heavy things, but the things that are the important uh tasks of just growing up and learning how to be a human in this world. And then another thing that we we do need to do, along with reassurance, redirecting, is recognition. I we do have to recognize that or acknowledge that, yeah, there are things in this world that are hurtful, heavy, scary. Yes, this is going on. And what does it mean? What do we need to do? And uh what do they need to feel safe and to feel that they are cared for and loved because that is the hard work of being a teacher. It's it's not necessarily the lesson planning, it's the all the other things that go into emotionally supporting your students and yourself throughout the day. That's really why I started the next chapter for teachers podcast was because uh there are things uh that a professional development will not ever cover that uh will be the determining factor as to whether or not you make it in the classroom. But in this time in our lives when there is a lot of uncertainty and our students are processing a lot of this uncertainty, just like they were during the pandemic, uh just for different reasons, uh our job becomes even more important. So I have a bonus, bonus R word. I've got the reassurance, redirection, recognition, it's relevance. You know, educators have never been more relevant to the growth and uh protection even of our kids right now because teaching is more than what's scholastic, it is about supporting humanity. And every day we have a front row seat to humanity and what the world really needs to sustain itself in terms of how we treat one another and how we are going to make an impact and how we're going to contribute to the well-being of others. And when things are tough, and when our students are afraid, and when the world doesn't feel like a safe place to be, it just makes our jobs that more important. So I'll go over this one more time. The things that we need to keep in mind when our students are afraid or when scary things are going on in the world. Reassurance that we are there for them and that we will protect them and care for them in the best way we can. Redirection get them back to thinking about the important business of being a kid and doing the things at school that help you learn and help you grow and help you be a good person. Recognition of yeah, bad things are happening, scary things are happening. You're not imagining things, but we're here to protect you and help you through it. And then relevance. You are relevant. You have never been more relevant, and what you can do for your students in times of need like this is extraordinary. So as I said, I'm recording this over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, and he was someone who fought for equal rights, protecting the least of us in the society. And I just want to leave you with two quotes that I think are relevant to educators from Martin Luther King Jr. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. So if you are a teacher that feels the need to have a voice in some capacity right now, I encourage you to use it. That what you have to say truly matters. And people need to hear the voices of everyone, but most importantly, those that are working with our most vulnerable populations, and those are children. And then one more that I thought was very relevant to teachers and education in general was intelligence and character, that is the goal of education. That is why we are here, and that's what we can do, and that's why it's so important that we take care of ourselves as teachers so that we can do this hard work. So I just wanted to leave you with that message before we embark on this short four-day week. But please know that what you do matters, and that what you provide for your students in times of need is more extraordinary than you know. Thank you. Talk to you next time. That's all for this episode of the Next Chapter for Teachers podcast. If you like what you heard, be sure to rate, subscribe, and leave a review. Join us next time when we turn the page to the future of the profession. Until then, remember to be different, but more importantly, be the difference. And I'll see you in the next chapter.