Shhh! Educators don't talk about feelings!
A recent article by Brett Henebery, titled ‘”Don’t bottle it up”: Why teachers need to talk about their emotions’, was published in The Educator Australia Magazine. It sent a shiver up my spine as it showed research by Saul Karnovsky of Curtin University, highlighting that beginning teachers learn quickly about the unwritten rules of teaching. These rules are: ‘Don’t ever cry in front of students. ‘Don’t lose your temper, shout or get angry’, and most disturbingly, ‘Don’t show your emotional vulnerability, especially not to other teachers.’ Disturbingly because if our new teachers are learning that this emotional behaviour is our expectation in schools, we are setting them up to fail, leave the profession or take stress leave.
This sent me a red flag of concern for a number of reasons. One, what does that say about our teaching profession if new teachers quickly learn to keep their emotions to themselves? Two, what does our community understand about the term ‘vulnerability’ and why such a negative view? Three, this needs to change. So what are we going to do about it?
What is happening in our schools to create a culture where emotional dialogue is taboo? Where educators are to keep a stiff upper lip, soldier on and keep their feelings to themselves? There is much research to show that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, we need to manage our emotional wellbeing. Negative emotional wellbeing has huge impact on our relationships, physical health, productivity and life satisfaction. So why then, in an education setting where we teach about social and emotional wellbeing to our students, we don’t practice what we preach? What is happening in our structures that does not allow this?
Brene Brown would define vulnerability as courage, not weakness! Brene is professor and researcher at the University of Houston and the author of Dare to Lead. She says that “vulnerability is the core, the heart, the centre of meaningful human experiences.” It is uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure. It is also the place where we grow and become stronger. Being vulnerable takes courage and an open heart. So being vulnerable is courageous and provides growth and yet in schools and society here in Australia, it is portrayed as weakness.
Karnosvsky’s research also showed that those teachers who felt safe in expressing their emotions to colleagues, were more secure in their learnings at school and were able to confront and deal with issues. This level of openness, acceptance and non-judgemental conversation is vital in building up a culture of social and emotional wellbeing in schools.
So we need more opportunities or colleagues, who are open-hearted to teachers talking about their emotions.
Karnovsky said that leaders need to “…embrace supportive strategies..” for teachers to “confront and express their emotional vulnerability in a safe, non-judgemental environment” sending a message that it is “okay to feel guilt, hopelessness, shame or doubt in teaching.” So, there is research to show that there is a growing and urgent need to shift the culture from keeping quiet, to, it is safe and in fact, important to share emotions and feelings. In doing this, there needs to be specific strategies embedded in the culture to provide opportunities to share emotions. For example, meeting times that included conversations around vulnerability, emotions and feelings. Performance meetings that have emotions as part of the agenda. Leaders need to find every opportunity to send a message that expressing your emotions is not only acceptable but vital for social and emotional wellbeing, right across the education sector.
In further recent research by The Education Lab, they found that:
77.4% reported that their levels of struggle have increased significantly, with dealing with colleagues/parents (34.1%) and caring for their mental (33%) and physical health (30.8%) their biggest sources of struggle.
Unfortunately, 84.9% of educators felt it safest to keep these struggles to themselves at work, only 52.7% felt they were completely able to manage their wellbeing, and only 48.4% felt extremely motivated to improve their wellbeing.
As a result, perhaps it is not surprising that 43% of educators reported lower levels of wellbeing.
This is significant and it clearly shows that there is a sense of urgency to make change, make it quick, make it meaningful and make it sustainable. For without change, the trickle-down effect will see our students’ academic achievement reducing and our ‘clever country’ become more of an “average, less than clever country’!
In another article by Steven D’Souza and Diana Renner titled “New managers don’t have to have all the answers”, they say that ‘When the workplace feels challenging but not threatening teams can sustain…’ a more creative space. ‘…oxytocin levels in our brains rise, eliciting trust and trust-making behaviour.’ Google is one huge organisation that uses psychological safety to best effect. In their fast-paced, highly demanding environment, their success hinges on the ability to take risks and be vulnerable in front of peers. It certainly works for them!
In another article written by Brett Henebery, titled “Federal taskforce needed to tackle 'mental health crisis in school leadership' – major report”, he provided survey results showing that 40% of school leaders are being exposed to violence or threats of violence. That is 9 times great than the general population! It also highlighted the increased workload of leaders where 70% are working 56 hours per week and 25 hours per week during holidays!
There is a push to employ a task force to address this issue for school leaders, which is vital in order to support our school leaders’ mental health. As we look to our leaders for support, guidance and leadership in meaningful change, they too need to know that they can safely show their vulnerability, discuss their emotions and seek support without judgement.
There is such a long way to go but one that we can all play a part in actioning. If we all do something tomorrow to affect change, even if it is as small as seeking out a colleague for a sincere conversation about their emotional wellbeing. Ask the question, listen and give support. That is one small step toward emotional wellbeing for our educators in their incredible work in providing the best education for our children, who are our leaders of tomorrow.
If you are an educator, or know of one who would benefit, please download my Educator Survival Guide, which highlights specific ways of improving emotional wellbeing based on research from The Education Lab. This survival guide is packed full of activities, practical strategies and suggestions to meaningfully support emotional wellbeing for our educators, as they struggle to keep their heads above water, in our challenging times.
