As an individual, and as an educator, the single value that rests at the centre of of the ever branching system of roots which compose my interests and motivations, is the recognition, valuing, and maintenance of emotional/psychological well-being of individuals especially during formative years. I am driven by the notion that individual response to environmental stimuli is largely determined by said individuals current emotional or psychological status. Therefore, at the core of not only my pedagogy and praxis, but at the centre of my understanding of what it means to be a “good” educator, is the commitment to protecting and preserving the sanctity of student well-being.
In my experiences so far, both in my public school, and university positions as a student, as well as in my observations and interactions with the profession, I have noted an overwhelming disconnect between classroom professionals and mental health services. In these situations, it is as if the determinants used to measure a students well-being are used solely to either justify or erase a students presence from the professionals immediate space. Is the student silent and smiling? Perfect. Are they causing a disruption (who cares how the disruption is manifesting)? Give them one warning to check back in to “proper student” mode, and upon further infractions send them off to the principal to deal with, or to stand in the hallway so that the professional can continue to teach. If they are sent to the hall, they are “allowed” to rejoin the class when they are ready to “behave.” If they are sent to the principal, the issue is nearly always approached as a disciplinary issue whereby the student receives punishment for their infractions and told to check their behaviour.
In these situations there are those students who are lucky enough to, somewhere in the bureaucratic chain of events, run into a working professional whom is able to identify that the root of their behaviour is not decision, but trauma based. Further still, it completely omits students whom internalise traumatic influences in opposition to the more externalised stress responses exhibited by their peers, from the equation. Those students whom maintain a pseudo-composure during class instruction and working time at the dire cost of their cognitive retention and time spent engaged with content go completely unchecked when the dialogue between teacher and student in regards to their well-being does not exist. Considering human capacity to learn is intrinsically and inseparably tied to emotional/psychological status, I feel it to be (at least personally) paramount that this is in the highest regard of my teaching practice.
Therefore, the avenue I would most like to follow in my career is in counselling within the education system. I fully intend to maintain a position as a teacher, as this is another passion of mine which I will not remove from my narrative. However, it is my personal goal to achieve a Masters and one day a PhD in trauma psychology, that I can use to inform my practice within a therapeutic capacity. I intend to contribute to the profession by means of providing evidence based research that sheds light on more productive ways that we as professionals can shepherd and protect the emotional/psychological well-being of our students in a way that is mindful of those previously forgotten.
The system as it exists does its best. I know that it truly wishes to help those in need, and often succeeds when it makes contact with the individuals who need it. The thing is, as long as there is an arbitrary, unnecessary wall hypothesised to exist between the professional and the personal, as long as professionals place the onus on students to do for themselves what is often the most painful and difficult step of the process, approaching a wellness centre for help, they will continue to forsake those students incapable of seeking the help they need on their own. I exist to catch those students, and let them know that at least one person has not forgotten about them. That is what motivates me to learn; as far as the wall? I see it as my Berlin.
Thank you.
