Preventive Mental Health Measure – 2

4 thoughts on “Preventive Mental Health Measure – 2”

1. Steve Johnson

   May 15, 2016 at 2:36 pm

   Great idea, Ben! And a wonderful choice of song. You and everyone who have contributed to this blog deserve some time away from processing and analyzing. Just know how grateful I am to everyone for all of the effort and time that has been expended. I am growing as a teacher because of your work.

   For my own mental health I bought a yoga swing and am hanging from the ceiling, loosening up all those tight muscles from years of worrying about ridiculous common assessments, sending my kids to other teachers, administrators who don’t get what we’re doing, the list goes on.

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2. John Piazza

   May 16, 2016 at 3:17 pm

   Letting go of this year, all the struggles, all that we could not change–but acknowledging all the change we DID make, all the kids we did reach, all the colleagues near and far away whom we supported. This is a frustrating time. I have 4 weeks of instruction left, and there is the illusion that I will be able to “cover” more, but it will be a struggle, whether I move forward or retreat into review mode. Neither (and nothing) will satisfy the anxiety in my building. Then, there is this pile of un-entered student work I drag around with me and must enter as per my district and union. Data-driven, real-time, blah blah. Then, there is uncertainty about numbers/sections next year, and the feeling that it’s my fault if they decide 45 isn’t enough for 2 sections of Latin 1. I could have/should have, got more to sign up, in my spare time. Stressful as hell. Missed 2 days sick last week.

   So I’m just wrapping up everything as efficiently as I can, and not holding onto any of it–this is going to be the key to finishing with my mental and physical health intact. It’s over and it’s not over. Limbo. Give us all the strength to finish up on a positive note.

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3. Ben Slavic

   May 16, 2016 at 8:34 pm

   John I have found solace in Star of the Week. No planning. I don’t even sit a kid in a chair. I just give them a sheet with every kid’s name on it with a bunch of little boxes next to their names and they feed facts into the boxes as the conversation unfolds. I have a super star writing quizzes with questions like “Emma is afraid of ______”. The kids have to fill in the blank. (Emma is afraid of high school.)

   With lower classes they just give one word. They can tell me in English. I write the French on the board and they dutifully write it in the blank. We just collect information. If they get shitty I say “Stop!” in English. Kind of obvious and we have all these clever ass ways of controlling them when the fact is that if they get rowdy and I say in a LOUD authoritarian voice the simple word Stop!”, and I know it sounds too simple, but they stop.

   Just go through class without even thinking really. Then if I want to tag them I just ask my quiz writer how many questions are ready and give a quiz. It’s all about balance and control at this time of year. It’s about knowing I literally don’t have to think.

   Thanks Sabrina for this great tool and again congrats to you and to Colorado for getting it straight for the third year out of the past four on TPRS teachers being their state’s best. When this happens in all the states, and it will, we will know our work has not been in vain.

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4. Steve Johnson

   May 17, 2016 at 7:58 pm

   I like that idea Ben and I love how simple it is. I have just started trying “the Invisibles” and extending interviews and they are slowly becoming a part of what happens naturally in class.

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