How many conversations have you heard the following: “Teachers are like saints; only people with a calling would do this type of work”? Having been an educator for over 45 years, references like this have been heard countless times. And at the same time, we may often read about how teachers are the cause of our society manifesting a slippery slope downward. It’s either a “saint” or “sinner” proposition within the cultural wars.
However, from my perspective, I see it two ways:
- All educators are human first and foremost; no one gets a pass thru the human condition.
- All teachers and educators are “first responders” working the front-line of the human experience.
As the old-fashioned parable goes, “whether doctor, lawyer, or indian chief”, everyone faces the challenges and struggles associated with the human condition. You simply don’t get a pass due to one’s profession.
This is most apparent within high stress careers associated with first-responder conditions; whether a physician, fire-fighter, police officer, member of the military, or teaching profession: Stress takes its toll upon those who chose these vocations. Certainly, we can attribute “sainthood” like characteristics toward those who choose to walk directly into the fire of humanity or other complex situations, but we should never assume these individuals are beyond reproach when it comes to their own humanity.
Specifically, when we look at teaching as a career, we must acknowledge ourselves as first-responders first and foremost, for our reserve, resilience, and our self-awareness, support our path forward at all times. Simply, how we see oursleves serves as the foundation how we see others.
Within the new book, The Happy Camper Classroom, The Path From Contention to Contentment, our ability to shift from a REACTIVE self to a more RESPONSIVE self is guided by the discoveries developed by the RESLIENCE self.
Most notably, as teachers face a room of 30 students, each presents an opportunity to reflect how one sees oneself. And due to the power of projection, we need to assure we are grounded in our very best self-impression BEFORE we address the most challenging moments of the human condition exhibited by our students. If not, we are likely to be TRIGGERED by the chaos and dysregulation that others bring to the classroom: We must be our very best.
So it’s true; teachers and educators may project the very best within the human condition. And possibly not. For we all are walking a similar path no matter what transpires.
These are challenging times. And teaching provides opportunities every day to dive deep into the quagmire called dysregulation and behavior. No one gets a pass.
Whether saints or sinners … the choice is really within. As Viktor Frankl, noted clinical psychologist has been credited with the following: “Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”