Teachers And Mental Health
Have you ever thought of sending your child to school in these terms? That you are essentially handing them over to their teachers for the day? That you are tasking their teachers with their safekeeping for the whole duration of the school day?
In essence, this is actually what we do every single school day. We drop of our children in school (or see them off, whichever the case may be) and take them out of the safety and comfort of the house. For the next several hours, their well-being depends on themselves and their teachers in school. That is why I have always seen teaching as a noble profession.
These days, more than nurturing the minds of children, teachers have the added responsibility of seeing to their physical safety. While this was a given right from the beginning, this responsibility is highlighted even more today.
But have you thought about the stress that teachers have to go through? Have you ever thought that they, too, might need some nurturing and assistance? According to a survey that was conducted in the United Kingdom, teachers are now suffering from too much stress, and that this is putting their mental health in danger. The Press Association has this report:
Teachers’ mental health is increasingly being put at risk by the pressures heaped on them during school time, union leaders said.
Half of all teachers have considered leaving the profession due to stress, citing the long hours, excessive workload, lack of support and poor pupil behaviour, according to the National Union of Teachers (NUT) teacher mental health working party.
Mr Illingworth said: “Unmanageable workload, violence, excessive monitoring, disruptive pupils, constant change and workplace bullying - these aren’t just stresses, these are teachers’ stresses. Stresses endemic in our profession which lead to the haemorrhaging of teachers from our schools, teachers reducing their work hours just to cope, mental illness, and in some cases even to suicide.”
He added: “Depression, anxiety and burnout have become the teacher’s disease, although often it remains hidden.”Mr Illingworth called for health and safety legislation to be properly followed in every school.
Having come from a family of teachers, I understand fully what Mr. Illingworth and his party are asserting. Indeed, more than merely focusing on the immediate safety of our children, I think that a health and safety program for teachers is a very good idea. We have to keep them sane and working at top level in order for them to do their job, which includes keeping our children safe. I wonder if we have anything like this here in the US?
Photo courtesy of misterchase.wordpress.com
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Posted on April 13th, 2009 by Deborah J Thomas
Filed under: Administrators, College, High School, K-6, News, People Involved, School Grade Level
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