Emotional Nourishment

In the animal kingdom there is an interesting phenomenon that occurs with impending natural disasters. It seems that animals have the innate ability to detect pending disasters just before they happen. For example, animals will act in very strange ways just before an earthquake occurs. In schools we have a very similar phenomena; as educators, we refer to it as the anxiety and often disruptive behaviours that occur just before report cards are sent home.

Over the past two weeks, we have dealt with a number of major discipline incidents involving students. To say that these are uncharacteristic of our school is an understatement.  When we discuss these incidents and try to make sense of them, we are drawn to the conclusion that the stress and anxiety of report cards probably played a role. We also concluded that this year's public battle between the BCPSEA and the BCTF has amplified many of the stresses in our schools and as a result has heightened the anxiety in our students and teachers. The fact that it is May 3rd and our students just received their first report card leaves no coincidence that the general level of stress and anxiety in our building has increased. All this anxiety and heightened stress leaves us thinking that we must have a closer look at how we universally and systematically support our students' emotional health. We know that report cards are an anxious time for students, but the levels of anxiety and stress this year is definitely more pronounced.

As part of our ever-expanding student support model, we recently added a period of time within our schedule to further support some of our vulnerable students in their social, emotional and academic domains. What differs from what we have done in the past is the greater emphasis on supporting their social emotional being.  With the increased levels of stress in the building, we are aware more than ever that we need to start looking at general anxiety as a significant risk factor for lack of success. Our plan is to work towards integrating a more universal network of support that addresses our students’ social-emotional well-being.

We know that the pressures of our current political climate have forced many emotional issues closer to the surface. The response to the pressure is resonating as a wake up call to take a deeper look at how we manage our students' emotional health. The reality is that all of us; students, teachers and our community, need daily emotional nourishment. If there is a positive thread running through the current political climate, it is the realization that we must do a better job at caring for our collective social emotional being.

More and more, we are seeing what we always knew in our heart; the measure of our academic and/or personal success in life is very much directly proportional to our social emotional health and well-being.

Identify the stakeholders…       Trust the process…      Trust the people…