Are you feeling tired? Are your routines all messed up? It would be strange if everything felt normal, even though exhaustion is a familiar companion to many teachers at this time of year. During the last month everyone has faced insecurity and broken routines. In the middle of all of this teachers have had to start maybe the biggest systemic shift that schools have ever faced.
Recognising the limits of your endurance is not weakness, and it's not wrong to admit you may be struggling. You're not alone in feeling bad or off. Teachers, students, parents, carers and school leaders are all in this together. Everyone living through these times is going through a mental, physical and social transformation. Education is vital in adapting to this change, including self-education by adults.
Many basic safety matters are impossible to change on your own, but teachers have a massive impact on how psychologically safe the people near them feel. Harvard scholar, Amy Edmondson, has defined
psychological safety as the ability to take interpersonal risks in a group. In other words, can you admit errors, bring up ideas that are half-formed or be yourself as a vulnerable human? Increasing psychological safety not only serves to buttress the need for individual safety, but also helps your class, staffroom and school to work and learn better.
