Sponsored
In a TEDx Talk by Rosalind Wiseman, author of several books on adolescent behaviour and founder of Cultures of Dignity, Wiseman shares a letter from a French teacher written to her about her work. With great conviction, Wiseman reads the letter out loud in front of the audience:
“I don’t mean to sound unkind but wading into the abyss of teenage social cruelty is just not on my agenda. I am a foreign language teacher, not a psychologist or a counsellor. So please stop asking me to assume roles for which I am unprepared and frankly, I am uninterested…You raise your children, I will teach them French.”
Sadly, this sentiment may be shared among many educators around the world. Burnt out from long lockdowns, isolating online classes, and constantly changing school regulations, teachers have had to deal with much more during the pandemic than the average workload (which let’s face it, is stressful enough).
“Who is there to guide teachers when students reach out for help with their health and wellbeing?”
Assuming the role of a psychologist to assist students with their varied challenges may make some educators wince in pain, but at times, it is a reality. Students need support on so many levels of their lives that teachers, at certain points in their careers, need to be of some guidance for those who seek support. This may be even more heightened during the pandemic. But who is there to guide teachers when students reach out for help with their health and wellbeing?
As Rosalind Wiseman stresses in her talk, training is paramount. Take a moment to think about your school structure, your professional development, and what (if any) training you have had in social-emotional education.
- Is there a budget for SEL training in your school setting?
- Is a focus on health and wellbeing in schools for students and teachers considered a priority, especially during the pandemic and being prepared for its long-lasting effects?
- What are governments on the local or national level working on to help promote health and wellbeing within schools or curricula?
- What are you, as an educator, doing to promote student wellbeing within your classroom or school?
When it comes to health and wellbeing, everyone has a role to play, not just the school counsellor or health teacher. All stakeholders must be invested in the wellbeing of the students. With the right training and understanding, educators can be “the bridge”, as Wiseman says, to those students in getting the right help that they need.
Along with training, the curriculum can play a role, also serving as another type of bridge, in supporting and guiding students.
“Everyone has a role to play, not just the school counsellor or health teacher.”
To ensure that the curriculum meets the specific needs of adolescent learners on a global scale, it should reference and use the latest neurological research. By including research and considering the way brains develop, the curriculum can support evolving student brains during their learning journeys and help create practices that will be beneficial, especially as students enter higher education.
The curriculum should also highlight the importance of knowing the basic parts of the brain and how they function. This can help adults, and in turn, learners—especially adolescents— better understand behaviours and some reasons why they take place. For example:
- Why do teenagers generally push boundaries?
- Why is it possible for adolescents to know the dangers of a situation and still put themselves at risk?
- Why do peers play such a critical role in adolescent development?
One of the key responses to these questions is how the brain is ongoing with its growth and development during the turbulent teenage years. We could look to the prefrontal cortex, blame the limbic system, or point to the sympathetic nervous system for some answers. When students are made aware of the science behind their behaviour, they take note. It’s personal, relevant, and in many ways, empowering.
In turn, the curriculum—a well-researched one that considers the needs of the learner— serves as a bridge for both educators and students to make sense of their world. For example, the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) was designed to meet the needs of learners, and in turn, their wellbeing, by identifying six key needs of the teenage brain, known by its acronym, IMPART: interlinking learning, making meaning, peers, agency, risk-taking, and transition.
“When students are made aware of the science behind their behaviour, they take note.”
Students in the IMYC learn health and wellbeing strategies with IMPART in practice and with a recent collaboration with the Goldie Hawn Foundation – MindUP for Life, the content includes a focus on neuroscience, social-emotional learning (SEL), positive psychology, and mindful awareness.
As more types of curricula focus on incorporating neurological research and wellbeing strategies for students to thrive in school and life, the stronger our bridges to fully support them will be.
If, as an educator, you have never thought too much about the role of the brain and the impact it has on learning, reflect on these questions:
- What parts of the brain are changing or developing during the teenage years and may need to be understood?
- What opportunities are provided for risk-taking activities or projects in a safe setting for teenagers within the classroom?
- How do you and your school help teenagers to further develop their organisation and planning skills?
What opportunities are provided in your school for students to practise decision-making through learning with their peers?
As Rosalind Wiseman states in her TEDx speech, the common adage in education is that “The children are our future” but as educators who see their students for a brief moment of their lives, we are really their “here and now.”
It’s time to be fully present and embrace how we can better support our students’ health and wellbeing through our training, through our curriculum, and most of all, if needed, through being a bridge.