I've been teaching a while: the first 5 years or so were fairly straightforward. But more recently, it's fair to say I've not enjoyed it.
I jumped from one school to another without properly looking, moving mainly for location reasons. What followed was appalling- put it down to the school, wider policy, or even my own demons rearing their heads- I don't even know.
A talking based therapy called 'Compassion Focussed Therapy' got me through, and it also got me thinking about the wider system we exist within- that's where the book was born.
It's an exploration of the education system in the UK, and an explanation of how we can exist within it to promote positive Mental Health for ourselves, our colleagues and our students. This considers psychology but also offers more direct advice around work-life balance in a way that we can still remain impactful in our practice.
'When your mental health goes: that's everything gone- it's your lens on the entire world.' It happened to this author, and it's happening to teachers everywhere.
Modern educators are faced with the constant juggling act of keeping hold of the passion for their subject and nurturing the young people in front of them, as well as ensuring the best possible measurable outcomes. Some would have us believe that these are obviously the same thing, and to suggest otherwise is a professional and personal failure. They're wrong. It's a balancing act that is leading many down a path of poor mental health; spiralling workloads - not all of which is entirely necessary - and our desire to serve young people and their communities is unquestionably forcing the profession into a crisis. It's a crisis that is expressed in the number of teachers walking away from schools, as well as the increasing waves of teachers reporting mental health issues which are directly linked to their job.
This book argues that with compassion, we can absolutely find a way through the quagmire. It begins with a frank and honest discussion of the author's own struggles; it then makes sense of our modern educational context, and offers a range of practical solutions to improve mental health in school contexts- both in terms of the relationships we have with colleagues and students, as well as offering practical means of minimising workload and maximising our effectiveness in the classroom. It's time we reclaimed our mental health, for the sake of everyone in education. This book is the start.