Teaching Matters: At an ASTI in-service day, the ever-capable Elizabeth Flanagan, principal of Scoil Carmel, Limerick, outlined a number of indicators that should act as "red flags" to year heads.
They included such things as alcohol or drug abuse, high levels of anxiety, fear of failure, social problems, breakdown or fragmentation of family life, peer pressure, worry about meeting the expectations set by society, and finally, the "reluctant scholar".
A voice behind me asked mock seriously: "Could you just clarify whether we are talking about the students or the staff?"
When the laughter had died down, it occurred to me that truth is often spoken in jest.
Now, there is no need to rush to your computers to accuse me of depicting teachers as a bunch of substance-abusing neurotic misfits. However, it is true that teachers and schools are often expected to deal with all the ills of society as if they were somehow immune to such stresses themselves. Yet teachers are merely human, and prone to the same weaknesses as everybody else. It has often fascinated me that there is no equivalent for teachers of the human resources department found in practically all major organisations. Any halfway decent school will have a pastoral care system designed to notice and help a student in distress. But where is the pastoral care for staff?
Certainly, the management team do their best, but they are limited in both terms of time and resources. Time and again, I have heard principals declare that they wish they could spend more time supporting their staff, but find it harder and harder to dig their way out from under mountains of paperwork in order to do so.
The standard answer from the Department of Education and Science (DES) regarding support services is that teachers are employed by the management of their school, not the department. However, behind the scenes, there is much more recognition of the need to provide support for teachers, and plans are actively underway to provide a nationwide helpline, as a kind of portal to other services. Teachers who need assistance with anything from financial worries to dealing with a workplace bully will be able to call the service and, where necessary, will be referred on to other agencies. Some €2 million has been earmarked in the Budget to begin such work. There was a pilot scheme set up under the terms of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW). It consisted of 10 employment assistance officers based in education centres and charged with providing help and advice to teachers. The scheme lapsed some years ago, and it will probably come as a surprise to many teachers that it ever existed. The initiative currently planned will be much more wide-ranging.
At the moment, many teachers who are on long-term sick leave feel even sicker on receipt of a letter from the DES, or a request to attend a DES medical. There is a genuine desire within the department to reform the structures that currently exist, so that they are much more positive. The term that is being used is an "occupational health strategy", which will focus as much on prevention as cure. Cynically, one could believe that the DES is merely fulfilling its legal obligations under health and safety legislation, but it is important not to rush to judgment. While a comprehensive service is overdue, at least something is underway.
However, while the €2 million of funding may be acceptable to enable a start to be made on teacher support services, it is ridiculous that the same amount has been given in the Budget to implementing the Task Force on Discipline recommendations. It is patently obvious that a substantially greater amount of money will be needed to tackle indiscipline. It is a matter of record that teachers suffer greatly from occupational stress. Some teachers are worn out from low-level insidious disruption, such as constant talking and failure to bring relevant materials. Others face aggression, swearing and threats on a daily basis. We expend a lot of our energies as teachers trying to ensure that schools are secure and safe places for students. If we do not put the same effort into making schools safe places for staff, the security of pupils is also compromised.
As someone who has worked in a number of different fields, I have found one difference between teaching and other pressurised careers very striking. In teaching, you always have to be on top of your game. If I were under par during the times I worked in an office environment, I could muddle along for a few hours without the world falling in on me. As a second-level teacher, I will have dealt with 90 teenagers before 11am, and every single one has a legitimate expectation that I will attend to their needs. Not unnaturally, many people burn out.
More teachers retire prematurely due to depression and stress than in any other sector of the public service. My colleague at the in-service training may have been joking about assessing his fellow teachers for at-risk indicators, but in reality, for a significant minority of teachers, it is no laughing matter.
Breda O'Brien is a teacher at Dominican College, Muckross Park, Dublin
