Pandemic Flux Syndrome, Part II

Apathy and blame are two extreme forms of detachment, arising from a lack of hope and an unwillingness to be hurt. Over time these protective mechanisms interfere with meeting our needs and we become further discouraged. It matters less whether we point the finger inward or outward, as it all is self-defeating. Discouragement turns into despair and our detachment becomes a strong self-preservation instinct, breeding even more lost hope.

Our educational system is drowning in too many who have lost hope and too few to replenish the furnace with good sustainable forms of energy. We can expect administrators to endure feeling unappreciated, but to feel blamed as well. We can expect educators to sacrifice, but to have that sacrifice drain them of energy they can’t recover for their family, is not tenable.

As we ended Part One, the solution to this syndrome was said to be complex and not obvious. This problem was not born out of the pandemic alone, in spite of the name. The syndrome is years in the making the solution a combination of short and long- term strategies with a mix of patience and creativity.

In the near term we need incremental and transitional change. Small measurable steps that will help educators feel valued while reducing the pressure. Implementing physical and psychological health supports is a simple way to let some of the proverbial steam out of the pressure cooker. Prosilience training will need to become a higher priority, implementing yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to get people back into their bodies, pushing back the deluge of technology that rescued us right into another dependency.

Schools need to become the hub of community healing. This will only happen if we learn now to debate, how to discuss with curiosity and how to use dialogue for constructive differencing. Schools have the potential to bridge the chasms created in society, students learning and then teaching adults the importance of embracing what scares us.

These enhancements serve the dual purpose of making schools more competitive in attracting new hires. Showing your commitment to the faculty can help a perspective educator find a second home in your district, meeting quarantine depleted needs for belonging. Believing they are joining a movement, not just launching a career will tape into the need for purpose. Becoming part of a team that grows their family and stimulates their sense of meaning are powerful benefits to promote. These are the small steps districts can take yielding big dividends.

For transitional change, people need to know the burden they are experiencing is time limited. Establish recognition and reward programs to spell people before they feel taken advantage of. If you are forced to ‘lower the bar’ with regard to new hires, set up probationary periods with clear objectives and adequate support to give people the greater chance of success.

Have your students and teachers work to solve these real world problems like labor shortages, which is infinitely more rewarding right now than standard proofs in math class. Put their creativity and hard work to use helping overworked HR directors. Imagine a campaign to recruit and retain educators, driven by the students. Commercials created and acted by students, as part of a larger project to teach multiple skills. This will also bring together Math, Social Studies, English and other departments who work together instead of in siloes. This type of change from passive learner to active doer will stimulate excitement for adults and students.

Transformational change is the least familiar. In historically top down organizations, educators are near the bottom often feeling like students are imbued with greater power. If we emphasize process over outcome, we look at how the school operates, including decision making. Include educators in problem solving so they feel less helpless and we begin transforming the culture of that school. Collaborative leadership is practically important and timely, tapping into more brain power, empowering the teacher leaders, and easing the burden of administrators.

In the long term we need to rethink how schools operate, placing the teacher closer to the center and not at the periphery. Administrators who become nuances in empowerment, seeing their primary role as support and then accountability, will engender greater loyalty. Learning how to provide support may seem trite, but it can be powerful, cost effective, and easy to implement, leading to immediate rewards.

Hardship can be turned into cohesion under the right conditions. Being in a foxhole with people you care about can produce deep and long lasting connections, the antithesis of detachment. Syndromes, like the dehumanization we have been describing, can be redefined. While typically thought of as having an adverse impact, a healthy syndrome, perhaps the first of its kind may arise out of this awfulness. Pandemic Resilience Syndrome can represent wide scale healing leaving us all stronger and wiser.

Ultimately, we need to do a better job of balancing the needs of the institution and the individual. We have become so conditioned that school is ALL about the students, forgetting it’s also a workplace. And it’s one of the most dangerous places to work in the minds of many. With a bit of creativity and the restoration of hope, we can turn this around to make schools the most desirable places to work, creating competition for the best jobs which will in turn drive benefits and salaries to match.