TED Masterclass
Sydney Jensen: How can we support the emotional well-being of teachers?
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Teachers emotionally support our kids -- but who's supporting our teachers? In this eye-opening talk, educator Sydney Jensen explores how teachers are at risk of "secondary trauma" -- the idea that they absorb the emotional weight of their students' experiences -- and shows how schools can get creative in supporting everyone's mental health and wellness.
Sydney Jensen - Educator
Sydney Jensen wants to shine a light on the emotional and mental impact of teaching students who have experienced trauma. Full bio
Sydney Jensen wants to shine a light on the emotional and mental impact of teaching students who have experienced trauma. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Like many teachers,
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every year on the first day of school,
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I lead a sort of icebreaker activity
with my students.
with my students.
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I teach at Lincoln High School
in Lincoln, Nebraska,
in Lincoln, Nebraska,
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and we are one of the oldest
and most diverse high schools
and most diverse high schools
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in our state.
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Also, to our knowledge,
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we're the only high school in the world
whose mascot is the Links.
whose mascot is the Links.
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Like, a chain.
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(Laughter)
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And with that being our mascot,
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we have a statue out front of our building
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of four links connected like a chain.
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And each link means something.
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Our links stand for tradition,
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excellence, unity and diversity.
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So on the first day of school,
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I teach my new ninth-graders
about the meaning behind those links,
about the meaning behind those links,
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and I give them each a slip of paper.
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On that paper, I ask them
to write something about themselves.
to write something about themselves.
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It can be something that they love,
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something that they hope for --
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anything that describes their identity.
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And then I go around
the room with a stapler,
the room with a stapler,
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and I staple each of those slips together
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to make a chain.
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And we hang that chain up in our classroom
as a decoration, sure,
as a decoration, sure,
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but also as a reminder
that we are all connected.
that we are all connected.
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We are all links.
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So what happens when one
of those links feels weak?
of those links feels weak?
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And what happens when that weakness
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is in the person holding the stapler?
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The person who's supposed
to make those connections.
to make those connections.
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The teacher.
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As teachers, we work every day
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to provide support socially,
emotionally and academically
emotionally and academically
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to our students who come to us
with diverse and tough circumstances.
with diverse and tough circumstances.
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Like most teachers,
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I have students who go home every day,
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and they sit around the kitchen table
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while one or both parents makes a healthy,
well-rounded meal for them.
well-rounded meal for them.
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They spend suppertime summarizing
the story they read
the story they read
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in ninth-grade English that day,
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or explaining how Newton's
laws of motion work.
laws of motion work.
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But I also have students
who go to the homeless shelter
who go to the homeless shelter
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or to the group home.
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They go to the car that their family
is sleeping in right now.
is sleeping in right now.
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They come to school with trauma,
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and when I go home every day,
that goes home with me.
that goes home with me.
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And see, that's the hard part
about teaching.
about teaching.
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It's not the grading,
the lesson-planning, the meetings,
the lesson-planning, the meetings,
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though sure, those things do occupy
a great deal of teachers' time and energy.
a great deal of teachers' time and energy.
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The tough part about teaching
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is all the things
you can't control for your kids,
you can't control for your kids,
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all the things you can't change for them
once they walk out your door.
once they walk out your door.
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And so I wonder
if it's always been this way.
if it's always been this way.
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I think back to my undergraduate training
at the University of Georgia,
at the University of Georgia,
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where we were taught
in our methods classes
in our methods classes
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that the concept
of good teaching has changed.
of good teaching has changed.
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We're not developing learners
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who are going to go out into a workforce
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where they'll stand
on a line in a factory.
on a line in a factory.
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Rather, we're sending our kids
out into a workforce
out into a workforce
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where they need to be able to communicate,
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collaborate and problem-solve.
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And that has caused
teacher-student relationships
teacher-student relationships
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to morph into something stronger
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than the giver of content
and the receiver of knowledge.
and the receiver of knowledge.
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Lectures and sitting in silent rows
just doesn't cut it anymore.
just doesn't cut it anymore.
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We have to be able to build relationships
with and among our students
with and among our students
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to help them feel connected
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in a world that depends on it.
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I think back to my second year teaching.
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I had a student who I'll call "David."
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And I remember feeling like
I'd done a pretty good job
I'd done a pretty good job
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at teaching that year:
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"Hey, I ain't no first-year teacher.
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I know what I'm doing."
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And it was on the last day of school,
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I told David to have a great summer.
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And I watched him walk down the hall,
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and I thought to myself,
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I don't even know
what his voice sounds like.
what his voice sounds like.
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And that's when I realized
I wasn't doing it right.
I wasn't doing it right.
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So I changed almost everything
about my teaching.
about my teaching.
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I built in plenty of opportunities
for my students to talk to me
for my students to talk to me
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and to talk to each other,
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to share their writing
and to verbalize their learning.
and to verbalize their learning.
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And it was through those conversations
I began not only to know their voice
I began not only to know their voice
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but to know their pain.
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I had David in class again that next year,
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and I learned that his father
was undocumented
was undocumented
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and had been deported.
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He started acting out in school
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because all he wanted
was for his family to be together again.
was for his family to be together again.
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In so many ways, I felt his pain.
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And I needed someone to listen,
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somebody to provide support for me
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so that I could support him in this thing
that I could not even comprehend.
that I could not even comprehend.
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And we recognize that need
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for police officers who've witnessed
a gruesome crime scene
a gruesome crime scene
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and nurses who have lost a patient.
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But when it comes
to teaching professionals,
to teaching professionals,
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that urgency is lagging.
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I believe it's paramount
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that students and teachers,
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administrators, paraprofessionals
and all other support staff
and all other support staff
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have convenient and affordable access
to mental wellness supports.
to mental wellness supports.
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When we are constantly serving others,
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often between 25
and 125 students each day,
and 125 students each day,
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our emotional piggy banks
are constantly being drawn upon.
are constantly being drawn upon.
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After a while, it can become so depleted,
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that we just can't bear it anymore.
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They call it "secondary trauma"
and "compassion fatigue,"
and "compassion fatigue,"
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the concept that we absorb the traumas
our students share with us each day.
our students share with us each day.
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And after a while,
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our souls become weighed down
by the heaviness of it all.
by the heaviness of it all.
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The Buffett Institute
at the University of Nebraska
at the University of Nebraska
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recently found that most teachers --
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86 percent across
early childhood settings --
early childhood settings --
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experienced some depressive symptoms
during the prior week.
during the prior week.
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They found that approximately one in 10
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reported clinically significant
depressive symptoms.
depressive symptoms.
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My interactions with colleagues
and my own experiences
and my own experiences
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make me feel like
this is a universal struggle
this is a universal struggle
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across all grade levels.
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So what are we missing?
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What are we allowing to break the chain
and how do we repair it?
and how do we repair it?
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In my career,
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I've experienced the death
by suicide of two students
by suicide of two students
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and one amazing teacher
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who loved his kids;
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countless students
experiencing homelessness;
experiencing homelessness;
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and kids entering and exiting
the justice system.
the justice system.
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When these events happen,
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protocol is to say, "If you need
someone to talk to, then ..."
someone to talk to, then ..."
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And I say that's not enough.
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I am so lucky.
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I work in an amazing school
with great leadership.
with great leadership.
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I serve a large district
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with so many healthy partnerships
with community agencies.
with community agencies.
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They have provided steadily
increasing numbers
increasing numbers
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of school counselors and therapists
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and support staff to help our students.
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They even provide staff members
with access to free counseling
with access to free counseling
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as part of our employment plan.
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But many small districts
and even some large ones
and even some large ones
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simply cannot foot the bill without aid.
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(Exhales)
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Not only does every school need
social and emotional support staff,
social and emotional support staff,
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trained professionals who can navigate
the needs of the building --
the needs of the building --
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not just the students,
not just the teachers, but both --
not just the teachers, but both --
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we also need these trained professionals
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to intentionally seek out
those closest to the trauma
those closest to the trauma
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and check in with them.
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Many schools are doing what they can
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to fill in the gaps,
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starting with acknowledging
that the work that we do
that the work that we do
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is downright hard.
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Another school in Lincoln,
Schoo Middle School,
Schoo Middle School,
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has what they call "Wellness Wednesdays."
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They invite in community yoga teachers,
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they sponsor walks around
the neighborhood during lunch
the neighborhood during lunch
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and organize social events
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that are all meant
to bring people together.
to bring people together.
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Zachary Elementary School
in Zachary, Louisiana,
in Zachary, Louisiana,
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has something they call
a "Midweek Meetup,"
a "Midweek Meetup,"
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where they invite teachers to share lunch
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and to talk about the things
that are going well
that are going well
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and the things that are weighing
heavy on their hearts.
heavy on their hearts.
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These schools are making space
for conversations that matter.
for conversations that matter.
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Finally, my friend
and colleague Jen Highstreet
and colleague Jen Highstreet
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takes five minutes out of each day
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to write an encouraging
note to a colleague,
note to a colleague,
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letting them know
that she sees their hard work
that she sees their hard work
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and the heart that they share with others.
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She knows that those five minutes
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can have an invaluable
and powerful ripple effect
and powerful ripple effect
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across our school.
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The chain that hangs in my classroom
is more than just a decoration.
is more than just a decoration.
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Those links hang over our heads
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for the entire four years
that our students walk our halls.
that our students walk our halls.
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And every year,
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I have seniors come back
to my classroom, room 340,
to my classroom, room 340,
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and they can still point out
where their link hangs.
where their link hangs.
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They remember what they wrote on it.
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They feel connected and supported.
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And they have hope.
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Isn't that what we all need?
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Somebody to reach out
and make sure that we're OK.
and make sure that we're OK.
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To check in with us
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and remind us that we are a link.
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Every now and then,
we all just need a little help
we all just need a little help
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holding the stapler.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sydney Jensen - EducatorSydney Jensen wants to shine a light on the emotional and mental impact of teaching students who have experienced trauma.
Why you should listen
Sydney Jensen is a ninth-grade English teacher at Lincoln High School in the epicenter of America's heartland: Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln is one of the nation's top cities for refugee resettlement, and students at Lincoln High speak more than 30 languages.
Jensen also serves as an instructional coach working with new and veteran teachers to provide instructional support and mentorship. In recognition of her work in the classroom and the school community, Jensen is the 2019 Nebraska Teacher of the Year. She is a passionate advocate for increased mental and emotional wellness supports for both students and the teachers who serve them. You can read more from her here.
Sydney Jensen | Speaker | TED.com