Recently a friend of mine shared a Facebook graphic that said “Teaching is the only profession that steals office supplies from home.” I laughed because right now the school "owes" me three reams of paper and at least one toner cartridge because I print so much at home.
Ironically, this same week, mysterious office supplies arrived in my box at work.
One item that appeared in my box was a “package opener.”
I normally use one of my keys. The jagged edge tends to do the job.
But this was a “Safe Cut” package opener. Definitely an improvement.
Until I opened it.
The device had the general shape of a box cutter with the extendable/retractable blade. The “safe” part of it is that it only holds a tiny blade that at most cut 1/4” deep. I opened the package and the first thought that came to mind was that I could not let (insert student name) ever see this.
A frustration of working in education is that the community rarely understands the challenges educators face from day to day because those details are protected by confidentiality laws (for good reason). I have had the opportunity though several jobs in the past to talk one-on-one with legislators and they have no comprehension of the breadth of services schools provide outside the classroom to overcome deficits in basic health and mental health care that exist in the community. I wish I could have a legislator or a state board of education member sit with me for a day to see what goes on in my office as I address the challenges faced by my students from day to day.
Yes. Just a day.
I do not face these challenges each week. They do not come periodically. They do not come weekly. They come daily. Schools are mirrors of the community in which they exist - mental and physical illnesses exist in our community: they make their way to school as well.
Mental HEALTH is inextricably tied to physical HEALTH yet we treat them differently. We will rapidly rally around a co-worker who is unable to work due to a battle with cancer, but we do nothing for the co-worker whose depression makes it impossible to get out of bed in the morning except label that person a slacker. Sadly, the stigma that still surrounds mental illness prevents many from seeking treatment. The stigma also keeps mental illness from being a political or community issue (except those brief outcries when a “crazy” person commits an unspeakable crime). While every mental illness is well defined in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - version 5 being released in May), very few people understand those mental disorders beyond their personal encounters with people living with those disorders. People living with a disorder have behaviors and responses not like most people - leading to them being considered “weird,” “crazy,” or any number of derogatory terms that label the person without considering the illness they have.
Imagine how difficult it is for someone living with a mental disorder to be a student in the school system. Students, by virtue of their young age, have less frame of reference than adults and bring less natural understanding of those different than they are. Adults struggle to understand those around them living with a mental disorder; without explicit instruction, students have a greater struggle. With explicit instruction, school age people can be much more empathetic.
Yes. I have to consider what office supplies I display on my desk. It may seem silly, but it can be a matter of safety. A student, whose parent has locked away all the knives at home because of that student’s history of self-harm, could pick up that box cutter off my desk. I realize I cannot be responsible for a student’s safety at all times, but I am responsible when that student is in my office and I should consider those things I can do to guarantee safety - even if it means hiding my office supplies.
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