A Motorcycle, mental health, and teaching and learning: Update

Steve Waters Wednesday, 7th September 2022 Teach Well Toolkit www.teachwelltoolkit.com

If you read my last blog, you will know that I connected the unlikely elements in its title to share a personal story and relate it to how we, as teachers, approach our learners. If you have time, you can read the blog here: https://stevewaters17.wixsite.com/teachwellalliance/post/a-motorcyle-mental-health-and-teaching-and-learning

Your time is precious, so here is a quick summary:

• I went on a 'Return to Biking' course.

• The instructor lost patience with me because I was having problems stopping correctly and was very negative, at one point shouting at me.

• My confidence was severely affected.

• I wondered if the instructor had some personal issues which were affecting his attitude towards me.

• I related this to how our own mental health as teachers can affect our patience and limit our positivity towards our learners.

• I made the point that self-care and the care that our school takes of our mental health are two ends of a seesaw and we should aim for balance, where the seesaw is parallel to the ground.

So, what's this about an update? What's happened since then?

Yesterday, Tuesday 6th September, I went for a 'Rusty Rider' day at a different riding school. The instructor - we'll call him Colin - was very welcoming, told me not to worry that I was nervous, and was dismayed to hear how I had been treated. He was particularly surprised when I told him that, although I had a total of 15 years' motorcycling experience and a full licence, the previous instructor had not allowed me out of the car park all day and instead had me practising figure of eights, slow control and stopping.

Colin told me that I would spend 10 minutes on the car park and then I would be following him onto the road. I didn't believe that it was possible but I didn't say anything. To cut a short story short (!), after watching me manoeuvre round the car park and practising stoppping for 10 minutes, we were indeed out on the road - the first time I had ridden a motorcycle on the public highway since 2008!

I could write at length about my experience during the rest of the day which was both exhilerating and emotional. Suffice it to say that we covered 75 miles and I didn't stall the bike or drop it or run wide or lose control. Colin gave me instructions through a bluetooth headset about hazards coming up and the direction I would be taking at junctions and roundabouts. He also reminded me about changing down and changing up and to check over my right shoulder after looking in my mirrors to make sure a car wasn't passing me in my blind spot - known as the 'lifesaver' check. As time went on, Colin limited his instructions to direction information, as he could see I was doing well on the road.

Typically for the UK, as well as sunshine, we had a downpour, strong winds, dreadful road surfaces with potholes, slippery surfaces (one in a tunnel which was half submerged in water after the heavy rain), a van driver who pulled out in front of Colin from a layby without looking and a car that pulled out in front of me from a line of parked cars. I coped well with it all. Colin said I had done really well,

What about my stopping, you might be asking? It wasn't perfect. I still had the previous instructor's negative and aggressive remarks playing through my head. It is work in progress. But it was good enough. Colin simply said, 'It will get better with time and as you increase in confidence.'

So, what can we learn about mental health, and teaching and learning from this update?

Here are my thoughts:

• Both teachers and learners don't have to be perfect - good enough will do, and, given space, time and praise to grow, good enough will become very good and even excellent.

• If we are rigid about preventing learners from moving on until they are perfect in the foundations of their learning, we might be reducing their love for learning and damaging their confidence. An analogy is playing football. If footballers weren't allowed on the field until they were able to pass accurately 100% of the time, we wouldn't have many footballers on the field! Nor would young players love playing the game. As long as the foundations are 'good enough', learning will take place.

• We internalise what is said to us and it becomes part of a mental monologue in which we imagine the person speaking to us. If what is said is positive, the monologue reinforces learning and engagement. If what we hear is negative, the monologue is critical and deprecatory.

• Mistakes should be regarded as learning opportunities, not failures.

• Finally, to extend what I said in the preceding blog: we know as teachers if we are becoming negative and losing patience. We should be able to talk about what is causing our negativity with our fellow teachers, line manager or leadership team and ask for their support. If we are judged as incompetent or not able to cope or just not up to the job, we won't say anything. Our self-care is likely to be insufficient to rectify our lack of patience. We become stressed. The factors causing burnout start to kick in. Soon, we are unable to go to school at all or the best we can do is to turn up for work but be barely able to cope ('presenteeism').

What if my last bullet point has you nodding because you recognise yourself in my description? What if your school doesn't have a culture of supporting staff who want to talk about how their mental health is affecting their teaching and the pupils' learning?

If you are struggling to find someone to talk to, the charity Education Support has a 24- hour 365 day helpline, staffed by counsellors. They are also sometimes able to arrange short-term counselling free of charge. Here is their number:

Most schools understand the importance of ensuring that mental health is not a taboo subject. A small minority of schools are the cause of teachers' mental ill-health - we describe such schools are 'toxic'. The lack of understanding is poisoning the minds of their staff. If your school is the cause of your mental illness, you have three options: 1) You can put up with it; 2) You can change the culture of the school; 3) You can leave.

In her wonderful book, 'Making it as a Teacher', Victoria Hewett recounts how she had a breakdown in her first school. She was about to leave the profession. A friend advised her to 'try just one more school'. Victoria chose option 3). She went on supply at a school, loved it, was appointed permanently and then became Head of History. Her second school was completely different in its mindset. Is everything now perfect for Victoria? No. She still has challenges from time to time but her school supports her to face them.

In my case, I tried 'just one more riding school'. Colin saved me from selling my bike and giving up on riding. I had exchanged a toxic organisation for a supportive and welcoming environment which enabled me to believe in myself again.

Steve Waters Wednesday, 7th September 2022 Teach Well Toolkit www.teachwelltoolkit.com