So last week I had the dreaded four hours of first aid and CPR recertification. I can hear your commiserating groan now! Not always what you want to spend four hours on when you have lessons to plan, mystery Skype calls to organize, iPads to update... But here's the kicker... Not two hours later I was putting much of my teacher training to work OUTSIDE of the classroom.
On the way to meet a fellow teacher for dinner before seeing the theatre production Potted Potter my daughter and I were witnesses, and luckily not victims, to a pretty nasty traffic accident. While I had her remain in the car I ran to the scene which was a confusion of drivers, witnesses, and bystanders. After checking that the windshield of the first driver was broken by a gate and not her head I noticed that everyone was in a state of agitated confusion.
If you're a teacher this is nothing new for you and you know how to handle it. Which I did. Let's face it, we both know I was already in teacher mode. As soon as I started directing people to call 911, keep watch over the drivers and directing them to stay in their cars until paramedics arrived, I could see that everyone was feeling much more calm and secure. This was the same for victims, bystanders, and witnesses. Nothing had changed except that I had assumed control of the situation and started giving directions.
It's truly amazing what a sense of security that can give to people. Now, this was a traumatic incident for a bunch of adults, and I was bale to make it quite a bit less so rather quickly. This is why teachers are so important in the lives of students, we give them the sense of order and control that they need on order to be successful in the classroom. Whether or not they have the same sense of order and control at home, they still need it at school in order to feel safe. So teachers everywhere, don't limit the use of your teacher skills to just your classroom, there are others out there waiting for you and your super powers.
On the way to meet a fellow teacher for dinner before seeing the theatre production Potted Potter my daughter and I were witnesses, and luckily not victims, to a pretty nasty traffic accident. While I had her remain in the car I ran to the scene which was a confusion of drivers, witnesses, and bystanders. After checking that the windshield of the first driver was broken by a gate and not her head I noticed that everyone was in a state of agitated confusion.
If you're a teacher this is nothing new for you and you know how to handle it. Which I did. Let's face it, we both know I was already in teacher mode. As soon as I started directing people to call 911, keep watch over the drivers and directing them to stay in their cars until paramedics arrived, I could see that everyone was feeling much more calm and secure. This was the same for victims, bystanders, and witnesses. Nothing had changed except that I had assumed control of the situation and started giving directions.
It's truly amazing what a sense of security that can give to people. Now, this was a traumatic incident for a bunch of adults, and I was bale to make it quite a bit less so rather quickly. This is why teachers are so important in the lives of students, we give them the sense of order and control that they need on order to be successful in the classroom. Whether or not they have the same sense of order and control at home, they still need it at school in order to feel safe. So teachers everywhere, don't limit the use of your teacher skills to just your classroom, there are others out there waiting for you and your super powers.
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