Retrain your brain to build resilience. That was one key message substitute teachers heard at this fall’s Substitute Teachers’ Conference, held Oct. 18–19 in Edmonton.
More than 150 substitute teachers from across the province gathered for the conference, which featured keynote speaker Tara Miller. During her presentations, Miller encouraged delegates to focus on their well-being as they work toward building resilience and creating optimal teaching and learning experiences.
“Resilience is built through resistance, through the challenges we don’t want, the unexpected things that come toward us. That’s when we build resilience,” Miller said.
Miller emphasized that, in building resilience, resistance is only one part of the equation. Recovery is equally important.
“You need the challenge, but you also need the recovery so that you can come out of that activated state,” Miller said. “If you haven’t had ample recovery, you don’t get more resilience, you get burnout.”
Burnout, Miller said, comes when your resources are exceeded to the point that you can’t keep going.
With Miller’s guidance, delegates engaged in activities focused on restoration and self-regulation. It is Miller’s hope that substitute teachers can apply these strategies to create new brain habits that promote health, well-being and resilience. This is key, she said, given the complex environment in which teachers teach.
“You’re working in a dysregulated system … but you are expected to be the most regulated person in the room at all times.”
Miller added that substitute teachers face an even greater challenge than some of their colleagues, as they regularly encounter the unknown. They must quickly assess an unfamiliar context and figure out the best way to work with the new students and colleagues they meet.
“You have a voice and your voice matters.”
ATA president Jason Schilling agrees that substitute teachers face unique challenges in their work.
“They are building relationships on the fly — they have to be resilient, and they have to be quick thinking,” he said.
Addressing conference delegates, Schilling stressed the value of substitute teachers bringing their individual skill sets and perspectives to the classroom.
“Every single one of you in this room brings a unique talent, a unique perspective,” he said, “When we combine these individual strengths together, we become an unstoppable force and a proud voice for our colleagues, our students and ourselves.”
The conference, Schilling commented, supports substitute teachers by offering professional development that is tailored to these colleagues. Schilling added that this conference represents not only an opportunity for substitute teachers to learn and connect, but also an opportunity for the Association to show appreciation for their work.
“You have a voice and your voice matters.”
