News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Friday concludes the Putnam County school year for its Social Emotional Wellness Coordinator.
Shelia Barker said it was quite a year to start helping with the school staff. Barker said being in-person from the beginning was a big help.
“I think teachers have done a great job trying to do their best with the curriculum and providing for needs of students,” Barker said. “I do know it has been very stressful for them, but I think for the most part the teachers and the staff (…) everybody has pitched in to try to make it the best year.”
Barker said she implemented self care workshops to help relieve some of that stress. Barker said the goal was to give teachers a safe environment to talk about the pressures of being an educator.
“We provided four different sessions,” Barker said. “We did one on getting a gauge on how stressed they were. We did another one on how stress affects the brain and body. The third one we did emotional health versus mental health, and the fourth one we did healthy living. But all through those sessions we talked about self care trying to let them have a platform to just vent.”
Barker said one of her biggest challenges in the position was understanding the perspective of a teacher. Barker said as a social worker, she learned a lot about the education world.
“One of the challenges was trying to figure out when I could offer these self care workshops and stress managements that I was not causing people more stress cause they have so many things to do,” Barker said. “(…) I did feel like for the most part teachers felt like after we did do that, that they did feel like it was beneficial.”
Barker said focusing on staff mental health allowed teachers to be more available for students. Barker said next year, the school system is looking to add more social and emotional wellness skills into academics, so students are better prepared.
The summer will be a much needed break for the school system as a whole, Barker said. However, Barker said teachers and students in the summer bridge program also need to find the time to just relax.
