LESSONS LEARNED ON LISTENING TO YOUR OWN ADVICE!

How many times have you given someone a great piece of advice but failed to act upon it yourself? This seems to be a common flaw amongst teachers, including myself.

Take for instance, if you’re not well. One of my responsibilities as Deputy Headteacher is staff welfare.  I have conversations with staff on a regular basis about their well-being and often find myself saying 'your health comes first'. When it comes to sending staff home who are not well enough to be in work, the conversation tends to go ‘but I need to teach my exam groups’. Whilst it’s admirable that we put the needs of our students first, we sometimes need to be kinder to ourselves. I found that out myself last week when I tried to force myself to work through a nasty migraine only to be sent home after a rather embarrassing turn in the canteen.

A big buzz word in education at the moment is resilience. As leaders and teachers, we often have to put on a brave face and just get on with things. However, I do wonder if that sometimes sends out the wrong message, especially when it comes to illness. If I force myself into school when I am clearly not well enough, am I sending a message to other staff that they should do the same?

Mental health is a big talking point in the profession at the moment and rightly so, but we should not lose sight of physical health. I wonder how many teachers have put off going to the doctors because they can’t get an after school appointment or simply can’t fit it into a busy week? Moreover, how many teachers have put their physical symptoms down to the job? Or indeed doctors? 

I have great admiration for those working in the medical profession. However, I would urge anyone who has any long term symptoms to follow them up. For years, I put agonising headaches down to stress. I repeatedly went to the doctors only to be told that my headaches were due to tension and that I should try and find ways to relax. Even when I pointed out a small lump on my forehead, I was told that it was the shape of my skull. I put off going back to the doctors for fear of being labeled a hypochondriac. It took a visit to a sports masseur to convince me to go back. She took one look at the lump on my head and said I needed to insist on having a scan. Turns out I had a tumor growing in my skull and needed surgery to have it removed. Fortunately, it was benign but it was certainly a reality check for me. As part of my surgery, I had a section of my skull removed and a metal plate inserted. As if that wasn’t bad enough, we had the Ofsted call three days before my op. If ever there was a time to say you need Ofsted like a hole in the head, it was then!

Back to not listening to my own advice. Three weeks after my surgery, I went back to work. Looking back, I really wasn’t ready. My school certainly didn’t put any pressure on me to go back but once again, the guilt at missing lessons with my exam groups kicked in. Even though I had a genuine reason for being off work, I found it hard not to worry about my growing workload and the extra pressure I was putting on my colleagues.

So what lessons have I learned?

Health has to come first. My sister who is also a teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. She too was told that her tiredness was most likely down to work and nearly didn’t go back for a second checkup.

    Listen to your body.

    Don’t put off medical appointments and   that includes the embarrassing ones!
   
      Don’t try to be a hero!