Category Archives: Educational commentary

“I’m worried that teachers coming up behind me will not last 35 years in this profession because there are pressures in today’s classroom that didn’t exist when I first started out.”

This quotable truism is one of dozens of such statements that can be garnered from a series of videos recently launched by the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU). The video series, tag-lined “Our Kids Can’t Wait”, features a set of real-life testimonials from a variety of educators across Nova Scotia speaking about the realities of today’s classroom. Ostensibly meant to call on government to provide more funding to schools, the videos are a poignant, sometimes raw, reminder of the difficulties faced by today’s educators.

What I found particularly striking about the series was not just the candid honesty of the teachers, counselors, and school psychologists who spoke, but the commonality of their message. The job of teaching is challenging, yes, but for these individuals, that challenge is rooted in a deep desire to help kids succeed; a desire that is often curtailed by a lack of resources. These educators, although dedicated, feel they are stretched too thin to meet the needs of all the students in front of them, and that failure is, quite obviously, heartbreaking.

It is that heartbreak, however, that got me to thinking once again about the teaching profession as a whole, and the impact that this sense of failure must be having on the individuals who get up each and every day to toil at Sisyphus’ boulder. Obviously, this educator finds the profession tremendously rewarding, as my thirty-odd year career can attest, and certainly, I have had a great many successes along the way when it came to reaching students. I would be lying, however, if I said that I do not carry a great many scars left by the kids I could not.

These scars, and the accompanying psychological impact they have, play a fairly major role in the overall well being of our educational staff. Although the concept of “workplace well being” is a relatively new one, how we feel about our work is a major contributor to our overall health. Workplace stress has been shown to have many negative health impacts, with consequences ranging from substance abuse to depression to heart disease and, in extreme cases, death. In fact, according to the American National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, up to twenty percent of all cardiovascular disease deaths in that country are linked to the workplace.

The thing about workplace stress, however, is that it is not simply caused by being busy or having to meet deadlines. It is a much nuanced topic which has recently been the focus of some work by Mental Health Research Canada. In 2023, this group partnered with Pollara Strategic Insights to gather data on the overall mental health of Canadian workers. One of the key components to this research was the distribution of the Guarding Minds at Work (GMAW) survey, an evaluation tool “…used to effectively assess and address the psychosocial factors known to have an impact on organizational health, the health of individual employees, and the financial bottom line.”

The survey was taken by over 5500 Canadian workers with about 10% of them coming from the education sector. GMAW measures a total of thirteen workplace stressors, including such things as work-life balance, civility and respect, and clear leadership and expectations, all of which, if out of whack, contribute to a stressful work environment.

The results were strikingly clear. Education workers felt less psychologically safe than other workers in Canada in every, single measurable category.

There is a great deal of information here, and I would encourage anyone to read the entire report before drawing too many conclusions. However, the results do paint a fairly damning picture of the educational workspace. For example, a full 21% of educators feel it is rarely or never safe to speak up at work, and only a third (34%) of educators believe difficult situations at work are dealt with effectively.

The above graphic was produced by an organization known as the EdCan network,, and more specifically a branch of their organization called “The Well at Work Network”, which focuses specifically on wellness in the K-12 space. The organization was able to use this data to further drill down into the survey results and conclude that potential burnout and lack of work-life balance are both areas of major concern for education sector workers.

This is what I mean when I speak of the nuance of workplace wellness. Not being able to express one’s view on a particular issue at work might not be the first thing that pops into one’s mind when thinking about workplace stress, but this survey was put together by mental health professionals. Further, it was designed specifically with the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace in mind.

In short, these folks know what they are talking about. And when it comes to the education sector, the news, it seems, is not good.

The school year has wrapped now, and it is time for the oft maligned by the public summer break for educators of all stripes.

However, come September, the doors of your local school will open again, and the students of this province will be welcomed back into our system by a cadre of hopefully well-rested and recharged educators.

Hopefully, between now and then, the government will hear the voices being raised, look at the research being produced, and commit, finally, to making our schools safe, both physically and psychologically, for everyone.