Compassion Fatigue: The Silent Thief in Our Schools

by: Cheri Brown Sizemore

I love you so much it hurts. So many parents have quoted these song lyrics to their children to express the depth and complexity of their feelings. But teachers can also be so emotionally invested in their students that it takes a physical and psychological toll. Teachers naturally become attached to, protective of, and concerned for the young people they educate and train for more than nine months of a school year. Today's classrooms are filled with young victims of trauma carrying the baggage of poverty, hunger, abuse, violence, neglect, illness, divorce, death, and more. After a period of time struggling with concern for these students, daily reminders of the obstacles they face, and the human desire to support and relieve them, some educators begin to suffer the symptoms of compassion fatigue. Unchecked, this condition can rob our classrooms of caring and committed educators. How can teachers and administrators recognize the problem and reduce its impact before compassion fatigue affects their work?

Compassion Fatigue

Simply put, compassion fatigue can develop when one cares "too much" for another who has shared firsthand traumatic experiences. It is a unique form of burnout, previously linked with nursing professionals, therapists, and early responders, that has been described as "the cost of caring" for others' in emotional pain. If left unrecognized and untreated, this condition can turn into a full-blown case of burnout that can lead to even more serious outcomes. In this article, teachers, administrators, and supervisors will learn to recognize the symptoms and will discover steps toward healing to reverse the effects of this silent thief in our schools.

Signs and Symptoms

According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, more than 10 million children each year in the United States experience traumatic events in their lives. Likely, no school is immune to cases of juvenile trauma. Thus, awareness of the symptoms and early recognition can help you respond to compassion fatigue. A variety of symptoms can manifest themselves in a person's life, including

• Anger and/or cynicism	• Hypervigilance
• Anxiousness	• Inability to embrace complexity
• Avoidance	• Inability to listen
• Chronic exhaustion	• Loss of creativity
• Disconnection	• Poor boundaries
• Fear	• Poor self-care
• Guilt	• Sleeplessness
• Hopelessness	• Survival coping (National Child Traumatic Stress Network)

What Teachers Can Do

Certain types of people seem to be more susceptible to the effects of compassion fatigue. Teachers should evaluate their tendencies to fall into these categories: excessive dedication, compulsivity, perfectionism, and achievement-oriented. As we discover the terrible situations their students they struggle with, the pressures and demands of our jobs—including tight schedules, unrealistic expectations, lack of positive feedback or support—adds to our psychological loads. Without realizing it, we start feeling resentful rather than resourceful, detached rather than delighted, and exhausted rather than excited. Often, we are not even aware of what is causing these feelings. Here are a just a few things you can do to maintain sanity and stability while doing your best to comfort children who desperately need your love and concern.

1. Be kind to yourself. Don't think that because you are not able to handle these situations that you are weak or incompetent. Remind yourself that suffering with compassion fatigue indicates that you listen well, open your heart, and care so much for your students in need. Be sure that you take time for just you—meditate, have a massage, take a bubble bath, read a book, write poetry, take a long walk, sing, dance—whatever best rejuvenates you. To recover from this disabling condition, you must take time for you.

2. Journal your thoughts. Did you ever keep a diary? Journaling helps by getting troubling thoughts out of your head and onto the paper. You can go back to your journal, reread it to gain perspective, and imagine good thoughts for those whom you care so much.

3. Don't face this alone. Force yourself to be with others, even if you do not feel like you can. Approach your administrators, your counselors, your colleagues, your friends, your spiritual advisor, or anyone who will listen to you. Keeping these emotions inside you will only make things more difficult for you and your students. Others may be experiencing the same feelings, and together you can find support. If you feel like you are not able to get back to the "normal you" in two or three weeks, seek professional help. Studies (Figley, 2002) have shown that you can heal from compassion fatigue before it turns into serious burnout, and you can manage to continue to work and care for students with problems, while taking care of yourself.

4. Seek positive influences. Stay away from negative thoughts and situations (which might include the teachers' lounge during your planning period). Find ways to stimulate your thought processes. Take a course online, read stimulating articles, continue to look for better strategies to be a quality teacher. Keep company with those who can laugh and share gratitude with you.

What Administrators Can Do

While teachers must seek out help when they feel overwhelmed, administrators must watch for signs and trends in their schools that might indicate problems or concerns.

1. Know your faculty. Stay apprised of personal trauma that the teachers might be experiencing. Those who face trauma in their own lives may be more easily affected by the traumas of their students. Know which students deal with or have dealt with trauma and inform their teachers. Watch for changes in teachers' personalities, work habits, attendance patterns, and interactions with others.

2. Encourage teacher interaction. Build in time each week (each day is preferable) for teacher collaboration during which they can discuss strategies for lessons, classroom management, student behavior, and share own struggles. Schedule events to provide opportunities for teachers (and their families) to socialize together—for down time, fun time, and time to get to know each other outside of school duties. Watch for teachers who withdraw from their colleagues and those who work in isolation.

3. Show your support. Have an open-door policy that offers a safe place for teachers to approach you with confidential matters and concerns. Offer assistance or connect them with professionals who can help them deal with the fatigue and burnout. Discover a variety of ways to recognize the work they do and to praise them with your words and actions. Make sure that the teachers have the tools and materials necessary to make their jobs as manageable as possible. Watch for teachers who never smile and who avoid interaction with you and the front office.

4. Encourage self-care. Set up workshops led by experts to identify the risks in dealing with trauma situations and to share healthy coping strategies. Create a "self-care board" in the teachers' lounge for all to share their favorite tips, and even run weekly contests for the best ideas. Rather than holding a lot of meetings, allow teachers to spend that time in exercise groups, walking clubs, yoga sessions, and more. When meetings are necessary, devote the first few minutes to focus on "caring for yourself." You, as the leader, should have your own self-care plan. Watch for teachers who demonstrate poor self-care (appearance, dress), who never participate in activities outside of their classroom, and who work long hours.

The Children Still Need Help

Although some teachers discover they are not able to rise above compassion fatigue or burnout, and ultimately, must leave their jobs, the children remain and still need educators who can care for them. Therefore, everyone involved must know the impact that this silent thief can have on an entire school. Rather than watch teachers leave, we should devote time and effort to the seriousness of the effects of compassion fatigue. By identifying compassion fatigue early and dealing with it quickly in resourceful ways, we can keep it from stealing teachers who care from the classroom.

Reference

Figley, C. R. (Ed.) (2002). Treating compassion fatigue. New York: Brunner/Routledge.

Cheri Brown Sizemore earned her doctoral degree in educational administration from Baylor University. She is a retired teacher, administrator, and author of To Love to Teach Again: 10 Secrets to Rekindling Passion to Keep You in the Classroom.

New blog from The Center for Courage and Renewal

Parker Palmer is a tremendous influence on my life and teaching. The Center for Courage and Renewal, which he started, just posted my blog about my early career in education and how Palmer's book, The Courage to Teach, helped me get through a rough start in the classroom with some gratitude.

Check out the entire blog at:

http://www.couragerenewal.org/blog/

Special Guest Blog by Robert Ward

Nine Young Adult Novels that Teach Gratitude, Grit, and a Growth Mindset to Kids

Have you ever noticed that the main characters in a great deal of young adult literature are orphans? It has to be more than a coincidence that the inspiring protagonists of some of the most beloved books from the young adult canon either are parentless or are suddenly isolated from the love and support of family and friends.

I am sure you can add to this list of characters who face extraordinary obstacles virtually on their own:

1. Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders: recently orphaned and confronted with the death of two close friends
2. Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series: orphaned and temporarily trapped in a horrible home where he is unwanted and unappreciated

3. Stanley Yelants from Holes: sentenced to hard labor at Camp Green Lake for a crime he did not commit and because of a family curse that may turn out to be a blessing
4. Jeffrey Magee from Maniac Magee: orphaned (twice) and perpetually running… from himself

5. Karana from Island of the Blue Dolphins: orphaned while witnessing the massacre of her father and her people and abandoned on a deserted island for eighteen years
6. Brian from the Hatchet series: a child of divorce who is forced to brave the harsh wilderness alone

7. James from James and the Giant Peach: an orphan living with his two vile aunts until he embarks on an incredible adventure
8. Meg from A Wrinkle in Time: a young girl swept into a strange, scary new dimension and on a desperate quest to save her father and brother

9. The Baudelaire siblings from the Series of Unfortunate Events books: three oppressed orphans endure alliterative adventures against the evil Olaf

Despite their tumultuous journeys, these characters manage to persevere and to eventually triumph, armed finally with the insight that what they needed most was within them all along. This profound and lasting sense of gratitude provides these young heroes with the strength they need to not only survive but to thrive; and it is this inner fortitude and grace that assures the reader that these characters will be just fine long after The End.
Of course, the crucial lesson the authors of these magnificent books want to convey is universal and elemental: If these children who ostensibly have no one and nothing can summon the courage and determination to slay dragons—dragons that are real and imagined, internal and external—then so can you and I, especially those of us fortunate enough to be in far more comfortable and comforting situations.

In The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton beautifully sums up the meaning of gratitude and of appreciating what you have, even if you currently have very little, with two words: stay gold. This is my go-to phrase when I am issuing friendly caution to a student who is beginning to stray, as well as when I want to celebrate a student who has been especially sensitive, sympathetic, or supportive. My students know exactly what I mean by these two powerful words because together we have explored and discussed a wealth of amazing novels that we can compare and contrast, as well as learn from and love.
Thankfully, parents and teachers are starting to fully embrace the necessity and benefits of social, emotional, even soulful learning, in addition to academic learning. I learned long ago that preaching to my students yields limited results. It is far more fruitful and fun to allow my students to discover for themselves the wisdom of gratitude, grit, and a growth mindset through great stories. These universal themes of thankfulness, perseverance, and self-assurance sustain us through the hard times and spur us to strive for the things that really matter in life, so much of which is meaningful rather than material.

Robert Ward has been teaching English at public middle schools in Los Angeles for twenty-three years. He is also the recent author of two books for teachers, The Firm, Fair, Fascinating Facilitator and The Teacher Tune-Up, published by Rowman and Littlefield. His newest book, A Teacher’s Inside Advice to Parents: How Children Thrive with Leadership, Love, Laughter, and Learning, will be available this fall. Robert can be contacted via his website: http://www.rewardingeducation.com/