Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

 

Teaching in today's society is not only scary to think about, it is overwhelming. Educators not only have to follow the guidelines of the curriculum, but they have to teach and keep up with that is going on with the world outside of their classroom walls. Educators today will need to learn very fast that they need to get comfortable with uncomfortable. In the past ten years, a lot has changed in the way subjects and topics are being taught in classrooms. It is how us as educators portray these topics in the class that changes the students thinking and views on society.  

 

Mental health is a huge topic that has just recently been floating around the past couple of years. But only now are educators really talking about what mental health is and how we as educators and students can change the stigma against it. A lot of people do not want to touch the topic of mental health because it scares them and makes them uncomfortable, guess what get comfortable being uncomfortable. We are no longer looking out just for ourselves, we have thirty students who look up to us and listen to what we have to say. Mental health is no longer a topic we can slip under the rug, this is a main concern that should be taught in every classroom, every day.

Diversity has been an obstacle for many schools around the province. Diversity is the main source of bullying inside and outside of the classroom. Why do we as educators feel uncomfortable with talking about diversity and expressing where we come from; get comfortable. If you as an educator don't know how to talk about diversity in the class, ask for help, get educated. Diversity is a topic that is never going away, instead of pushing it to the side, embrace it and use diversity throughout the classroom all year round.

 

Puberty has always been a taboo topic in the classroom. To be honest I do not understand why, it is a life changing thing that happens to everyone. This should be a topic that is talked about throughout the year, but mainly in the beginning of the school year. Girls should not be ashamed to go to the washroom when they have their periods. In older grades, you shouldn't have to ask to go to the washroom and be denied it. Girls shouldn't be made fun of for getting a menstruation product from their bag. We not only have to get educators comfortable but we should be getting our students comfortable being uncomfortable, this is life.

 

 In conclusion, all these topics are ones that are never going away, they are permanent. Now we as educators need to adapt and change the way they teach these topics to their students. If us as educators are uncomfortable teaching, what are we teaching our students? That it is okay to not talk about everything that makes us uncomfortable. Start an open line of communication, have a communication box that gets checked every week. Start talking with your students about everyday life. 

 

Olivia (OTECC) @ NU