Introduction

Mental health is a struggle for every country, every occupation and every human–it is often overlooked even though it is not going away anytime soon. While many adults within the adult population struggle with mental health-related issues, teachers, in particular, are at a higher risk of experiencing mental health struggles.

Hurting

There are many ways that teachers are struggling with mental health. Amy Eckman, a social studies teacher and Vice President for the St. Charles East Association Union (SCEA), shared her struggles with mental health. “I was diagnosed with health anxiety in college, […], but I am really good now, after going to seek therapy; I’m really good at figuring out what to do or how to deal with those things and separate them from what’s a catastrophization and what’s reality.” Health anxiety is when you are “worrying excessively that you are or may become seriously ill,” according to Mayo Clinic. Eckman recalled, “It was a big mental load of trying to deal with that and then going home and just feeling exhausted because I would be here and be happy and kind of play the ‘Happy Amy’ and then I’d go home and would be just exhausted because I was playing two people.”
After hearing from four staff members, I found a common theme: while there seems to be a consensus that the St. Charles School District does provide resources for staff mental health, it still seems to be a sensitive topic to discuss and ask for help with.
Eckman said, “I do [think there are resources for mental health], but I think that you need to look for them. And many people, especially teachers, don’t know where to look, or sometimes that stigma that comes with mental health, it’s hard to get people to take that step, to look for them.”
Teachers may feel that, as the only adults in the room, they have to be perfect role models for their students, and therefore, they must mask all of their flaws. Eckman recalled masking her emotions earlier in her career, saying, “There was a lot of stress to try to be that happy teacher, that silly teacher, that teacher that’s going to be there for you when really underneath it all, I was feeling these other feelings that I couldn’t show and didn’t have access to help or didn’t know how to get help.”
Science teacher and department chair Matthew Bulman explained his thoughts on stress for East’s staff, saying, “I think it ebbs and flows a lot. With students, there are times of the year when it’s like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot going on.’ Teachers feel that too. It’s different, though. So when you guys are stressed out, we’re usually fine. The other way around, we’re stressed out when you guys are fine.”
He then described the struggle of this stigma surrounding being an educator in our society. “I was told because I did well in school, ‘Don’t be a teacher.’ I’m like, that’s kind of weird. It’s a weird thing to say, and I still hear it nowadays,” Bulman said. “They’re like, ‘Why would you just be a teacher?’ That’s the problem, ‘Why would you just be a teacher?’ is the wrong kind of question. […] But if that’s the thing, then we’re in trouble. We need incredibly gifted people everywhere. […] So don’t let people tell you that you’re too smart to teach.”
Bulman explained how a language barrier can contribute to a teacher’s stress. Many students speak Spanish, which the school has resources for, but many students this year speak other languages like Farsi and Gujarati, which the school isn’t as equipped to handle. So, it’s often the teacher’s responsibility to make their lessons accessible to everybody.
“One of the big [stressors] that’s happened this year for a lot of us is we have a bunch of students from other countries that don’t speak English natively, and we as teachers want to help, and we physically don’t have time to do that sometimes. […] So then you feel like you’re doing your job ineffectively,” said Bulman. “And that is the worst thing for a teacher. When you walk away and you’re like, ‘I did not do well today.’ You get into this job to help kids, and when you feel like you’re not helping your best, that’s where you’re hard on yourself. So I think that’s the stress I feel.”
Bulman went on to say, “I think every educator in this building brings work home, which is unique because in [many] other career paths, you check out, and you’re kind of done. […] It’s hard to let go of that control or to know you have a kid that you’re not helping. That’s the part where, if you stop caring about that, you’ve lost your fuel and fire in education.”
As the Vice President of the Union, Eckman hears a lot about the negative behavior of students, which contributes to the development of poor mental health surrounding staff, causing teachers to consider leaving the profession. “We [the union] are seeing an influx of bad behavior, especially with our elementary students, and it’s starting to kind of trickle up.” She went on to say, “There is a lot of stress put on us to do more, and ‘What can you do?’ Instead of looking at the actual problem, it’s always, ‘What can the teacher do? How can you change the way you teach in order to change the student’s behavior?’ And that’s hard for a lot of people.”
English teacher Joseph Dundovich explained why he thinks that mental health problems surge among teachers. He talked about the lack of respect that teachers feel when they make decisions about grades or opinions on course recommendations. He noted that while these opinions don’t necessarily need to be followed through, they should at the very least be listened to. “At times, it feels like it can be pushed aside, even though we do know what we’re doing, but we don’t feel like that. Mutual respect is always there for our judgment or our opinion on our content.”
Bulman expressed how, “20 years ago, if we had an opening, we maybe had 15-20 applicants for one spot, and now we’re lucky if we can find one or two.” This is something that can be seen nationally with the shortage of teachers that we have seen in the United States.

Despite all of this, Bulman said that he generally feels good when he comes to school. “There are great kids; there are great people to work around. And it’s one of those jobs that, every year, is different. So you get to reset, and every group of kids that comes through, you don’t know what it’s going to be.” However, he acknowledged that he doesn’t always feel this way. “I’ve had days where I’m like, ‘I am not good with myself right now. Should I go to work and just power through it?’ And that does no one good.”
Bulman went on to explain how, “You have the loud, noisy people, oftentimes that don’t have kids in the school that want to share their opinions about how their tax-paid dollars are being used. And I’m all for having an open discourse, but at the expense of someone else is very humbling. There’s a rhetoric that’s not discourse; there’s no civility in it. It’s emotional, and it’s charged, and I get that, but that’s what stings.”
He especially emphasized the importance that student connection has in a teacher’s well-being. “I think back to the COVID days, that was the only time in my career I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll quit education.’ I couldn’t figure out why it was so bad, but it was the connection piece. The less connected we are with kids, the more it hurts and the more it becomes just a job,” he said. ”And this isn’t a job, but it’s a calling, like all service personnel out there. So there are days when I feel stressed, but I always feel better when I step into a classroom. And I think that’s true for a lot of educators.”

Healing

There are some ways that educators are coping with this struggle. Eckman shared how the union helps staff struggling with mental health. “We have what is called the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and we have pamphlets that can help with that. There are also lists that the IEA [Illinois Education Association] provides and the SCEA provides of therapists and people that are local to help with that program.”

Administrative assistant Michelle Steele explained the ways that the school helps staff with their mental health. “I see it through the counselors’ emails […] and then we also have the Hope Club.”

Bulman also talked about the positive parts of being a teacher, saying, “There is a lot of stability with education, despite all the changes. […] It’s not a cutthroat industry. We’re not just cutting people loose to say good luck for the next place; we want to foster the growth of education, and so that is unique, I think, to this field or any public sector.”

Principal Richter always says, “Happy teachers make happy kids,” according to Bulman. “[Richter] believes that to his core, he really does. I think without that support, this would be really hard,” he added.

Regarding the topic of teachers’ salaries, Bulman added that teachers are “theoretically like nine to 10-month employees. So if you were to extrapolate our compensation, are we underpaid for our education? Yes, absolutely. […] That stinks because your investment in what you actually put into yourself doesn’t pay off for 25 years,” he said. ”[But] I’ve always been one to say, I always want more money, but I’m okay with where I am. There are parts of this job that I really, really enjoy. If I went private sector and did something else, I could probably make a ton more and be a lot more unhappy.”

Conclusion

It is clear that teachers, like many career paths, struggle with their mental health because of a lack of respect for the profession, worsening student behavior and the social stigma surrounding mental health. Many teachers have gone to seek help with their mental health, but there’s still a lot of work to do. The question now lies not in why mental health is a struggle for so many teachers but in how to change the way society treats educators in this country.