TRB 1

TRB 1 states that “Educators value and care for all students and act in their best interests.” I strongly believe that upholding this Standard is critical, especially when we are working with children. As a parent, I am very aware of the fact that when my children are at school I have entrusted their care to the teachers and other employees working in the public school system. Knowing teachers are expected to uphold the standards detailed in TRB1 gives parents like myself more confidence in the public education system. Likewise, as a pre-service teacher, I willingly accept the responsibilities associated with TRB Standard 1, and will endeavour to keep the students’ development, dignity, human rights and safety at the forefront of my daily practice. I will remember that the students’ families and caregivers are depending on me to take care of them and act in their best interest. 

The evidence piece I have chosen to support my TRB1 Reflection is a copy of my first Observation Report which documented my response to a first aid incident involving a student in the classroom. I have redacted any specific identifiers which might link this event to the individuals involved, on the scan of the Observation Report.

In the report, the practicum supervisor that was observing my first lesson with this class, recorded that I, “Handled the disruption well—fainting.” The fact that a health related incident like this occurred on my first day of practicum, during the first class I taught, was a great reminder to me that challenging events will happen regardless of how many years of experience as a teacher I have or how ready for them I might be. As a teacher, I need to draw on all my skills, life experience, and academic training in order to ensure the emotional and physical safety of students. This evidence piece documents my ability to quickly and effectively respond to the needs of the student that fainted, while keeping in mind the safety and needs of the rest of the class. 

Reflecting on this incident, also expanded my Frame of Reference to include, making a personal commitment as an educator, to maintaining a reasonable level of first aid certification despite the lack of official requirement to do so. My personal background includes many years of lifeguarding and swimming instruction so despite not being up to date on my first aid certification at the time, I was still able to respond quickly when the student fainted. Although my mentors indicated that they felt I handled the incident effectively, the unexpectedness of it, highlighted my personal desire to make sure my first aid training is current so that I have the skills I need to help other people, including students, in future emergency situations. I am presently registered in a course to update my Standard First Aid, to ensure I am certified before I go back into a school for my final practicum. 

In addition to signalling a need for me to update my First Aid training, this fainting incident was a concrete reminder that teaching is not a theoretical exercise. Teaching involves real people in real situations and requires the educator’s full participation and attention. Through taking my responsibilities as a teacher seriously in terms of the emotional and physical safety of students, I am demonstrating a level of respect for students and an appreciation of their inherent value as members of the community at large. In addition to caring for the physical safety of students through knowing how to respond to various situations in terms of injury, health problems, hazards, etc., first aid training teaches sensitivity to the connection between emotions and physical health, which is very relevant when it comes to treating students with respect and dignity.

This awareness is reflected through the practice of remaining calm, evaluating the safety of the scene, removing bystanders not only for their own safety but also out of respect for the injured person’s likely feelings of embarrassment. The sponsor teacher that assisted in caring for the student in this situation commented during a debrief on my lesson afterwards that my removing the rest of the students from the area was an excellent and well executed first response to the situation for precisely this reason. Secondary school students are particularly sensitive to how they appear to their peers so respecting their privacy and dignity in this type of situation is paramount. 

After clearing the room, the sponsor teacher attended to the student one on one, and I told the remaining students to stay seated at their desks in the adjoining classroom and work on their ongoing projects while I went for help. Fortunately, as part of my preparation for practicum I had recently had a conversation with the one staff member who also acts as the first aid attendant at the school. As a result, I knew the procedure for finding them in the case of emergency: first check across the hall in their classroom area, and then if they aren’t there, contact the office staff who will then call them so they could respond to the situation as quickly as possible. When I was finished going through this procedure, I restarted the lesson and returned my attention to the needs of the rest of the students. As I was teaching, some of the students started to ask questions and make comments about the incident. At this point the student that had fainted had been taken down to the first aid room at the office so I was able to respond by explaining to them how people are often quite embarrassed when they have a health problem that requires attention. I then requested that they please be sensitive to and respectful of their classmate’s feelings, through avoiding gossiping about the incident. I also reminded the class that the most important thing at his point was that their classmate was not hurt badly and that we should focus on them feeling better soon.

Because of my particular situation, I was able to debrief the experience with both my sponsor teacher and the practicum supervisor at the end of the class. Reflecting on the incident was very helpful in terms of both learning from their feedback on the incident and hearing about their own personal experiences dealing with student injuries. I was also able to consider how I would have handled the situation differently if I had been on my own in the classroom vs. being in a situation where there were two other highly experienced teachers in the room. For instance, asking a responsible student to call or go down to the office to have them alert the first aid attendant. I also considered letting students know in the future, that if they are feeling overheated or crowded or unwell at any time during our class that they should try to sit down or let the teacher know. Remind them that we are there to help them if they need us.

In terms of analyzing my response to this situation relative to TRB 1, I feel I demonstrated that I had the students’ best interest in mind. For instance, when the student fainted I felt that they would be most comfortable in the hands of the teacher they already trusted and had a relationship with versus someone like myself who had just come in to teach for the first time that day. As a result, I asked the practicum supervisor to get the sponsor teacher, even as I was moving around the table to attend to the student who fainted. Events feel like they are all happening at once during an incident like this, so it seemed the sponsor teacher was next to me in an instant, which allowed me to turn my attention to clearing out the rest of the students right away. I didn’t really think about the details of my response  at the time, it was just a natural reaction. 

Upon reflection, I feel that knowing when to ask for help—from other support staff and service providers—is a vital part of being able to meet the needs of students in terms of their emotional, esthetic, intellectual, physical, social and vocational development. Likewise, teachers need to help students through connecting them with the appropriate qualified support staff available to them whether it is the first aid attendant or one of the student counsellors. As teachers we can better uphold the standards described in TRB 1 through being aware of our professional strengths and weaknesses and therefore knowing when we need to consult with people with more expertise than we might have on any given area concerning students from diversity to vocational advice. Making a concerted effort to provide students with the best possible support shows that we as educators are acting in their best interests.

This experience provided me with a valuable opportunity to refine my views as a teacher on the level of responsibility we have as educators with respect to caring for our students. I feel we need to provide students with a safe classroom culture and model our expectations that people be treated with dignity and respect. We need to show students that they are valued, that their diversity is respected, and that as educators we will use our privileged position of power and trust to do our utmost to protect them from any abuse or exploitation, both in school and in the community.