Case 1: it Must Be Fate: Unleashing the Power of Collaboration in Standard 8

At the very core of effective teaching is the teacher–student relationship. This relationship is thoughtfully designed and nurtured by the teacher, with most often, the greatest of selfless intentions. A teacher gives their limitless care, time, and patience to each learner, beginning the day of their first meeting, and over time, develops mutual trust, respect, and open communication. It is this relationship that ultimately inspires students’ love for learning, and fuels the teacher’s love for teaching, until, of course, the teacher has no more to give.

A teacher’s state of mind and mental health directly impacts their students (Forst, 2020). While the teacher–student relationship is essential and of paramount significance to effective teaching and learning, research suggests the nurtured relationships present teachers with the risk of experiencing secondary trauma (Miller & Flint-Stipp, 2019). Miller and Flint-Stipp (2019) define secondary trauma as the duress experienced from learning about a traumatic event from someone with whom a meaningful relationship exists. A teacher nurtures relationships intimately with their learners when they celebrate their success and accomplishments, or share their loss, heartbreak, and grief alongside them. On a daily basis, students experience food and shelter insecurities, loss of loved ones, threats to their safety, concerns about family structure, and more. As teachers support students through hardship, they may internalize their hardships as their own. This internalization makes teachers vulnerable to secondary trauma exposure and can result in physical, mental, and emotional consequences that compromise their general health. Prolonged secondary trauma results in high stress levels, increased anxiety, and exhaustion commonly known as teacher burnout (Forst, 2020).