Unpacking Mother Mule with Molly Griffin
Hi, friends!
Welcome to ‘Unpacking Mother Mule’ with Molly Griffin.
This discussion with my friend Molly was so special. She is an incredibly kind and thoughtful soul, who serves her family and people well. Her background is in school counseling, but she recently took over the role of Assistant Principal at a middle school. Molly shares so many beautiful insights into the world of education, and she shines a light on the struggles that families and schools have had to face over the past two years.
‘Unpacking Mother Mule’ with Molly Griffin: Assistant Principal and Mama
A Bit About Molly
Molly graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2005, with a degree in psychology. A natural planner, she went into event planning immediately after graduating. Like so many, Molly’s career path took a turn during the recession of 2008. She decided to pursue a master's degree in counseling, specifically school counseling. She graduated in 2011 with an MS in Counseling, emphasis in school counseling and marriage and family therapy. She began working as a school counselor immediately at a high school and then after a year, moved to the middle school level. She has spent the last 10+ years serving middle schools, and most recently became the Assistant Principal at the school where she had formally served as a counselor. Here is my conversation with Molly:
How are burnout and overwhelm present in your work and life?
“We have a saying that goes: ‘it takes a certain breed to work at the middle years level.’”
As a working mom to three little ones, I feel I am often in a state of overwhelm these days. As an educator, I can say that now more than ever, our work has become extremely demanding. As a counselor at the beginning of the pandemic, we were thrown into a world of zoom telehealth style counseling visits, that not many middle schoolers were interested in. Once it was clear that we would not be returning to school in person for some time, my team and I built a variety of lessons we could present virtually in classrooms. It was strange to enter a virtual classroom and see many blank squares - cameras turned off and microphones muted.
“ I see burnout and overwhelm at an alarming rate in education.”
My hat goes off to teachers - these past few years have been unlike any other and this profession has adapted in the blink of an eye. What's amazing to me is how these educators have grown - they have gone from traditional classroom teachers, to Zoom instructors building interactive notebooks and using technology in amazing ways, to dual-style teacher (to students in person AND at home simultaneously), and now back to in-person. They have to provide access to curriculum at the drop of a hat to any student who needs to quarantine or is ill. Their work has had to be fluid, and for many veteran teachers, this has been a huge shift. I see burnout and overwhelm at an alarming rate in education. Now more than ever we are seeing the wage gap issue. At the beginning of the pandemic when we were all homeschooling our children and working, teachers were, for the first time, highly recognized and praised in our country. Only to not return to in person instruction, and be crucified for a decision they had no control over.
“As a school leader, I see all of this in action and my heart hurts for our students, our families, and our teachers.”
Then came the issue of masks and safety for themselves and their students. Now it is not like this everywhere, but they do feel the effects of it. And in this current year, especially at the middle school level, we are seeing students not know how to behave and act. So our teachers are working with students who are not only behind academically, but behaviorally as well. And many if not most, very much care about this issue. As a school leader, I see all of this in action and my heart hurts for our students, our families, and our teachers. All have suffered and struggled, and now we have to figure out a way to come through this next phase of the pandemic together.
How do you personally manage burnout and overwhelm?
“We have to take care of ourselves.”
For myself, managing the overwhelm can be difficult. I am lucky to have a fantastic partner and support system (2 very involved and helpful grandmas, and daily childcare). I also have friends both professionally and personally I can turn to. And as a counselor I am a HUGE advocate for counseling and just started going myself! We have to take care of ourselves. I have found myself putting off activities or self-care things that are important to me like working out, taking time for myself, etc. I do find that I need to come home and digest my day with my partner - it helps to have a sounding board for what I'm experiencing. Recently my goal for 2022 has been to focus on my own self-care - for me that looks like prioritizing exercise, healthy diet, but ice cream when I need it, too! Taking time for myself or putting down my phone and just being with my family and enjoying time together. I've been reading more than ever - and not work related books! I just need an escape some days, and it has helped tremendously.
Are you seeing burnout in students too?
Absolutely. I do think our students are happy to be back in school and in-person for the most part. But they are burnt out on computers and digital platforms. They miss art, and music, and lab dissections, and projects! They miss group work, and lunchtime activities, and sports. So it has been wonderful to see this come together more and more this year.
what tools do you offer them to help cope with their burnout?
“What I do see our students doing is taking care of each other. ”
As educators we have to inform and remind students about self-care as much as we do for each other. Access to online wellness resources, music, virtual field trips to the Monterey Aquarium, things they can enjoy while apart, or enjoy during hard moments. I often referred students to various apps like the Calm App to help them find ways to meditate or just be. We also saw overwhelm with the return to school - some felt that the social aspect was overwhelming to come back to. So taking their time, pacing themselves, etc. What I do see our students doing is taking care of each other. There is a respect for decisions (ie. to wear a mask or not) and just to encourage and support each other. Students are sensitive about the needs of others and share if they are worried about a friend or someone they know. There is an urgency to help, due to the heightened need for mental health services at the onset of the pandemic. So while it has been hard to see our youth experience the overwhelm and burnout from school and the pandemic, there have been positive outcomes as well.