"If I only knew. I'd have done something." So... learn!

We often hear comments like this when a crisis happens. We have probably said it ourselves. The guilt we feel as we sit comfortably in our armchairs, and watch others suffer on TV news, facebook videos and tweets, can result in either of two reactions- mobilising us or paralysing us.

Those with an extra dose of empathy will imagine what it would be like if that happened to our families, our children, our parents. We can be overwhelmed with the emotions and may even experience a kind of second-degree trauma. These emotions can stir us to action. We look for something we can do to alleviate that helpless feeling and to appease the guilt of being safe and intact. We give money, we sponsor children, we share videos and articles on social media. We feel better. We may even pat ourselves on the back.

These experiences can often initiate a period of time where we feel incredibly grateful to live in our country and to be as privileged as we are. We wonder why we are here and they are there. We are told to hug our children tighter and soak up the experience of being together and unharmed. So we do. And we relish our comfort. We're thankful.

But then there are the times when we keep on scrolling, or changing the channel, when another horrifying image confronts us. We become averse to feeling the guilt or the responsibility. So we avoid the knowing. It's understandable. Perhaps it's even necessary.

Compassion fatigue can occur among first responders and health care professionals when they operate empathically in traumatic situations. They can even experience the same symptoms as their patients. (Babbel, 2012) Comapssion fatigue can also occur as a result of being bombarded with images and stories of human suffering day in and day out on social media.

Whilst we all have a capacity to give and keep on giving, we may become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of new stories crying out for our help.

So what do we do, as caring teachers? How can we engage with the global community in a meaningful way and still be able to get out of bed each morning to face the demands of our own caring profession?

How do we deal with the problems we face in our own classrooms and still be a contributer to improving lives of others we hear about round the world?

I believe that we can do a lot if we follow the mantra written by Edward Everett Hale:

I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

This quote was written by the author and clergyman back at the end of the 19th century. But it could have been written about how to approach the humanitarian response to crises in an instantaneous reporting, social media drenched world.

As a teacher I know a lot about children and education. I know a lot about literacy and numeracy and I can share that knowledge and passion with others. I can follow my passion wherever it leads me if I am prepared to learn about where it might be needed.

I've decided that I won't be bombarded anymore, but I will look. I will seek for where my skills are needed. I will do the thing that I can do and keep imagining what else I can do next.

I'm realising that I might just have an answer for a problem that exists somewhere in the world. My experiences with navigating and solving problems in my little country and remote community schools may have equipped me to assist people elsewhere on the planet.

I will learn where the needs are and I will seek for ideas and solutions. I will offer to help, and maybe I just will.

Can you even imagine???

Living remote: what it has taught me about possibility.

Ideas... the source of solutions.

"If I only knew. I'd have done something." So... learn!

Comments