On Tuesday evening, USC Rossier School of Education will host a panel as part of their “Grand Challenges and Opportunities” series. The series is centered on the overall well-being of teachers, students, and everybody in education spaces today.
The panel is called “Uplifting Educators: Teachers & Faculty Perspectives,” organized in part by Professor Zoë Corwin. As a research faculty at USC Rossier, Corwin has studied education from kindergarten to higher education for over 20 years.
Corwin said one of the key problems in education today is that faculty is too isolated from one another. The panel will explore this subject along with others like how faculty members can take care of their students and themselves in a more holistic way.
“Teachers and faculty experience a lot of burnout, and it’s really hard caring for others especially if they’re dealing with intense issues,” said Corwin.
The ongoing speaker series aims to re-imagine mental health and wellness in education. Corwin hopes these themes resonate with attendees.
“Our whole goal has been to really stimulate dialogue about: What does it mean to be well? And what does that look like in learning environments? And how might we think differently and care for each other differently? [A] strong emphasis on humanistic approaches to well-being,” said Corwin.
She noted that an important part of this well-being is that faculty have a support system and can lean on each other.
“I’ve been here for a long time, and I have definitely sought out ways to connect with different faculty members, staff members, and students in different campus spaces around common interests, or to figure out how we might address different issues. And that for me has been a beautiful part of my time here at the university,” said Corwin.
Going at it alone is usually not good for well-being. Tuesday night’s panel at USC Rossier hopes to reinforce this and other solutions for educators.