“Can’t go over it, can’t go under it, can’t go around it, got to go through it.”

This is where we last left you on August 25, and since then the city of New Orleans has most definitely gone THROUGH it. Hurricane Ida made landfall with varying degrees of impact on people across the state. For most of us, the storm wasn’t really even a concern until Wednesday or Thursday of that week. It was indeed a classic case of, “You can never expect the unexpected.” Within just a matter of a few days, people had to decide if they would fortify their homes and stay put, or try to arrange an evacuation plan with family members and pets alike (for one neighbor, this meant traveling with her partner, one turkey, four chickens, and two dogs…all in a small sedan). The city itself felt tense and under duress in a way we had not experienced New Orleans. We had been here for previous hurricanes, but there was something that felt different this time. There was more panic, there was more indecision, there was more whispering and asking the neighbors, “Well are you gonna stay or are you gonna go?” as people looked for affirmation and assurance.

The fact that the Category 4 storm was landing on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina 16 years later was not lost on us as a significant factor: the people had been traumatized, and they had not forgotten. No two experiences were the same, but all were emotionally disrupting. As people who stayed dealt with the lack of power, water, food, and resources; others who evacuated had their own concerns including money for food and temporary housing, and the condition of their house back home. As the hurricane swept through our community, it left behind devastation that we are still recovering from on a daily basis. It created a prolonged, high-stress continuum where we were solely focused on how to survive. For some, this stage (has) lasted much longer than for others. Attempting to do anything but move from one minute to the next took immense mental capacity that simply didn’t exist. Simple actions that would normally require minimal exertion was taking total body investment to complete. Tasks that normally require no emotional nor cognitive demand were all of a sudden exhausting.

On any given day, our priority is always to satisfy our most basic needs. Then and only then, can we have room to expand and grow in other spaces. In this case, we were trying to meet our basic needs, but we had added emotional and physical duress to the situation. When this occurs, it increases the demand on your mental and emotional capacity available in order to complete these tasks. Initially, many were simply surviving, but now several weeks later (while many of us are still residing in this space and still experiencing post traumatic and/or secondary stress) students and staff are returning to schools and expected to be thriving.

In order for us to better understand how this impacts students and staff who constantly live in a survival state like this, it is important to take a deeper look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. While there is ample research, a basic overview of the concept of our human needs includes 5 domains: physiological needs, safety needs, love/relationship needs, esteem needs, and self actualization needs. These needs are listed in order of importance on a spectrum in order for human beings to progress from surviving to having the emotional and cognitive availability to flourish and grow.

First and foremost, if our physiological and safety needs are not meant we are operating in a state of trauma where mental and emotional capacity for any other demand is non-existent. Think of how many of our students in our classrooms exist in this space all year long, for indefinite amounts of time. It is nearly impossible for them to engage in any sort of meaningful learning or relationship building. Similarly, staff members may also exist in this space, not only for themselves but also in providing for family members.

Once we feel physically secure and safe, the next need we have is emotional safety. This is based on whether or not we feel loved, accepted, cared for, and connected to others. Once we feel secure in love and belonging, we start to need to feel secure within ourselves, which looks like healthy self-esteem and respect for ones strengths and choices.

Lastly, self-actualization occurs when the preceding four domains are in vertical alignment. In this domain you have the emotional and cognitive availability to be the best you can be; to want to thrive and grow and do better since none of your energy is devoted to meeting your other needs because they are already met.

Knowing more about these needs, it is easy to understand our brief hiatus. While neither of us were as significantly impacted in the way others were, our hierarchy of needs was still disrupted. This resulted in our mutual feeling that we did not have any cognitive availability during this time for anything else, even something that brings us joy. We both recognized that we needed to step back and focus on securing our foundational needs. It made us both appreciate our understanding of social and emotional competence because we recognized what a powerful asset it was in navigating this stressful time. It was easier to be secure in our love, esteem and actualization because of it, which means we had more capacity for filling the basic needs.

This is a powerful realization because, as educators, we don’t have control over students physiological and safety needs outside of the school setting, but we do have control over their social and emotional capacity building. This means we can indirectly influence their domains of acceptance, esteem and actualization, both inside AND outside of school. If we can meet (albeit temporarily) those base needs of a student being safe, nourished, and feeling loved, we can significantly grow their coping skills, esteem, and self-actualization. We can fortify their resilience to help them carry themselves through times of scarcity and duress.

For us, these were critical skills, not only to navigate the situation, but to also get back to Rogue. It is a source of joy and our own self-actualization. And although this is something that adds value to our lives, we are both finding that during this time of rebuilding, we are still struggling to allocate the mental capacity and consistency that is needed to continue to grow this passion of ours.

So if you or your students are also struggling in this space, give both of yourselves compassion and kindness, because those are without question, basic human needs.

Our “why”. It can be something small. It can be something grand. It simply needs to provide meaning to our lives. We all have a purpose, a passion and a drive that provides reasoning behind our decisions. Even within one profession, a simple answer can be the same, but the roots of it might be diverse and inspiring. They are what push us to move, dig deep, and show up. It isn’t easy. In fact, it is a daily struggle, but with our personal knowledge of why we do it, it makes showing up attainable.

As teachers, it is easy for many of us to name our why: the kids. We show up on a daily basis to provide holistic instruction to our students so they can be successful in their future lives. For some of us, we are driven by our own experiences as a student. We want to meet the bar a teacher set for us; others, we may want to do better by our students than was done for us. Some may be motivated to invest in students as the most precious resource for the future, while others see it as a way to inspire others to greatness.

The more we unpack this answer, the more detailed, personal reasoning comes to light. Students being centered at the heart of our why can be a double-edged sword though. It can push us past the limits we thought we had, but also hold us to an unhealthy moral expectation: that we should give all until we have nothing left for the children. Kids should be the why that drives our ambition and success but not levied against a teacher’s guilt quotient for having personal boundaries around work. Student joy and achievement should be the reinforcement for our time and effort, not something we seek at any cost to our (or their) mental and emotional health.

We may all be working towards the same goal. However, the impetus that pushes us towards that finish line varies from one person to the next. For us here at Rogue, we do this work as teachers because equity, accessibility, and social & emotional well-being matter. We do it because providing all students the opportunity to learn and grow holistically is how we shape our future society. We do it, simply, because every single individual should be awarded the same opportunity. In our time as educators, we have come to understand that, systemically, we are failing to meet the needs of all students (and even staff).

From our experience, teachers are expected to shape the world by leading their students to the knowledge that will allow them to be successful with little to no resources in social emotional instruction. In the beginning, we assumed it was because the field just hadn’t caught up with the times. As time marched on and the gap persisted, an idea took root that maybe we couldn’t simply wait for someone else to get it right. That root has taken us here to this new space, because sometimes a lack of something also propels us into action. We may not get everything right, nor always be the voices who should be taking center stage, but we will take as many steps as we need to help close the gap and elevate the voices of those who should be leading the charge. Because for us, that is the “how” to ensure we do everything for our “why”.

“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” – T.D. Jakes

-Rogue Out