Teaching – its like a sharp blow to the back of the head
Thursday breaktime, the day before February half term, six tough teaching weeks in the cold, dark winter months are coming to a close as I stand in the staff room, enjoying a coffee and chatting to a colleague …
Thwack!
I feel a sharp, heavy blow to the back of my head. Shock, surprise and pain wash over me in equal measure as I drop to one knee to try and take stock of what has just happened. My wits return and I realise that the colleague apologising profusely had accidently knocked over a speaker, which had swung down like a pendulum, striking me a blow on the back of the head. “Was I alright?” everyone was asking me, and I was asking myself the same question. The back of my head hurt, but was there anything else to worry about? I wasn’t too sure – I’ve seen a few nasty head injuries in my time (mainly on the sports pitch) to know you need to be very careful and cautious with any blow to the head.
I did think that if I was compos mentis enough to worry about being concussed, I probably wasn’t, but I couldn’t shake that nagging doubt, so 30 mins after the incident I self-referred myself to the school nurse who checked me out, said I was probably OK, but gave me a head injury advice sheet, which included a list of symptoms to watch out for, and to take further medical advice if any of them manifested themselves.
And this was where my problems really began!
How could I differentiate these from just being a teacher 6 weeks in from the last break?
- Feeling tired, no energy
- Irritable
- Bothered by light or noise
- Difficulty concentrating
- Headache
I would say I was exhibiting all those symptoms, but I probably had them all before my accident.
It turns out I wasn’t concussed, and as soon as half-term arrived the next day all those symptoms rapidly dissipated with a bit of rest.
But it did make me realise a half-term of teaching is like a blow to the back of the head, it just takes a little longer for the effects to materialise.
Stay safe (and, unlike this blog post, always treat any head injury with respect and caution – it could be serious.)