Menstruality and GCSE examinations

Once a month I noticed a year 11 student refused to engage in the lessons.  She would get her make-up out, back chat and appear lazy. For the other three weeks she generally tried hard. In the run up to her exams the time she spent distracted increased. Armed with Menstrual Cycle Awareness (knowledge of the cyclical nature of menstruality), I did not punish her, instead I had a conversation:

Me: You seem on edge, you seem annoyed, with me and the work. What’s going on? Is there something you want to tell me?

Pupil:  You’re right Miss, I am on edge.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I feel horrible and keep getting upset.

Me: You don’t have to answer this, but just as a thought, are you waiting for your period to come?

Pupil: OMG Miss! How did you know? It’s 4 days late!

Me: There we go then, no wonder you’re on edge. I’ve experienced that too – lots of times- usually when I’m stressed. How are you feeling about everything?

Pupil: I am sooooo stressed. I feel sick about the exams and every teacher is putting pressure on us. I can’t do it.

Me:  You will be able to do it. We need to calm your body down first, there’s no point trying to push through without listening to it.  Once your body is calmer it will feel safe to bleed – then you won’t feel so on edge, it will be easier to concentrate.  What I’d like you to do for the rest of this lesson is two things:

1. Think about what it is you can do this evening that will relax you – whatever it is – a long bath, snuggled up with chocolate and your favourite film etc.

2. Choose the one revision thing you could do now – even though you’re feeling on edge. Just choose one thing and focus on that for today.

The pupil remained focused and calm for the rest of the lesson. The following lesson she was back ‘en forme’ and able to focus on her revision programme.

My awareness of the menstrual cycle enabled this pupil to learn.

I know of a male colleague who was able to support one of his pupils in a similar way.

There is power in this Menstruality knowledge for our Education System.

What is Menstruality?

Simply: Menstrual cycles are a canary. They can give a society valuable feedback on the wellbeing and stress levels of a particular environment.

You may have heard about the sportspeople or ballet dancers who put their bodies through extremities – their periods are delayed; the body is put under extreme stress and hence menstruation cannot come, this has detrimental effects on the person’s health. Similarly, often when people are ill with, for example, an eating disorder, they may experience cessation of menstruation.

Before these extreme circumstances there are many, many clues, nuances and insights that menstrual cycles can help us with. When menstrual cycles are not regular they tell us that something is amiss. Just like the headache that reminds you, you need more sleep, or the cold that tells you you’re run down. It is a warning system. I won’t go into further detail here, but if you want to know more or have questions read the incredible Wild Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjane Hugo Wurlitzer (reference below).

What’s this got to do with GCSEs and Education?

Once, as an educator, you comprehend even just this first simple step about mensturality you can learn how it provides information about our education lives, systems and attitudes.

An example and some questions:

During GCSE examinations some, usually regularly menstruating biologically female staff, experience a hiatus with their bleeds for up to three months during the exam preparation time.

Some questions:

• Why would a group of women, working in the same environment stop bleeding collectively?

• What does this information tell us about the exam period?

• Would it be appropriate to suspect that other health/stress/wellbeing issues are intertwined?

• If the menstruating women experience this, what do other non-menstruating workers’ symptoms look like?

• Does this collective stress symptom suggest a productive/successful environment in which to teach and examine?

I will be delving into further research and observations in this area, alongside colleagues. I would be interested to hear of your experiences of menstruality and education. Please get in contact.

Reference:

 – Wild Power: Discover the Magic of Your Menstrual Cycle and Awaken the Feminine Path to Power – Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, Hay House UK Ltd, 2017

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