From The Winnipeg Free Press–Not long after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, the challenges of working outside in all conditions — owing to physical distancing requirements in schools — prompted the educator to begin experiencing symptoms of burnout, exhaustion and depression.
Morison said those feelings reached a new height in March 2020, when he received a call from the hospital that his wife, who was pregnant with their second child, had a stillbirth.
Following a brief leave from work, the teacher said he returned to find himself constantly reminded about the child he lost. Morison said it was around that time, after school and on the weekends, he found comfort in rediscovering Lego while spending significant downtime constructing miniature models with his son.
During a spring unit on mental health and well-being, he decided to share his struggles and disclose how Lego had become an unlikely tool for personal perseverance.
The phys-ed teacher said he realized his openness was a valuable lesson in it shattered stereotypes about tough male athletes, made students grappling with their own anxieties feel validated, and started conversations about healthy coping mechanisms.
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