Teaching is an incredibly difficult, and often thankless job. Long hours, noisy classrooms, crowded hallways, constant lesson planning (check out some of the great lessons in The Character Effect™ curriculum to save you some time and energy!), and of course hours of grading make self-care even more critical!
What is self-care?
Quite simply, self-care is acknowledging that you need to take time for yourself, to take an active role in improving your well-being, especially during times of stress. While our social and emotional curriculum can’t give you a spa day (though you certainly deserve it!) we can help you take the time to focus on you, even a few minutes each day can make a big difference in your well-being.
To being approaching self-care, start by thinking about a time when you are performing at your best as a teacher. Think of a day where everything went well, and you really connected with your students.
- What made those days special?
- How were you feeling during that day?
- What did your students experience from you during those days?
- What did you do to help make that day special?
You were probably well-prepared on your most successful days. Some level of careful planning went into making those days special. You were likely feeling well physically and emotionally on those days. Practicing self-care gives you more opportunities to feel a sense of confidence and satisfaction from your job. It is important that you build in time for self-care to help you remain mentally sharp and increase the frequency of these special days. Remember, self-care should be practiced when you need it most; during the school year, not just on spring, winter, or summer breaks.
Start by believing that self-care is important and can improve your ability to perform in the classroom every day. Breaking down the stigma of what self-care means is a big part of understanding yourself. Understand that self-care is not just complex yoga moves or hours-long meditations. In this video, Susannah Winters discuss how self-care can be simply just taking a couple of deep breaths.
Don’t feel like you have to set aside two hours every day to self-care so you can be a model to your students and school staff members. Here is a link to 20 self-care activates that would take less than 10 minutes (some only 1 or 2 minutes). https://www.confidentlife.com.au/20-quick-self-care-activities-can-10-mins-less/
As a teacher, you want to develop students academically, but you also want to produce positive socially and emotionally mature students. Part of that process is modeling and promoting self-care practices. Be willing to push yourself outside your comfort zone to learn more about self-care, as it might serve your student well this school year.
