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Empowering Educators to Thrive, Not Just Survive
Maybe you want to apply for a promotion, a new position, or an award, but you just need some support and help to do it. Let’s talk! Schedule a 15-minute chat with me to discuss how I can support you in your journey!
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From Survive to Thrive Teacher Program
The From Survive to Thrive Teacher Program is an opportunity for you to be part of a collaborative, positive, empowering group of like-minded teachers facilitated by a professional life coach (that’s me!). So think of it as the cathartic power of relating to a colleague after a long tough day combined with the encouraging accountability of a coach that keeps you looking forward instead of stagnated in negativity!
Here are the details:
- A small group setting (4-6 teachers max)
- Meeting virtually (via phone) from anywhere across the country
- Once a week for one hour (we want to keep momentum driving but not take too much of your busy teacher time!)
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Sustainable Teaching: Building a Career You Don’t Need to Recover From
Teaching stands as a career that combines both high rewards with significant challenges. School teachers commit to developing students through personal sacrifice which sometimes harms their personal health. Teaching professionals experience burnout when they do not manage their long hours and emotional demands along with multiple duties effectively. Sustainable teaching provides teachers with a method to establish a rewarding career that keeps them energized and avoids requiring extensive recovery time. Educators who implement strategies that focus on balance together with well-being and efficiency create careers that deliver meaningful results and sustain their professional journey.
Understanding Sustainable Teaching
Teachers who practice sustainable teaching establish procedures which let them succeed in their work without affecting their private time. This approach emphasizes sustaining energy levels and maintaining enthusiasm together with health throughout an extended period. The teaching career spans like a marathon rather than a sprint thus demanding approaches that promote professional longevity.
Prioritizing Self-Care
Sustainable teaching depends on teachers practicing self-care as its fundamental principle. When teachers focus on their students’ requirements over their own they risk burning out and losing their classroom teaching effectiveness. The three pillars of physical and mental health maintenance consist of exercise practice and healthy eating habits and sufficient rest. Teaching professionals should pursue activities beyond their work responsibilities to obtain necessary relief from their occupational requirements.
Teachers who practice mindfulness techniques including meditation or yoga develop better stress management skills which helps them maintain presence in their daily activities. When teachers dedicate time to self-care activities they gain the ability to start their work with increased energy levels.
Setting Boundaries
Sustainable teaching requires teachers to create distinct limits that separate their work duties from their personal life. Teaching professionals face continuous pressure to stay accessible at any time since they must answer emails throughout the night and complete work during their personal days. The ability to always be reachable results in professional exhaustion.
Teachers should establish particular work hours that they follow to establish a clear division between their professional duties and their private life. Teachers must establish clear work boundaries which they need to communicate to their colleagues alongside students and their parents to create mutual understanding and respect. Teachers who protect their personal time achieve a better work-life balance which prevents them from becoming overwhelmed.
Streamlining Workloads
Teaching sustainability requires efficient work methods. Teachers should focus their time and energy on essential student learning activities which bring maximum results while reducing their work on non-essential tasks. The use of technology tools in grading and lesson planning eliminates both time and effort requirements.
The reduction of workload depends heavily on teachers who collaborate with their colleagues. Teamwork develops through co-planning lessons and resource sharing and delegation of responsibilities which reduces individual workload. Teachers can reach superior educational results through strategic work methods instead of excessive efforts which leads to burnout.
Fostering Positive Relationships
The development of strong connections with students and colleagues and administrators creates an environment of support at work. The development of positive interactions between teachers builds school community and unified purpose which helps teachers handle their teaching challenges. Teachers should celebrate student accomplishments together with team successes because these events increase school morale and enhance the joy of teaching.
Conclusion
Sustainable teaching produces an energizing career experience instead of one that causes exhaustion. Educators who make self-care a priority combined with boundary creation and efficient workload management and relationship building will develop careers that provide satisfaction without recovery needs. Teachers benefit through this approach which leads to improved student learning because educators deliver their best performance every day at school.
How to Recover from Teacher Burnout
It’s been a really stressful school year, and a record number of teachers are reporting feeling the effects of teacher burnout. As you finish up the school year and begin your summer break, I have some tips for you on how to recover from teacher burnout.
Ah summer. It’s a glorious and much-anticipated time for any teacher in any year. But no summer is more welcome than this summer – the summer of 2021. After coping with the increased demands that the COVID-19 pandemic brought, teachers are breathing a collective sigh of relief and thinking “how in the world am I going to recover from this year so that I can eventually comprehend the idea of going back for another year?!” How will you recover from your teacher burnout?
You aren’t alone – Teacher Burnout is a second pandemic
I actually had a new client ask me last week, “Is it just me? Or are others out there feeling this way?” Let me reassure you… you are not alone. A review of education research shows that teacher burnout is a worldwide pandemic and has been for some time! Stress is the most common reason that teachers leave the profession, and this year, over 50% of the teachers that left teaching named their concerns about how the COVID-19 pandemic was being handled and going back to in-person learning as the main reason for their leaving. Double-whammy! This has prompted some to wisely encourage education and community leaders to worry about teacher loss as much (if not more) than learning loss from the pandemic.
So – NO – you are NOT alone. If you are feeling like you have just clung for dear life to the very thread-bare ends of your rope, you are actually in good company.
Signs of burnout
Let’s first define burnout: Burnout is a state of chronic stress that will eventually lead to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. While the symptoms listed below is not a complete list of symptoms of burnout, here are the things I see the most from my teacher clients:
A short fuse: Are strong emotions floating just below the surface? Or are you easily “triggered” or “set off”? Are you more irritable with colleagues and/or students?
Trouble sleeping even when exhausted: You may find yourself falling asleep quickly, but not able to sleep through the night. Once you are up, your mind is racing about all there is to do. Any unusual sleep patterns could be signs of stress and burnout.
No motivation: The stress is keeping you going, but you have no real motivation to keep moving at all. You just want to stop.
Physical symptoms: Sick more often, sick longer, headaches, changes in appetite, hair loss, stomach or bowel problems etc. Any unusual physical symptoms may be worth a double look for whether they might be caused by the stress you are experiencing.
Increased anxiety or rumination: Can’t let things go as quickly, worrying about things that normally wouldn’t bother you, etc.
Resentment and anger: Cynicism and resentment over the demands of your job, how you are treated, other people’s behaviors and choices etc.
Brain fog: Lack of focus or clear thoughts
These are some common symptoms but are by no means an exhaustive list. Your symptoms may be a little different, but you know it when you see/feel it.
How to recover from teacher burnout
Thankfully, as teachers, we do get some cyclical relief from many of the stressors that ail us – SUMMER BREAK! However, summer break is not always a “break” for many of us who may take on summer school, childcare duties, extra jobs, catching up on life etc. I know that there may be different stressors that enter the picture (more on that later in this post), but there is an end to this school year, and thus an opportunity to hit the reset button.
So – now that the light of summer is at the end of this tunnel of a school year, you may be starting to feel some relief and hope that your recovery from burnout is ahead! Here are some ways to recover from teacher burnout:
Physical Recovery
Remember that burnout is chronic stress. Which means, even after the stressors/root causes are eliminated (either because of summer break or with a targeted plan to address them), you’ll still need to physically recover from burnout. Physical recovery can include:
Sleep! – Intentional bed times, wake times and naps!
Exercise – Research correlates a good, heart-pumping, challenging sweat with completing the stress “cycle” in our bodies. It doesn’t have to be a ‘workout’ though, it can be a tough hike or a dance party!!
Restore – Gentle walking, yoga, stretching, gentle swimming/floating, sitting, laying down, and light massage are all excellent ways to restore your physical body.
Fuel – Take time to prepare delicious, comforting, and nutritious meals for yourself (whole foods are best for your body’s recovery).
Hydrate – Water is amazing and it does amazing things for your body!! As teachers, we are often dehydrated which leads to bodily stress, fatigue, and brain fog among other unsavory effects.
Emotional Recovery
Emotional recovery is about taking care of your heart, healing from the trauma and toxic positivity of this year and what you experienced, processing your emotions, and letting them work through you. As teachers, we are often so busy that we don’t have adequate processing time. Promising research supports that talking regularly about the emotions you experience daily as a teacher is some of the most powerful resilience-building you can do. Thus, using some time over the summer break to process and heal emotionally, can be extraordinarily powerful in recovering from burnout.
Here are some ways to recover emotionally from burnout:
Talk about it – Express yourself to a support person – a friend, family-member, coach, or therapist work great. Ask them to simply listen, witness, validate, and let you process it all aloud.
Journal – Everything you would say to another person (above), you can also write down. Write about what you are experiencing. What is the burnout like for you? How will you recover? Which things are you taking from this experience that will serve you in the future and in your life overall? What do you need to leave behind about this past year?
Be quiet – Sometimes we just need the silence to do the emotional recovery for us. When you’ve processed what you need to process, let your mind and heart experience quiet.
Encourage yourself – Take some time to reflect on what you learned about yourself this year. What superpowers did you access this year that you didn’t know were in you? What skills did you gain?
Consider your emotional “diet” – What does your mind/heart need to consume in order to recover emotionally? Maybe you need to laugh at some funny #teacherlife or #distancelearning memes. Maybe you need some good, soul-encouraging TV shows. There may be other things that you need to cut out (like social media for a little while, or stress-inducing TV).
Cognitive Recovery
Our mental energy can become depleted on the cognitive level making it difficult to make decisions, or desire to grow and change. It becomes hard to be in the present moment, and we spend more and more time in either the past (dwelling and ruminating) or the future (what’s coming). Summer gives you the ultimate cognitive energy recovery because it gives you a BREAK. Here are some ways to recover from cognitive burnout:
Download – If things keep popping into your mind without your permission (ruminating about the past or worrying about the future especially), it may be helpful to do a mental download or “brain dump”. Write it all out, then close your journal and “put it away” until it needs to be considered again.
Just be – Take breaks where you don’t do anything – just be. Give yourself as much time in between activities as possible. Give yourself margin to just BE.
Spiritual Recovery
Spiritual recovery is all about reigniting the drive and motivation needed to engage in your life in a meaningful and purposeful way. When you are burned out, you lose touch with your purpose and meaning and you can’t find the will to do anything that feels like a demand. Your spirit – your drive – is what makes even busy days feel fulfilling and meaningful. This is the difference between a “good tired” from working hard at something you love and “burnout tired” which is when the joy and excitement about life is gone.
To recovery your spiritual energy, consider these tips:
Get into nature – Go for a hike. Put your toes in the ocean. Get into nature however you most like to experience it. This helps ground us and reminds us of our connection to Life itself. We remember how small we are in the BIG picture of life. And that makes our problems feel smaller. Being in nature has been shown to have all sorts of positive mental health benefits.
Connect to your being – Spiritual energy doesn’t have to do with religion – but it does have to do with what you believe about life, about your worthiness, and about your place in the world. Meditation, prayer, spiritual reading, poetry, are all things that can help you connect to your broader purpose and meaning in life.
Connect back to your “why” – Many of the reasons that we all got into teaching were not possible this year (at least to their normal extent). So we are feeling dull and empty. Go back through your memory to find moments that inspire, encourage, and motivate you. Write them down. Journal about why you do what you do and why you think your job is important.
Meet with a coach or therapist – Sometimes we are so far “gone” that we need some external support to reignite this side of ourselves. It’s a sign of strength to ask for help when you need it. And nothing could be more important that reigniting your drive for life!
Relational Recovery
Relational recovery is all about connecting back to your community – your loved ones and friends. Teacher burnout can leave us lonely and isolated, so it’s important to reignite the sense of belonging that we all crave. At first, you may need to be cared for, but when you recover more, you’ll find it fulfilling to care for others too. So here are some ideas for relational recovery this summer:
Go to coffee/lunch with a friend – Catch up. Get support. Laugh. Give support.
Engage in meaningful conversation – Meaningful conversations that help you feel connected on a deep level with someone can be truly transformative when recovering from burnout. Share. Be vulnerable. Open up about your burnout or about your thoughts on something important. This accesses and builds your relational energy.
Allow someone to do something nice for you – Sometimes this can be harder to do than you’d expect, but allowing someone to care for you – in big or small ways – is an important step in recovering your relational energy. Remember that you are loved, you have a support system, and you are not alone.
Do something nice for someone else – If you are really burned out, you may not be able to do this one right away, but when you feel ready, doing an act of kindness or service for another person can remind you that you are part of a community. Volunteer somewhere with those less fortunate than yourself at this time. Studies show that volunteering improves overall mental health and happiness.
You can do this
As you can see, there are many ways for how to recover from teacher burnout. But recovering from burnout takes time, intention, and a choice. You are in charge of your life. And if you have different demands on your time this summer – as a caregiver, a summer school teacher, a worker in a second job etc. – it may be important for you to look very intentionally at how you plan to incorporate some of these suggestions so that you actually get the recovery you need.
This isn’t about just getting ready for next school year. This is about you. This is about the quality of life you, as a living, breathing human being, deserve. You are not an inexhaustible resource. You have limits. And this year you found those limits, and then went beyond them. So this summer is for you. It’s your time. Do what you need – for yourself.
7 Tips for Getting More Sleep as a Teacher
Teaching is an extremely draining activity – both physically and mentally. Standing all day, strutting our fast-paced “Teacher Walk”, and at least 500 squats to desks. Plus add in emotional fatigue, and it’s no wonder we’re exhausted!
Sleep is our body’s natural way of nourishing and replenishing our resources. But most of us teachers are completely sleep deprived. How can we get more sleep as teachers?
Most of us suck at this.
A client of mine described it as this –
Her: “I stay up late because I don’t want the evening to end.”
Me: “What is underneath that?”
Her: “Well, I guess at some level, I know tomorrow morning will be ‘back to the grindstone’, so I want to keep resting [by hanging out with my boyfriend on the couch]”
I could totally relate. Can you?
Why is Sleep Good for Us?
Sleep is actually WAY more important than you might think. Dr. Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer of the Cleveland Clinic, put it, “Sleep is the most underrated health habit.”
In fact, here is what Arianna Huffington (self-proclaimed sleep evangelist after she had an almost-fatal fainting spell diagnosed as “exhaustion”) had to say about sleep in her book, Thrive:
There’s practically no element of our lives that’s not improved by getting adequate sleep. And there is no element of life that’s not diminished by a lack of sleep…Our creativity, ingenuity, confidence, leadership, and decision making can all be enhanced simply by getting enough sleep.
Here are some of the statistics and studies about the importance of sleep:
Sleep deprivation negatively impacts our mood, our ability to focus, and our ability to access higher-level cognitive functions: the combination of these factors is what we generally refer to as mental performance (Drs. Stuart Quan and Russell Sanna, Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine)
Poor sleep is associated with higher stress levels and a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes (Duke University)
For the sleep deprived, an extra hour of sleep can do more for their daily happiness than a $60,000 raise (Science)
People make bad judgement calls when sleep deprived, and REALLY bad things in history have been caused by sleep deprivation (like the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill)
Sleep deprivation is actually a known torture technique (ouch!)
There is so much more I can’t even go into! But here are some resources if you want more facts:
Arianna Huffington’s TED talk on Sleep
Article: How Sleep Deprivation Decays the Body and Mind
Okay – you get it…so now how do we fix it?
7 Tips for Getting More Sleep As a Teacher
1. Get Real About How Much Sleep You Really Need
Most of us don’t know how much sleep we need because we rarely get that amount. That’s okay. Just start tweaking with the amount of sleep you get each night and then check in with yourself throughout the day to see how you feel. Once you’ve settled on the amount that is best for you – protect it with all your might! For now, start by increasing the amount you sleep by 15 or 30 minutes. Incremental change is still change!!
2. Set a Bedtime Alarm
It’s so easy to create alarms on our phones – so set an alarm for 30-minutes prior to what you want as your bedtime. When you hear the alarm, shut down devices, screens, chores, tasks, etc. and begin your nighttime routine.
3. Plan Your Evening Backward
Plan your evening backward from bedtime. So for example if your bedtime is 10pm, you’ll need to begin winding down (TV off, doing your nighttime routine) at 9:30pm, so whatever you need to do, shows you want to watch, or papers you want to grade, get it done before 9:30pm so you can make sure you are in bed on time. If you prioritize your bedtime like you do your wake time, you’ll be much more likely to actually get more sleep!
4. Cut Out the Caffeine after 2pm
I have never thought I was affected by caffeine so I would drink coffee even after dinner some nights. But then I started getting more sleep and realized caffeine does affect me – I was always just too sleep deprived to notice!! The general recommendation from sleep professionals is to cut out the caffeine after 2pm.
5. Have a Nighttime Routine
Create a set of rituals that you do before bed like a warm bath, drinking decaffeinated bedtime tea, reading, writing in your gratitude journal, meditating/praying, etc. This will cue your body that it’s time to sleep and you will have an easier time falling asleep.
6. Give Your Device a Curfew
There are very clear studies about the effect of “blue light” which is what our electronics give off on our brain’s ability to calm down. Give your device a curfew of at least 30 minutes prior to bedtime so your brain and body can begin to get cued that it’s time for bed.
7. Practice Deep Breathing
A few deep breaths before you go to bed will help you relax and will begin the body’s repair process.
Coaching Questions:
Which of these tips resonated for you? How so?
How do you want to integrate the tips listed here that could support you in getting more sleep?
Happy sleeping wonderful teachers!!
Setting Goals for Going Back to School
It’s that time of year – or will be soon – for newly purchased notebooks, sharpened pencils all accounted for, the thin lines of new whiteboard markers, washed desks awaiting handprints and chairs awaiting new friends. The time of year that is crisp with newness. The time of year that is so promising and idealic. The time of year when students return to your classroom – bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with chlorine and sun streaked through their hair, and smiles on their faces as they see their friends and teachers again.
Teachers all over the country are beginning to think about going back to school. And even if you aren’t going back for a while, the summer unwind has taken place, you are recharged, and you are now able to start thinking about what you want to do differently next school year.
You may have gone to a fantastic professional development session this summer, participated in some amazing twitter chats from your professional learning network, gone to a conference, or visited a teacher friend from across the country. All giving you new ideas and things to try for next year.
How do you sort through all you want to do this year? How do you set, maintain, and sustain your goals for going back to school?
This is the best time to
- revisit your vision for becoming a teacher,
- align your yearly goals to that vision,
- and create a plan for how to get there.
Visioning
It’s important to take very high-level 10,000 foot view look down at your life and career to begin the process for creating goals for going back to school. So to begin, I suggest you do some work on your personal vision statement. If you’ve never formally written a personal vision statement, I highly encourage you to slow down on this step and really think this one through.
Visioning helps you to create a personal vision, which articulates the desired outcome for your life. You are the author – no one else. Your personal vision will help you to keep “the big picture” in mind when day-to-day stresses of the teaching profession arise.
During visioning, ask yourself these questions (I would recommend journaling the answers):
- What am I most passionate about?
- What do I enjoy most about my life (both in and out of school)?
- Why did I become a teacher?
- What is my purpose in life?
- How does my role as teacher contribute to my life-purpose?
- How do my day-to-day decisions in and out of the classroom help me achieve my greater purpose?
- What do I need to accomplish in my career to feel that I’ve used my role/job/position positively and effectively toward my greater purpose?
When you look at your answers to the above questions, you may see patterns or words and phrases that will help you to create one succinct and condensed personal vision statement. A personal vision statement can be a powerful device to remind you of your vision for your life’s purpose. It can become a mantra for you and can help you in making decisions about the ways you spend your time and energy (in and out of school).
“A personal mission statement is a powerful tool because it provides you with a path for success, and it gives you permission to say no to the things that are distractions,” says Stephanie Vozza of FastCompany.com. In her article about personal vision statements for CEOs found here, Vozza reveals some examples of personal vision statements from some people you may know:
To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be. ~Oprah Winfrey
To have fun in [my] journey through life and learn from [my] mistakes. ~Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group
To use my gifts of intelligence, charisma, and serial optimism to cultivate the self-worth and net-worth of women around the world. ~Amanda Steinberg, Founder of DailyWorth.com
Setting Goals for the School Year
Brainstorm Your Goals:
With the vision as your guidepost, brainstorm a list of all the things that you want to accomplish this year. Don’t eliminate any at this point. I like using sticky notes for this. I just write each idea on a sticky note and set them all aside for now. Include in your brainstorming all the things you want to keep doing that worked for you last year. Now, in these part of the process, you may want to brainstorm goals in categories:
- goals for each subject you teach
- before school goals
- after school goals
- work/life balance goals
- professional development goals
- extra income goals
- family life goals
- etc.
Organize and Prioritize Your Goals:
Stick your ideas on the whiteboard or on a large flat work surface.
Now begin organizing them. You may start with organizing them into categories (like above or other categories that work for you).
Next, think about each goal in relation to your overall vision. Then organize them this way:
- Put a #1 on goals that are easy to accomplish and are in line with your vision.
- Put a #2 on goals that are hard to accomplish and are in line with your vision.
- Put a #3 on goals that are easy to accomplish but are not in line with your vision (or don’t contribute in a big way to your vision)
- Put a #4 on goals that are hard to accomplish and are also not in line with your vision (or don’t contribute in a big way to your vision)
Here is an example: A teacher in Oregon has a personal vision statement to “use my passion in science and technology to inspire the students in my classes to be life-long learners who seek to know, improve, create, and innovate the world around them.” She completes the goal setting task outlined above and comes across this goal: “To participate in twitter chats twice a week with my PLN (professional learning network).” Depending on the type of twitter chat she engages in, this goal may or may not align and contribute to her overall vision. It’s also difficult for her to do because she has commitments in the evenings when the twitter chats happen. After considering this, she puts it down as in the #2 category. She knows that she can limit this to chats that are in line with her vision, but it would still be a difficult goal to attain. If it’s a worthwhile goal, she will have to determine if she needs to revise the goal to be more attainable.
Here is another example: A teacher from Indiana has a personal vision statement to “lead, encourage, challenge, and inspire both his students and his family in order to seek their fullest potential” and he had a goal brainstormed to take on more committee leadership this year. Upon contemplating this goal, he realizes that increased committee time will mean that he will have less time to lesson plan, and less time with his family. Because both groups (his students and family) are more important to him than the leadership he would cultivate through the committee involvement, he decides to label it a #4.
Now you need to decide which of the goals you’ve brainstormed and categorized you will actually do this year. It’s probably no secret why the goals are categorized into #1, #2, #3, and #4 categories per above.
- #1 are what I like to call the “No brainers” – they are easy to do and align to your vision. Go ahead and add those to the “To Accomplish This Year” pile.
- #2 goals are harder to accomplish, but may be worth it for accomplishing your broader vision. In this case, look at each goal and determine if it is worth it or not. This will require some tough decisions and intentionality. If you decide to keep it and put it in the “To Accomplish This Year” pile, then you need to be willing to commit to the hard work it will take to accomplish it. If you don’t feel inspired to commit, or you know it just isn’t a realistic goal, then consider revising it or setting it aside.
- #3 goals are easy, but aren’t necessarily contributing to your broader mission. Goals in this category may be tempting because they are things you can easily do – but if accomplishing them meant giving up on a #2 goal, would you still do it? If the answer is no, then put it aside. You can keep this as a “Nice to Accomplish but Not a Priority” pile.
- #4 goals are difficult to accomplish or ask you to sacrifice a lot AND they don’t contribute to your mission/vision. These are also “No Brainers” because they should really be taken off your plate altogether. In the case of our Indiana teacher, he may feel disappointed to say “no” when the sign up sheet for committee leadership comes around, but with this level of contemplation, he will feel much more confident in his decision, and will know that by saying “no” to this, he can say “yes” to something that brings him more fulfillment.
Now that you have your goals written out. There may simply be too many to accomplish realistically. Look at those you have left and weed out (or readjust your expectations for) any that you simply realistically will not get to.
Make Your Goals S.M.A.R.T.
For each that remain (hopefully no more than 2-3 in each category), develop them into S.M.A.R.T. goals.
- S = Specific
- M = Measurable
- A = Attainable
- R = Realistic
- T = Time sensitive or time driven (give yourself a time frame).
Here is an example of a SMART goal: I will create more work/life balance for myself this school year by leaving school 45 minutes after school lets out at least 3 days a week.
- This goals is specific – I will leave school 45 minutes after school lets out.
- The goal is measurable – I will know whether or not I made it by setting a timer and making sure I leave before the timer goes off.
- It is attainable – 45 minutes is enough time for me to do the essentials, plus I have 2 days a week where I can stay a little later for committees or planning.
- It is realistic because I know 45 minutes will give me enough time to get the essential things done and will force me to be efficient with my time.
- The goal is time sensitive because it is something I plan to do each week of this school year. Sometimes the T or the time sensitive part of the goal is the deadline for the goal (e.g. lose 10 pounds by March 1st.). So the T for some of your goals may be “by the end of the first semester” or “by the end of the school year” etc.
Make sense?
Now that you have a few SMART goals for the year, you need to create a plan for attaining them.
Creating a Plan
This is the part of the process that is most often overlooked. We set all kinds of goals for ourselves and then don’t set a plan in place for accomplishing them. Then the realities and stresses of the year hit, and we forgo or forget our goals.
So, now you develop your goals into a plan similarly to how you craft a lesson plan. You have your end in mind, now figure out your daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly goals to get there.
Let’s say your professional development goal is to develop your skills with integrating technology into the classroom. First, figure out what some tasks are to accomplish that goal.
Perhaps the tasks are (1) learn about different modes of technology integration and gather ideas, (2) pick and idea you would like to try and learn more about it if necessary, (3) implement the idea, (4) reflect on your practice to determine if you need to adjust or gather more information, (5) make the adjustment or gather the information, (6) try the technique again, reflect, adjust, and continue monitoring.
Since there are 6 phases to this goal, you may want to split them up over the year. So say by December break, you will have done steps 1-4, then in January through April you can do steps 5 and 6 and make the technique a regular part of your teaching practice.
Note: If you are required to do yearly professional improvement goals for your school or district, this is a perfect opportunity to begin planning these out. Don’t ADD another goal to your plate when goal-setting time comes. Just pick one of these to make part of your official professional improvement plan.
You Did It!
This process may seem like a lot, but trust me – it works! If it seems overwhelming to do it on your own, you may want to consider working through it with a coach. Being intentional with your vision, goals, and plan of action is the first step to being a wholehearted teacher! In fact, there are some other great ways to set yourself on the right path for wholehearted teaching this school year which I’ll go through in my next several blog posts:
- Getting Organized
- Planning Ahead for the Little and Big Things
- Organizing Your Workstation
I can’t wait for to see what’s in store for you this year! With wholehearted teaching as your goal – this school year is sure to be a great one!
Wholeheartedly Yours,
~Alison, A Teacher’s Best Friend
Happy Teachers Create Happy Classrooms
Today I woke up to the greatest gift – a New York Times article about how happy teachers create happy classrooms if we want to give students a chance to understand where true happiness comes from in life! Mind. Blown. I have been thinking, praying, and dreaming about this idea for the past two+ years as I’ve made this coaching practice for teachers a reality. And now it’s validated in the New York freaking Times!!!
If we truly want to cultivate happiness in our homes and schools, we can’t just pay it lip service. [Teachers] must model behaviors that, according to Dr. Seppala, make us happier, healthier and more productive.
Amen! Amen! Amen!!
As teachers, we are the greatest influence on our students during the school day. We know this. And we hope that they learn that success is more than grades and test scores. We hope that they learn success is about more than just academic performance.
Success is about WAY more than those things. And we as teachers, more than anyone, know this to be true. It’s why we get freaked out by student-test-score-driven teacher evaluations. It’s why we get upset when our students’ test scores are compared against other classes or other schools. We know that student achievement on tests is only ONE measure of their success (and probably not a very good one at that.)
We must show students that success in school and life is about more than your performance.
Success is about the way we move through life. Success, in the end, is about our happiness, prosperity, and positive impact on those around us.
So – the question is – what are our students learning about success through our behavior?
How do we promote the real definition of success for our students?
We have to model it.
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Teachers have long known that success in life isn’t measured by your salary but rather by your impact on the world. But success is also about happiness. And I venture to say that there are a LOT of us teachers out there who don’t model “happy” for our students very well.
It’s okay. I get it.
No need to feel guilty. Let’s instead feel convicted. Convicted to do better each day and remember what our purpose really is as a teacher.
Here are the tips that Dr. Emma Seppala, the author of “The Happiness Track,” and science director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, gives in the New York Times article for modeling happiness (along with a few thoughts from me too!)
Live in the Moment
Instead of focusing on our to-do list, or our 10 classroom objectives that we have to get through today, just focus on the present moment. What are you doing right now? What is important about this moment? How can you fulfill your teacher purpose right now? Read more of my thoughts on this over at my post Cultivating Mindfulness as a Teacher (mindfulness is a synonym for staying in the moment because it’s all about keeping your mind focused in the present).
Model Resilience
Stress, struggle, and failure is all part of life. Teaching is certainly no different. So use those teachable moments to talk with students about how you overcome those challenges. If being resilient is something that is difficult for you, then you may notice it’s also hard for the students. Students see through words that you yourself can’t live up to. If you tell them not to be hard on themselves but then beat yourself up for a failed lesson in front of them (even if it just means you are sighing and acting a bit huffy) then you better check yourself. Students learn way more from your actions than from your words. (Darn it!) Check out my post on Failing Forward if you want some more ideas on this one.
Manage Your Energy
Dr. Seppala articulated this one so nicely. We often think we have to be excited and high energy all the time. But modeling low-energy positive emotions like calm is absolutely critical for students understanding balance of emotions. This one can be helped by doing some mindfulness in the classroom activities found here.
Do Nothing
It’s important for you to have down time in and out of school. Self-care and quiet time is SUPER important! Read more about self-care for teachers here. But Dr. Seppala also encourages us as teachers to build in some down time (or what I call margin time) into your day. This is absolutely counter-intuitive to our “get more done in less time” profession. We try to squeeze absolutely every ounce of instructional time from our day with students, but that can actually be counterproductive. Building in more down time and more margin can help students learn the yin and yang of true productivity. No one can be balls to the wall all the time! Students need that quick break every once in awhile for a GoNoodle, singing a song, a joke, or just to breathe!
Be Kind to Yourself
Focus on self-compassion over self-criticism. Self-criticism is so tempting for us recovering perfectionists, but it will wreak havoc on your students’ ability to learn in your classroom. They will stop taking risks and stepping out of their comfort zone. Worst of all, they may also develop their inner critic instead of building their inner cheerleader. Need to work on this one? Check out my post on cultivating self-compassion or even check out selfcompassion.org with free, simple exercises you can do to practice this skill!
Be Kind to Others
This one comes down to classroom culture. If we want students to treat each other with respect and kindness, then we must make sure that we are modeling kindness and respect as well. Check that you are treating students with respect and love. One great resource is Teaching with Love and Logic which will help you discipline with calmness and respect while staying consistent and firm. Check for local workshops on this method as well. It’s a winner for SURE! Once management is in check and respect is the norm in your classroom, you can encourage and recognize students being kind to each other in genuine ways.
I absolutely love that others are beginning to see the connection between wholehearted teaching and student success.
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Let’s start a movement together of teachers who
love their jobs
love their lives
are positive
are whole
take risks and fail forward
get real
grow continually
take time for themselves
know and own their needs
and THRIVE in their #TeacherLives!
Who’s with me?!
All my love,
~Alison, A Teacher’s Best Friend
PS – Being a Wholehearted Teacher is hard and requires daily effort. Snag my Free Cheat Sheet “Top 10 Habits of Wholehearted Teachers” to help you get started on your Wholehearted Teaching journey! You can do this!! ~Alison