Life Coaching for Teachers
As a teacher, you are probably no stranger to exhaustion. There is a saying that goes, “there’s no tired like teacher tired.” Not only do teachers experience physical exhaustion, but mental and emotional exhaustion too. The demands of teaching and the emotional load of the current societal moment are leading to record teacher burnout. Much like the gasoline in your car, it’s important to be intentional as teachers about refueling your energy gas tank.
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Back to School Burnout is real. This time of the school year can be difficult, stressful, and out of balance…
It’s all a lot to manage!
You may have had all kinds of hopes, dreams and expectations for the school year. But here you are…already exhausted and on the edge of burnout.
Sound familiar?
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Do you ever feel like you put yourself last? That you get the “leftover” energy and time? You are last on your to-do list and forget that you are first a person, then a teacher?
Being a teacher can often feel all-consuming. It can take all the time and energy (emotional, mental and physical) that you have. In fact, there is always more that can be done, improved, reworked etc. And when teaching takes up all the oxygen in our life, teaching becomes more than a job. It becomes an identity.
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Most people define resilience as “the ability to bounce back after set backs”. Popular wisdom on the subject may even define resilience as the ability to pull an all-nighter for work and still show up to teach with a smile on your face the next morning. In our cultural cult of overwork and productivity, resilience has been twisted and confused. In building teacher resilience, we have to unlearn some of these messages and redefine the term.
So I define resilience differently…
Resilience is knowing how and choosing to cultivate the personal resources needed to meet the demands of your life.
Let’s break it down…
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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.
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Unglued. Snapped. Exploded.
Not the most flattering adjectives – but ones I’ve used to describe my reaction to the 1 millionth annoyance of a stressful day. We’ve all been there. It’s not our prettiest, scrapbook-worthy, teacher-of-the-year moment.
What do you do when a moment like this hits? Do you react or respond? How can you make a wise choice amidst the stress? [Read more…]
It’s been a rough day. The lesson didn’t go well. The students didn’t respond how you wanted them to. They didn’t learn. They misbehaved. They were disengaged.
What’s the next thought that runs through your mind?
> I failed
or
> I’m a failure
It’s a subtle difference. But it’s important. Read more for tips for teachers on how to stop taking things personally and create emotional space between you and the work.
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You know that little (loud) voice in your head that tells you that your ideas are bad, that you aren’t good enough, that you’re not beautiful enough, that you don’t have enough… I not-so-fondly refer to that voice as my gremlin. That gremlin is only out to steal our joy, kill our dreams, and make us play small. Read on for some tips on taming your teacher gremlin:
“I’m so exhausted,” she said through tears, “I just don’t know if I can do it another year.” This came from one of the teachers I coach this week in our session. She is fried crispy, overwhelmed, and just ‘done’. And she is also trying to decide whether or not to sign her teaching contract for next year. So – want to know what I asked her? I’m going to share with you 10 questions that you can consider if you find yourself in this predicament.
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What happens to you when your teacher desk/workspace is cluttered and disorganized? Chaos? Time wasted trying to find things? Duplication of efforts? (Finding a pile of copies you made last week that you just re-copied) Frustration? Aggravation? Here are my tips for organizing your teacher desk / workspace.
Having an organized workspace takes three easy steps. First, you have to reflect on how you need your workspace to function. Second, you have to be intentional about your workspace. These two steps will help you create a workspace that works. And finally, you have to maintain it daily.