A Teachers Best Friend
Life Coaching for Teachers!
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!)
Latest Updates From Our Blog
Creating Boundaries Without Guilt: A Guide for Compassionate Teachers
Teachers typically demonstrate both dedication and compassion toward their students. The selfless behavior of teachers sometimes results in excessive workloads and disregard for their personal limits. For educators to deliver high-quality support to their students while preserving their well-being, they must establish healthy boundaries that support career sustainability. This piece examines how caring educators can set limits without experiencing self-doubt, thereby improving their personal well-being and teaching performance.
Understanding the Importance of Boundaries
Setting boundaries is necessary to achieve work-life balance. Establishing boundaries enables teachers to determine their capabilities and limits, thereby avoiding excessive responsibilities. When educators lack clear boundaries, their work-related tasks become overwhelming, leading to burnout and decreased classroom effectiveness.
Recognizing the Signs of Overcommitment
Many teachers struggle to identify the point at which their commitment to work responsibilities becomes excessive. Teachers need to watch for three main indicators of overcommitment, including persistent tiredness and emotional fatigue, and trouble stepping away from work responsibilities during personal downtime. Educators who notice these signs must establish protective boundaries for their well-being.
Strategies for Setting Boundaries
1. Communicate Clearly: Educators need to establish clear limits that they should express to their peers and both students and their families. Educators need to establish proper expectations regarding both their response speed and their presence in the workplace.
2. Prioritize Tasks: Teaching professionals should direct their efforts toward essential student learning activities while postponing or assigning lower-priority responsibilities to others.
3. Use Technology Wisely: Teachers should establish technology limits by avoiding work-related communication after their regular hours.
4. Schedule Personal Time: Personal time needs to be scheduled as a vital appointment that deserves the same respect as other important meetings.
5. Seek Support: Develop relationships with colleagues and advisors who comprehend teaching difficulties so they can help you establish professional boundaries.
Managing Guilt and Self-Doubt
Teachers who demonstrate compassion toward their students may feel guilt and doubt when establishing personal boundaries. Personal boundaries serve as an essential foundation for teaching sustainability and effectiveness, so teachers should understand that their value exceeds mere selfishness.
1. Reframe Boundaries as Self-Care: Establishing boundaries functions as an important self-care method which serves the best interests of teachers and their students.
2. Focus on Quality Over Quantity: It is more beneficial to deliver exceptional support within designated work hours instead of trying to handle too many responsibilities.
3. Practice Mindfulness: The practice of mindfulness will help teachers manage their stress and create inner peace, which reduces feelings of guilt.
Creating a Supportive School Culture
The establishment of healthy boundaries by teachers receives essential support from schools through their commitment to educator welfare. Schools that foster a supportive environment for teacher well-being will enable educators to attend to their own needs without guilt.
1. Professional Development: Schools should organize educational programs about creating boundaries, together with programs for personal care.
2. Administrative Support: Administrators should demonstrate and provide backing for staff boundary maintenance initiatives.
3. Peer Support Groups: Teachers should create mutual support groups to exchange experiences about boundary maintenance methods.
Integrating Boundaries into Teaching Practices
1. Boundary Setting in the Classroom: Students need to understand during their classes precisely what classroom expectations are and how they should reach out to you outside of scheduled times.
2. Prioritizing Tasks: Teachers should dedicate their time to activities that directly benefit student learning while giving other responsibilities to colleagues.
3. Technology Use: Educational technology should be used to automate repetitive tasks and create digital communication rules.
Overcoming Common Challenges
1. Finding Time: Every teacher who handles a heavy workload can dedicate short daily periods to establish boundaries. A person can begin by dedicating only a short amount of time to planning, which serves as a workable starting point.
2. Skepticism: Some educators show doubt about boundary setting, yet implementing these strategies for a brief period will help them observe the positive effects firsthand.
3. Support from Colleagues and Administrators: A school-wide commitment to boundary setting enables educators to receive support, which helps them continue their teaching practice.
Conclusion
Maintaining professional boundaries is essential for teachers who want to protect their career health and sustainability. Compassionate teachers who establish proper boundaries, use clear communication and task prioritization, manage guilt and self-doubt, and foster a school culture will deliver exceptional student support and protect personal well-being. Establishing healthy boundaries by educators increases their effectiveness, resilience, and sense of role fulfillment, generating benefits for both teachers and their students. When teachers make boundary-setting their self-care practice, they can achieve career success while creating a positive impact within the educational community. The approach improves personal well-being and creates an environment that supports teacher and student success.
The Power of Pause: Mindfulness Techniques for Busy Educators
Teachers in educational institutions perform various concurrent duties, including creating lesson plans, managing classrooms, and providing emotional support to their students. Elevated stress levels create burnout conditions that affect educators’ health and their performance in delivering instruction. The practice of mindfulness helps teachers who lead busy lives develop stress-management skills and improve their teaching methods.
Understanding Mindfulness
The practice of mindfulness emerged from Eastern traditions, and modern people have adapted these techniques for contemporary life. The practice allows individuals to become aware of their mental and physical experiences without adding any assessment or evaluation. People who practice present-focused awareness eliminate concerns about the future and the past, which creates both mental peace and clarity. Teaching professionals find mindfulness particularly helpful for managing emotional challenges in the classroom while also building better classroom relationships.
Benefits of Mindfulness for Educators
1. Stress Reduction: Through its teachings, mindfulness enables educators to become better at recognizing and controlling their emotions, thus reducing their stress levels. Regular mindfulness practice reduces anxiety and burnout symptoms, thereby improving overall health.
2. Improved Focus: The practice of mindfulness improves focus through better attention, which leads educators to deliver more effective communication and deliver better teaching during lessons and meetings.
3. Enhanced Emotional Regulation: The practice of mindfulness enables teachers to enhance their emotional control abilities, thus creating better classroom environments. Students benefit from emotional regulation when teachers display healthy emotional responses to them.
4. Better Student Relationships: Educators who practice mindfulness develop stronger relationships with their students because they improve their ability to understand and empathize with others. This empathetic approach fosters stronger teacher-student relationships and a more supportive learning environment.
5. Increased Creativity: Educational practitioners who practice mindfulness techniques can boost their creative abilities to create new approaches for lesson planning and teaching methods that better engage their students.
Mindfulness Techniques for Educators
1. Breathing Exercises: A simple practice of breathing exercises can be performed by educators anytime they have brief moments between their classes. Breathing exercises help educators relax mentally and reduce stress.
2. Body Scan Meditation: Through Body Scan Meditation, educators learn to lie down or sit comfortably before moving their awareness through each body part while releasing tension during the process. This method is an efficient way to relax and recover.
3. Mindful Walking: During a hectic day, Mindful Walking offers students a quick break when they walk mindfully while feeling their feet touch the ground one at a time.
4. Loving-Kindness Meditation: Through Loving-Kindness Meditation, practitioners learn how to send positive thoughts both to themselves and others, which builds compassion between individuals. The practice serves well in handling challenging situations with students or colleagues.
5. Guided Meditations: The use of guided meditations found both online and in apps provides structured mindfulness practice to assist beginners in meditation.
Integrating Mindfulness into Teaching Practices
1. Mindful Moments in Class: Educational sessions should contain brief mindfulness practices that benefit students by helping them maintain their focus and reach relaxation. The practice requires only one minute of deep breathing combined with a few seconds of body scanning.
2. Mindful Communication: The practice of mindful listening and speaking improves communication between students and colleagues. The practice promotes both attentive listening and considered replies, which result in enhanced interactions between people.
3. Creating a Mindful Classroom Environment: A mindful classroom environment emerges when teachers design spaces using calming colors and nature sounds, which establish peaceful conditions for learning.
4. Mindfulness-Based Lesson Plans: The development of mindfulness-based lesson plans enables students to build emotional intelligence skills while gaining self-awareness abilities.
Overcoming Challenges to Mindfulness Practice
2. Skepticism: School personnel who doubt mindfulness can overcome their skepticism through a brief personal experience of its positive impact.
3. Support from Colleagues and Administrators: A school-wide mindfulness initiative receives backing from both colleagues and administrators, which helps educators maintain their mindfulness practice.
Implementing Mindfulness in Schools
Schools serve as key institutions to support mindfulness development among their teaching staff. Schools establish well-being and resilience cultures through their professional development programs, which include mindfulness training or by implementing mindfulness workshops. Educational benefits from mindfulness implementation spread to students, which creates better learning conditions for both groups.
Conclusion
The practice of mindfulness provides teachers with an effective way to manage their stress and develop more effective teaching practices that lead to improved student achievement. Educators who practice mindfulness techniques in their daily lives develop inner clarity and peace, which enhances their teaching effectiveness while providing them with satisfaction. Mindfulness integration across educational spaces shows promise to revolutionize both educators and educational settings, while developing environments grounded in compassion, creativity, and resilience. Educators who use pauses to harness their teaching passion will create a more supportive classroom environment that better engages their students. Implementing this approach benefits teachers and supports the development of a more effective educational system.
The Ripple Effect: How Teacher Growth Impacts Student Success
When teachers grow professionally, students succeed through an ongoing cycle that improves both groups. Teacher growth creates positive classroom effects that lead to better student outcomes. This paper examines how educator development improves student outcomes and highlights its essential role in educational systems.
Teacher Growth: The Foundation of Student Success
The continuous development of educators’ professional skill sets constitutes teacher growth, leading to improved instructional techniques, broader educational competencies, and greater teaching expertise. The educational expansion extends beyond new techniques or technological acquisition, as it establishes a perpetual mindset of learning and growth among educators.
Teachers who participate in purposeful professional development programs learn to create stimulating instructional materials, strengthen their classroom command, and adapt to diverse student needs. Tactical enhancements enable teachers to create classrooms that welcome all learners and boost their academic motivation and self-assurance in achieving success.
The Impact on Classroom Environment
The classroom is the most visible location where teacher development has its effects. Professional development helps educators build the skills to create learning-friendly educational spaces. These teachers master behavior management and use technology to improve teaching quality and develop instructional methods that meet diverse student needs.
A teacher with knowledge of differentiated instruction transforms classroom content into personalized lessons that provide the best possible learning conditions for every student. The tailored teaching method increases students’ interest and drive, resulting in better academic performance.
Enhanced Instructional Practices
Teachers’ professional progress leads to improved teaching methods, which directly improve student learning outcomes. The educational proficiency of teachers who participate in professional development enables them to create lessons that meet curriculum requirements while being challenging and relevant.
Teachers who have completed project-based learning training can design lessons that foster critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity among their students. The combined effect of such tasks enables students to grasp educational concepts more deeply while teaching them valuable skills for addressing real-world challenges, such as problem-solving and teamwork.
Building Strong Teacher-Student Relationships
Student achievement relies heavily on favorable interactions between teachers and their students. Educational professionals who continue their professional growth develop superior abilities in building positive relationships with their students. Educators who have Stanley Habus’ reflection experiences develop skills in communicating effectively, providing beneficial feedback, and demonstrating authentic student care.
These relationships cultivate classroom trust and a sense of belonging, which are essential for their personal and intellectual growth. Students who receive support and value from their teachers become more confident in taking risks and asking questions, and fully participate in their learning activities. These principles apply to students of all ages and backgrounds, from elementary school students to young adults attending vocational trade schools.
The Practice of Developing Growth Mindsets within Students
Teachers who possess a growth mindset demonstrate a better ability to teach students the same mindset. Academic abilities grow when students dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to developing their skills rather than accepting their abilities as unchangeable fixed attributes.
Educators who model and teach growth mindsets help learners transform obstacles into developmental opportunities rather than ego-threatening situations. Through this mindset shift, students can use failures for educational purposes while maintaining persistence and working toward ongoing improvement.
The Role of Feedback in Teacher Growth
Teacher growth depends heavily on feedback, as this practice reveals both the skills educators excel at and the areas they should develop further. Teachers who accept feedback from peers and mentors, and students use this information to enhance their teaching methods.
The feedback process enables teachers to develop skills to give students high-quality feedback that supports learning and development. Teachers provide effective guidance to students through detailed feedback, showing them their areas for improvement and how to achieve better results.
Addressing Equity and Inclusion
Education requires teacher development to effectively address equity and inclusion in the classroom. Educators with expanded knowledge of student diversity requirements develop better abilities to construct learning environments that serve all learners.
Equity-focused professional development enables educators to learn effective methods for recognizing bias and combating prejudice, as well as for implementing diverse instructional perspectives and providing equal educational opportunities for all students. TopTradeSchools.com, an online resource for aspiring trade and vocational school students, highlights institutions that focus on teacher and student diversity.
The Long-Term Impact on Student Outcomes
Teacher development has enduring effects on educational achievement because it shapes both students’ academic progress and their personal development. Educational success under supportive teaching leads students to develop an enduring passion for learning beyond school.
The skills students acquire in these learning spaces prepare them for success in higher education and in professional life. Educators develop students into adaptable, resilient professionals by focusing on critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration, helping them succeed in the dynamic world.
Conclusion
Students’ educational achievements are significantly enhanced when teachers develop their professional capabilities. Teacher professional development leads to classroom environments that are more exciting, supportive, and welcoming for all students. The learning environment strengthens when teachers develop professionally, leading to better academic outcomes and emotional health, and a lasting interest in education.
Educational excellence requires essential investments in teacher development, as these investments provide the foundation for success. Schools should establish initiatives that support teachers, as these programs provide a direct path to student achievement. A comprehensive educational strategy that supports teacher development and student achievement will be critical to advancing education beyond 2025 and ensuring students reach their full potential.
How Teachers Can Prevent Burnout and Thrive Again
The education sector faces widespread teacher burnout due to long-term stress, heavy workloads, and the emotional responsibility of helping students. Through appropriate educational strategies, teachers can prevent burnout and regain their teaching enthusiasm. The article provides specific strategies for teachers to maintain their well-being while achieving career success.
Understanding Teacher Burnout
The combination of persistent stress eventually results in complete exhaustion of the body, mind, and emotional well-being. The main factors causing teacher burnout include excessive workload, insufficient resources, and the psychological burden of caring for students. The symptoms of burnout include chronic fatigue, irritability, decreased teaching performance, and feelings of detachment. The early detection of these signs remains vital because it enables teachers to prevent burnout from worsening. Teachers who experience burnout begin to doubt their ability to impact students, develop emotional distance from their pupils, and lose their passion for their work.
Prioritizing Self-Care
Preventing burnout requires attention to personal care. Teachers prioritize their students above all else, yet they must maintain their own well-being because it leads to sustained career achievement. The combination of exercise, proper nutrition, and sufficient rest enables teachers to gain more energy while developing greater resilience. Practicing meditation alongside yoga helps teachers manage their stress and improve their ability to focus. Teachers who schedule time for hobbies and relaxation activities develop better mental and emotional recharge. Unrelated activities such as reading, painting, and playing music offer teachers a much-needed rest while developing their creative potential.
Setting Boundaries
Teachers need to clearly separate their work duties from personal time to prevent work-related exhaustion. Teachers need to avoid both work-related duties and email correspondence at times outside their school hours. A distinct boundary helps teachers maintain their leisure time without regretting incomplete responsibilities. Educators should explain their personal boundaries to colleagues and administrators to develop mutual understanding about their time for personal activities. Work-life balance improves when teachers set practical expectations for their response times to students and parents.
Building Support Networks
Strong support networks provide teachers with substantial help in fighting burnout. Teachers need to build professional connections with colleagues who fully grasp the difficulties of teaching. Teachers who share their experiences and solutions develop a sense of unity that helps diminish feelings of loneliness. Mentorship programs, together with peer support groups, serve as supplemental ways for teachers to find guidance and encouragement. The networks offer members emotional support and opportunities to share best practices and work together on challenging tasks.
Streamlining Workloads
Workload management enables teachers to avoid overwhelming situations. Teachers should prioritize time on activities that directly advance student learning outcomes and reduce time on less important responsibilities. Teacher workload becomes lighter when they assign tasks to others or work together with their colleagues. The adoption of technology tools in grading tasks alongside lesson planning reduces time requirements and boosts operational effectiveness. The adoption of digital platforms for assignments and feedback tasks reduces paperwork, allowing teachers to gain additional time for teaching and mentoring activities.
Fostering a Positive Classroom Environment
A positive learning environment improves the experiences of teachers and their students at school. The development of mutual respect between educators and students, alongside engagement and enthusiasm, leads teachers to experience better job satisfaction. Small classroom achievements, such as student accomplishments and innovative lesson plans, help teachers rediscover their love for education. Student involvement with autonomy develops classroom communities based on shared responsibilities.
Seeking Professional Development
Teachers who participate in continuous learning activities maintain their career motivation while staying dedicated to their profession. Professional development programs equip teaching professionals with modern insights and creative teaching methods, along with new skills that enhance their instructional performance. Educational workshops, together with conferences, enable teachers to connect with peers who have common educational objectives. Educational events inspire new teaching strategies, helping teachers learn about current instructional methods and technological advancements.
Advocating for Systemic Change
Systemic changes are needed to address teacher burnout, despite individual efforts to improve fully. Educators who join unions or work alongside administrators can secure better resources, smaller class loading, and equitable compensation. The promotion of teacher well-being awareness leads institutions to establish supportive measures. Systemic changes resulting from advocacy work benefit teachers, students, and educational stakeholders as a whole.
Conclusion
Preventing burnout requires immediate actions that promote physical wellness, emotional strength, and career success. Teachers who implement self-care practices alongside boundary-setting, network-building, workload optimization, positive environment creation, professional advancement, and systemic advocacy will protect their well-being and resume their teaching careers successfully. Educators can sustain meaningful contributions through implemented strategies that help them manage their life balance. Educational success for teachers leads to student success, which creates better learning conditions for all members of the educational community.
Sustainable Teaching: Building a Career You Don’t Need to Recover From
Teaching is a career that combines high rewards and significant challenges. School teachers commit to developing students through personal sacrifice, sometimes at the expense of their own 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 way to build a rewarding career that keeps them energized and avoids 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 that enable them to succeed in their work without compromising their personal time. This approach emphasizes sustaining energy levels and enthusiasm, along with health, over an extended period. The teaching career is more like a marathon 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’ needs rather than their own, they risk burning out and losing their classroom effectiveness. The three pillars of physical and mental health maintenance consist of exercise, healthy eating habits, and sufficient rest. Teaching professionals should pursue activities beyond their work responsibilities to obtain the relief they need from their occupational requirements.
Teachers who practice mindfulness techniques, such as meditation or yoga, develop better stress-management skills, which help them maintain presence in their daily activities. When teachers dedicate time to self-care activities, they gain the ability to start their work with greater energy.
Setting Boundaries
Sustainable teaching requires teachers to set clear boundaries between their work and personal lives. Teaching professionals face continuous pressure to remain accessible at any time, as they must answer emails throughout the night and complete work on their personal days. Being always reachable leads to professional exhaustion.
Teachers should set specific work hours to clearly separate their professional duties from their private lives. Teachers must establish clear work boundaries and communicate them to their colleagues, students, and parents to foster mutual understanding and respect. Teachers who protect their personal time achieve better work-life balance, helping them avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Streamlining Workloads
Teaching sustainability requires efficient work methods. Teachers should focus their time and energy on essential student learning activities that yield maximum results while reducing their time spent 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, resource sharing, and delegation of responsibilities, which reduces individual workload. Teachers can achieve superior educational results through strategic work methods rather than excessive effort, which can lead to burnout.
Fostering Positive Relationships
The development of strong connections with students, colleagues, and administrators creates a supportive work environment. The development of positive interactions among teachers builds a school community and a shared purpose, which helps teachers address their teaching challenges. Teachers should celebrate student accomplishments alongside team successes, as these events boost 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, along with boundary-setting, efficient workload management, and relationship-building, will develop careers that provide satisfaction without requiring recovery. 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 experiencing teacher burnout. As you finish up the school year and begin your summer break, I have some tips to help you recover from teacher burnout.
Ah summer. It’s a glorious, 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 teachers leave the profession, and this year, over 50% of teachers who left cited concerns about how the COVID-19 pandemic was being handled and about returning to in-person learning as the main reasons for their departure. Double-whammy! This has prompted some to wisely urge education and community leaders to focus on teacher loss as much (if not more) than on 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 threadbare ends of your rope, you are actually in good company.
Signs of burnout
Let’s first define burnout: a state of chronic stress that eventually leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and feelings of ineffectiveness and a lack of accomplishment. While the symptoms listed below are 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. Unusual sleep patterns may be signs of stress and burnout.
No motivation: The stress is keeping you going, but you have no real motivation to keep moving. You want to stop.
Physical symptoms: Sicker more often, sicker longer, headaches, changes in appetite, hair loss, stomach or bowel problems, etc. Any unusual physical symptoms may be worth a double look to see 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 they 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, or catch 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. While that even after the stressors/root causes are eliminated (either because of summer break or through 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 recover from burnout physically. Physical recovery can include:
Sleep! – Intentional bedtimes, wake times, and naps!
Exercise – Research shows that a good, heart-pumping, challenging sweat session helps complete 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, lying 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 enough time to process. Promising research supports that talking regularly about the emotions you experience daily as a teacher is one of the most powerful resilience-building activities 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 – who works well. Ask them to 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? What 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 need the silence to support our emotional recovery. 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 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 you need to cut out (like social media for a while or stress-inducing TV).
Cognitive Recovery
Our mental energy can become depleted at the cognitive level, making it difficult to make decisions or to desire growth 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 boost by offering 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,” when the joy and excitement of life are gone.
To recover 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, and poetry can help you connect to your broader purpose and meaning in life.
Connect back to your “why” – Many of the reasons we all got into teaching were not possible this year (at least not to the same 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 than reigniting your drive for life!
Relational Recovery
Relational recovery is all about reconnecting with 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 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.
Importance of 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 judgment 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 your 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 – set one 30 minutes before your desired bedtime. When you hear the alarm, shut down devices, screens, and any other tasks, and begin your nighttime routine.
3. Plan Your Evening Backward
Plan your evening backward from bedtime. So, for example, if your bedtime is 10 pm, you’ll need to begin winding down (TV off, doing your nighttime routine) at 9:30 pm, so whatever you need to do, shows you want to watch, or papers you want to grade, get it done before 9:30 pm 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 2 pm
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 caffeine after 2 pm.
5. Have a Nighttime Routine
Create a set of rituals you do before bed, such as a warm bath, decaffeinated bedtime tea, reading, writing in your gratitude journal, meditating/praying, etc. This will cue your body that it’s time to sleep, making it easier for you to fall 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 with you? How so?
How do you want to integrate the tips listed here to help you get 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. At this time of year, when the weather is so promising and ideal, people across the country are beginning to think about returning. 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 you. At this time of year, when it’s so promising and ideal, people across the country, friends and teachers, are reunited again.
Teachers across the country are beginning to think about returning 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 getting there.
Visioning
It’s important to take a high-level, 10,000-foot view of your life and career to begin setting goals for returning to school. To begin, I suggest you 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 take a high-level, 10,000-foot view of your life and career to begin setting goals for returning. Think this one through.
Visioning helps you create a personal vision that 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 a 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 a succinct and condensed personal vision statement. A personal vision statement can be a powerful tool to remind you of your life’s purpose. It can become a mantra for you, helping you decide how to 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 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 this 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 by organizing them into categories (like above, or others 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 align 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: “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 identifies the following 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 with and contribute to her overall vision. It’s also difficult for her to do so because she has commitments in the evenings when the Twitter chats take place. After considering this, she puts it down as in the #2 category. She knows she can limit this to chats aligned with her vision, but it would still be a difficult goal to attain. If it’s a worthwhile goal, she will have to decide whether to revise it to make it 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 to seek their fullest potential,” and he aims to take on more committee leadership this year. Upon contemplating this goal, he realizes that increased committee time will mean 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 leave and will have less time to lesson-plan at #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 as #1, #2, #3, and #4 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, examine each goal and determine whether it is worth pursuing. 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’s just not a realistic goal, 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 our Indiana teacher’s case, he may feel disappointed to say “no” when the sign-up sheet for committee leadership comes around. Still, 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 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 remains (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 goal is specific – I will leave school 45 minutes after school lets out.
- The goal is measurable – I will know whether I made it by setting a timer and making sure I leave before it 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 essentials done and 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 time-sensitive part of the goal, is the deadline (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, but don’t put a plan in place to accomplish 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, just as 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 in integrating technology into the classroom. First, determine which tasks need to be completed to achieve 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, I recommend splitting them over the year. So, by December break, you will have completed steps 1-4. Then, from January through April, I recommend splitting them so you can complete steps 5 and 6 and make the technique a regular part of your teaching practice.
Note: If you are required to set yearly professional development goals for your school or district, this is a perfect opportunity to begin planning them. Don’t ADD another goal to your plate when goal-setting time comes. Just pick one of these to include in your official professional development 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 for the Little and Big Things
- Organizing Your Workstation
I can’t wait 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 lip service to it. 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 that 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 with those of other classes or 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 their 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.
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. I believe many teachers don’t model “happy” very well for our students.
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 the 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’s 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 are 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 difficult for you, you may notice it’s hard for the students, too. 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’d better check yourself. Students learn way more from your actions than from your words. (Darn it!) Check out my post on Failing Forward for more ideas on this one.
Manage Your Energy
Dr. Seppala articulated this one so nicely. We often think we have to be excited and have high energy all the time. But modeling low-energy positive emotions, like calm, is absolutely critical for students’ understanding of the balance of emotions. This one can be helped by practicing mindfulness during the classroom activities found here.
Do Nothing
It’s important for you to have downtime in and out of school. Self-care and quiet time are SUPER important! Read more about self-care for teachers here. But Dr. Seppala also encourages us, as teachers, to build in some downtime (or what I call “margin time”) into our day. This is absolutely counterintuitive 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 downtime 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 a while 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 students’ ability to learn in our classrooms. They will stop taking risks and stepping out of their comfort zone. Worst of all, they may develop their inner critic rather than build their inner cheerleader. Need to work on this one? Check out my post on cultivating self-compassion, or even check out self-compassion.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, we must model that same kindness and respect for ourselves. 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 for 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.
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