Search results matching tags 'education', 'professional wellness', 'health', and 'teacher'

Supporting Teachers My Way

welleducator — Sat, 07 May 2011 17:03:00 GMT

The Institute for Educator Wellness has added a new division - Teachable Moments Transition Coaching.

I will be offering wellness classes and coaching just for educators, because, let's face it, we have a tough job!

Avoiding Burnout: Anxiety Assessment

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:49:34 GMT

One of the people I began my teaching career with began to have severe, debilitating and bizarre anxiety attacks about five years into her career. It had been a stressful career to begin with – we were part of a large group of people hired to replace others our first year, and the staff went on strike our second year. I moved on after that, but she stayed, and I can’t imagine what else must have gone on in that setting. When I caught up with her, she was in a mental health facility, under strict supervision, and I could only bring her things that she could not possibly harm herself with. She did progress out of the facility, by the way, but I’m not certain she was successful at handling her anxieties. She unfortunately went on to have a whole host of health and mental health issues later in life.

Anxiety is a very real concern for educators. We work in one of the highest stress environments out there – right up there with nurses and police officers among others. I think it’s simply the nature of working with large numbers of people. How do you handle anxiety?

First of all, step back and assess your anxiety levels. Some people are comfortable simply being reflective of their state of being. Others like a more focused approach. Axis-One provides a free online anxiety assessment. There are others out there, but I like this one because it is ‘quick and dirty.’ (No comments from the peanut gallery, thank you.)

Start with that. Where are your anxiety levels?

Resilience: Goal-Setting Activity

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:00:06 GMT

It’s easy to forget that we don’t stop developing just because we are adults. Indeed, we do continue to develop, hopefully creating a more colorful life for ourselves. This can be either intentional or unintentional.

Take a moment and take the pulse of your current life. This is a good exercise for writing down in a journal or on a piece of paper.

What is your greatest achievement so far?
What is the best thing about being your age?
What is the worst thing about being your age?

Now, look over your responses. Take a few moments and think about where you are headed.

What would you like to achieve yet?
What are some things you look forward to in the coming years?
What are some cycles you’d like to break?

This should give you some food for thought in goal-setting. Remember, if you never set goals, you will never reach them.

Taking a Technology Break – Guest Post

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:14:00 GMT

A note from Fran: Ben’s blog, www.technologyinclass.com is an outstanding blog filled with practical tips about technology in education. Today we welcome him as a guest blogger for welleducator.org. Welcome, Ben!

Guest post by Ben from http://www.technologyinclass.com/blog

Teachers are highly wired professionals. Technology is a huge part of our job. We have to answer e-mails from students, teachers, parents and administrators, input grades and attendance in programs like gradebook and blackboard, update our class blogs, plan with and incorporate educational technology into our daily teaching. Then when we get home, we’re on facebook, we write personal e-mails, and we read our favorite education blogs. Whew! I’m tired just thinking about it.

In a technologically driven profession like teaching, an intentional technology break is essential. If we don’t make the break intentional, we’ll default to checking facebook or e-mails when we have any downtime. We know that even when we take a walk there’s the danger of looking down at our smartphones or listening to our mp3 player instead of looking up at the sky and listening to the sounds of nature.

The technology break has to be intentional so that our minds can rest. Glenn Gould had a theory. He said that for x amount of hours he spent with people he would have to spend x amount of hours alone. I would say the same about technology. For x amount of hours you spend on your laptop you have to spend x amount of hours with human beings or by yourself apart from technology.
Here are four suggestions to build a peaceful mind on your technology break:

Sit or lie down and let your mind wander. Get into a technology-free place (not at your computer desk), and let your mind go where it pleases. Don’t stop it, but notice it and let it go. Notice what you notice. Catch yourself thinking.
Breathe. I learned this technique as a teenager from Dr. Weil. He calls it the 4-7-8. I practice this a little before bedtime as it is a relaxing exercise. It’s easy and it works:

· Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
· Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
· Hold your breath for a count of seven.
· Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
· This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

Red tea. I discovered red tea (a.k.a. rooibos) when I was looking for a salubrious decaffeinated tea. I drink this at night. According to South African Rooibos Council, red tea’s chemical properties may help alleviate digestive problems, allergies, and anxiety.
Walk. Take a technology-free walk. Walk with another beloved human or a pet. Leave everything else at home. Notice what you notice.

Now it’s your turn. How do you spend your technology break? What suggestions do you have for those of us who can’t pull ourselves away from a screen of some sort?

Avoid Burnout: Practice Kindness

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:29:29 GMT

Earlier today I was perusing blogs related to “burnout.” I wanted to see what other bloggers were saying, suggesting, and maybe make some connections.

I stumbled upon this one blog – the author IS burned out in her job. She has applied for a different job, and has totally checked out of the current one, showing up in body only. From her own description she has one crappy attitude. Then she has the audacity to complain that nobody pays attention to her.

Frankly, I can’t blame them. I wanted to put my eye out with a sharp stick rather than read any more of her whining. Being the problem solver that I am though, it got me thinking.

I have been in situations where I hated my job. We all have. One of the things you can do to make a horrid work situation more tolerable for yourself, others, and the situation is to stop looking inward, and start looking outward.

Observe

The people with whom you work
The boss
The tone of the work environment and how it changes throughout the day

Reach Out

Initiate conversations
Listen to others, and let them know you heard in some way (paraphrasing can be a bit overkill, so get creative about this. Asking more questions about what was said shows your interest.)
Remember some detail about what you were told, use it in conversation with that person to let them know you remember

Practice Kindness

Show interest in other people
Do something nice for the group or more quietly for an individual
Do something nice anonymously for someone who needs a little boost

When you practice kindness,

you take your attention off of your own ‘misery.’ (As one of my friends frequently says “Get over yourself!“)
you can watch the atmosphere of your work environment change for the better.
perhaps the job will not improve, but there will be at least something enjoyable to look forward to, making it a little easier to endure.
you will develop a strong, positive reputation amongst your peers and your employer – making you a desirable employee.

My daughter shared this with me, and I think it is an appropriate sentiment.

Give it a try. See how acting with kindness changes your world.

Resilience: Writing for Personal AND Professional Growth

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:55:14 GMT

Writing is a vital part of keeping yourself resilient. It can help you coalesce your thoughts, can give you an avenue for expressing yourself, and can also provide a way of developing professionally.

Journal Keeping:

Keep journals of your personal experiences, to help you process the events that occur in your life. Sometimes it’s good to just ‘get it out of your system’, and sometimes it’s good to look back objectively at the emotions you are experiencing.
Journal about your professional exploits. Have you tried out a new way of teaching math? Keep a record of your processes, results, and reflections in a professional journal

Sharing your ideas:

Writing up your teaching ideas for websites is a marvelous way to make connections with other teachers, and to share your triumphs.
Professional journals publish teachers’ projects and teaching research. Being able to write it up according to their standards, while making it interesting and readable for your audience is a big plus.

Professional Development:

Get your professional development college credit by writing. Organizations such as The Attic offer writing courses for college credit. these are courses that focus upon your writing, not your students. The fact is, if you work on your own writing, you will be that much better a writing teacher for your own students.
Many schools of education teach a variety of courses related to everything from teaching writing to professional writing for teachers.

So think about writing as a way to keep yourself resilient.

Another self-care reminder

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:46:45 GMT

Some of you have already begun the school year, and many of you will begin next week. Are you spending the weekend working your hind end off getting ready for the new school year?

I hope not. Of course you have to be ready for that first day. We all know that being well-prepared is the best prevention for other problems in the classroom. Although, I hope you will take this weekend to prepare your self for being your best self this year. All you really have to be ready with is a general plan for how your year will proceed, and your first week’s lesson plans. That’s all.

This is a reminder to take care of yourself this holiday weekend – either pamper yourself, or reinvigorate yourself by doing something fun. Spend time with people you care about. Treat yourself to something that will de-stress you.

Then show up for the first day of classes relaxed, renewed, and the best you that you have to offer your students. That’s really what you have to give to others – your best self.

Avoid Burnout – Two Critical Back to School Self-Care Tips

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:49:41 GMT

Staying calm in the face of the busy season can be a real trick. The beginning of the school year can be insanely busy with meetings and planning and getting the room all set up for the coming students.

First, organization will save you.Take a little time to organize yourself. Make lists so you don’t have to worry about forgetting things. Keep the list with you. (If you have a cell phone with voice capability, then you’re really rolling. If not, a good old-fashioned notepad will do just fine.)

Think about ways you can streamline the way you run your classroom so that you are not creating more work for yourself. For example, doing regular parent communication can save you a lot of time. When parents receive a regular weekly email from you, for example about what to expect in the coming school week, you save yourself a ton of time having to answer questions later on. Send the email out on the same day each week, so parents know when to watch for it, and set aside a regular time each day to respond to parent emails so you are not seen as not caring about parent involvement. This will save you loads and loads of headaches later on.

Second, and perhaps most important, take a little time to breathe.

When you find yourself running at an insane pace, invigorating though that might be, remember, that’s your adrenalin kicking in. You really do want to save that adrenalin rush for emergency situations.

Try this. When you notice your heart is beating faster, and you are going 100 mph, remind yourself to slow down. You can pull this off if you start practicing right now.

Here’s how I do it. You may have another way that works for you.

1. visualize a peaceful place

2. pay attention to breathing

3. will your pulse to slow down

4. feel a sense of calm within yourself

Now approach your tasks. When you find yourself ramping up again, go back to that visualization. You will the ability to relax will come easier and easier the more you practice. You will be able to pull it off without anyone even noticing you are taking a moment to breathe.

Remember to take care of yourself this school year. Nobody can do that but you.

Self-care reminder

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:38:29 GMT

Just a quick check – are you remembering to take care of your self this summer? It’s difficult to remember to take care of yourself when so many people are relying on you to manage them. I just spent the past few days with my aging parents – and these days they have a lot of needs.

One thing I really had to do for myself, and for them really, was to honor my boundaries. As much as I would like to fix their problems and their issues in life, it’s not my place, and it’s not my job to do that.

The same goes when you are working with students. Some of them come to us with the most horrendous of life situations, or with outside support issues. There are some things we can do to help or support those students, but we can’t fix it for them.

As educators, we tend to want to make things right in the world for people – ideally so they will be successful learners in our class. It is really difficult to feel comfortable with setting boundaries as to how much you are able to help.

Here is some advice from Dana Gionta, Ph.D. – a clinical psychologist and contributor to Psychology Today.

Balance your schedule with actual breaks, not work related.
Make time to socialize with co-workers
Limit how much you allow co-workers, departmental needs, etc. to eat up your outside of work time.
Minimize multi-tasking to avoid burnout
Try to be flexible about this without overextending yourself

In other words, the key is balance. The other unspoken key to all this is being able to say “no.” You can do it.