Teaching, especially classroom teaching, is difficult and getting more difficult every day. I have been teaching or working as a coach for teachers for 28 years now and have seen many changes, but one thing remains true. Teachers have to help each other take care of themselves in order to keep going and prevent burnout.
Even with all of the demands and all of the needs of students in our classrooms, most teachers I know still love the kids and find joy in many of their interactions with students. That keeps us going and helps us find meaning in our work, but it won’t sustain us without the support from other teachers and the self-care we need to provide for ourselves. We have to stick together in order to make teaching a sustainable career. Here are 16 ways we can support each other.
1 – When someone on your team or on your staff is dealing with a big life event (illness or death in the family or a new baby for example), writing a card or a note, providing a meal, or giving them a small gift can make a big difference. At my school, two faculty members are our “go-to” people to inform of life events on our team. When we know that someone could use some support, we inform these people who organize a meal sign-up or a contribution to a gift card. We also have a social committee at our school who plan social events for our staff (First Friday after school events at local restaurants, holiday and end-of-year parties). They also organize baby and wedding showers. But even if you don’t have an organizational committee at your school, it’s easy to write a note or send an email to staff, asking for support for someone who needs it.
2 – Plan to do something you enjoy outside of school. Get together with another teacher friend for a glass of wine, a pottery class, a yoga class, or just take a walk together. Encourage your teacher friends (and yourself) to continue to engage in hobbies outside of your school life.
3 – When you know that someone on your team is dealing with something difficult at school (a stressful IEP or parent meeting, a disciplinary situation with a student), offer to do something to give them a break. Even covering their class for a few minutes so they can go to the bathroom or go to the workroom or just walk around for a bit can make a big difference. If it’s you that needs a short break, ask a trusted teacher friend to help you out.
4 – If someone on your team has a potentially challenging parent conference scheduled, offer to stay later at work so that you can be available as support or just to provide a listening ear afterwards. If you need that kind of support, ask someone on your team to do that for you.
5 – When a new mom on your staff comes back to school after family leave, check in with them and offer support. They may be pumping breast milk during the day. Your school should be providing a private and comfortable space for that, along with the time. Can you do something for them (such as make copies) during that time so that they are less stressed? They are probably sleep deprived and may be stressed about leaving their baby in childcare. Simply letting them know you care will make a big difference to them.
6 – Consider other leadership opportunities for yourself or for a colleague. Not everyone wants to be a classroom teacher for 30 years, but not everyone wants to move into administration positions either. Are there other opportunities that you could consider? Being an instructional coach, mentoring, getting a different degree or certification so that you can move into a guidance counseling role, a media specialist role or a teacher for AIG or ELL students are all possibilities. Do you have a local university where you might be qualified to teach a class? Could you do some writing for teachers or help create curriculum? What about people on your team who might want or need a career change? Do you see qualities in them that might indicate a gift in certain areas?
7 – Not everyone wants to get involved in politics, but politicians sure seem to love getting involved in education. I have seen some teachers get energized around the idea of advocating for the teaching profession through a professional organization or by directly lobbying state legislators. If this idea is exciting to you, look for ways you can get involved and make your voice heard. Writing is one way, participating in face-to-face meetings is another way, and campaigning for legislators or for school board members might be yet another way to get involved.
8 – Think about ways that you can contribute to creating a positive and supportive climate at your school. Some ideas I have seen: starting a prayer group or Bible study with other teachers; having a book study group with other teachers; having a bulletin board set aside for posting one-sentence notes of appreciation for others; sharing successes or “wins” at the beginning of faculty or other meetings.
9 – Keep a “happy list” or a “happy file.” Someone suggested this to me years ago and it has been a very positive part of my life. Set up an email file and store any emails you receive that are particularly uplifting in some way. Keep a box or storage bin for notes or letters from colleagues, parents or students that make you remember WHY you are doing what you’re doing. Keep a document where you add any and every positive thing that happens at work. Often people will say something to you in the course of the day that makes you feel happy or appreciated, but it’s easy to forget that in the course of the day. This document lets you quickly write it down so you won’t forget it, and you can come back to it at any time.
10 – School districts are notorious for having 50 billion goals and initiatives every year. 50 billion is an exaggeration, but it might not feel that way sometimes! The problem with this is: if everything is important, NOTHING is important. So think about your goals within whatever goals your school or principal has identified as being the focus. Write them all down — all the goals for yourself or for your classroom. Now prioritize them. Put them in order from most important to least important. Take a look at that list. Can you now narrow it down to your top five most important goals? How about your top three? Narrowing down your goals to what is most important for you and your classroom will help you stay focused and shut out all the “noise”. I’m not saying to ignore the goals and initiatives — you’ll have to do something with them, no matter what — but think about what matters most to you and for the students in your classroom.
11 – Do the same thing with your calendar. You do not have to attend everything. If you try to attend your students’ extracurricular events, try to limit how many of those you attend in one week. If it’s a busy week with several meetings, where can you cut back on something else? I try to maintain a “rule” for myself of no more than two evening events or meetings per week. I can’t always abide by that, but when I do it makes my weeks so much more enjoyable and relaxed. Some weeks are worse than others, but it helps to try to cut back on everything that does not have to be done or attended that week.
12 – When your team meets together for planning or for PLC meetings, it helps to allot 5-10 minutes for an opening transition and 3-5 minutes for a closing transition. I know this is hard to do when time is so limited and everyone is busy. But when you start your meeting with a chance for people to decompress (briefly), get focused on the agenda for the meeting and ask any clarifying questions before you get down to business, it helps keep everyone from getting derailed during the meeting. Same with the end of the meeting – allow for a few minutes to wrap up by stating where you will start next time, what are the next steps/things to do, and take a deep breath before going back to your classroom or to whatever next activity is on the schedule. This is one example where taking the time to do these simple things will actually save you time and help your team be more efficient in the long run.
13 – Actually stop and eat lunch. This is another tough one. Very often I am in planning meetings or PLC meetings and eating lunch while we’re meeting. I can’t change that on my schedule, but on the days when we are not meeting at lunch, I try to stop and just eat and focus on my food for a few minutes. Try it for just one day per week and see if it doesn’t help you feel more relaxed.
14 – Here’s another tip you will think you don’t have time for — go outside at lunch or during a break and walk around. Get some fresh air, a bit of exercise and a changed perspective. Even just walking your students to recess or walking around at recess will make a difference.
15 – When you’re sick, take a sick day. If you need a mental health day, take a sick day. Yes, I know that writing sub plans resembles a military general’s plans for going into battle, but your health matters more. Getting some extra rest, taking some time to get well or to spend a day doing things for yourself will make you so much more effective when you are at school.
16 – The importance of self-care cannot be overstated. This entire blog is basically devoted to that idea. You can give and give and give all day, but if you never give anything to yourself, you will burn out much faster. This is not just advice for a career in teaching — this is advice for your life! The only way to keep going in anything that is important to you (teaching, parenting, any other important work) is to take care of yourself FIRST. That doesn’t have to mean expensive or time-consuming tasks that take you away from your family or your work. This is about doing small things for yourself throughout the day. It might mean getting up a little earlier to fit in a short workout before school. It might mean taking a leisurely bath or shower before bed. It might mean taking a nap after school. If you need some simple tips for getting started with self-care, see my 5-day quick start guide HERE.
We have to take care of ourselves and we have to look out for each other. I would love to hear your ideas!