Category Archives: Wellness

Create A Simple Stress Reduction Plan

Create A Simple Stress Reduction Plan For Your Sanity

 

Stress Is A Health Wrecker

It’s that time of year again. Summer vacation is over and school begins soon. Time flies when you’re having fun, but the bills must be paid. So, it’s back to work you go. Teachers, your classroom, and students await. Principals and administrators, your school community needs you. Do you feel a bit of anxiety thinking about it? Don’t fret, because you are going to create a simple stress reduction plan as a pre-emptive strike.

Stress is a health wrecker and killer. The Mayo Clinic has a list of effects of stress on the body. The effects range from headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, fatigue and more. Stress also affects you emotionally and spiritually. Therefore, you don’t want to carry around stress like a heavy purse. Begin to learn your triggers of stress and develop a plan to combat the effects. Stress reduction is key to your health and sanity. Continue reading →

Educators Need Social-Emotional Learning, Too.

 

Social-Emotional Learning is the Rage

Social-emotional learning is all the rage in education. However, the focus is mainly on the children and not on the adults. Rarely is it discussed the possibilities of addressing the social-emotional needs of educators. It is time to explore how social-emotional learning for the adults can positively change the field of education. It is time to discuss that educators need social-emotional learning, too.

As a principal of a high needs school, my team and I focused on developing great social-emotional programming for our students. Our students came to us with an array of emotions, experiences, and circumstances. Consequently, we recognized that these issues affected teaching and learning. Then we took into consideration the needs of our students and began to offer services and programming as a means of support.

While providing social-emotional support to our students, we did not look deep enough into the needs of the teachers and staff members. We implemented great programs like Calm Classroom, Second Step. CHAMPS, restorative practice and peace circles. We also created a care team consisting of counselors, social workers, psychologists, teachers, assistant principal, and principal. Also, we provided professional development to the teachers in all of the programming. We became a trauma-informed school. However, now in hindsight, one component was missing. Social-emotional learning for teachers and staff should have been a priority, too.  Continue reading →

Recovery and Rediscovery: Find Time for Yourself

 

A Season to Recover and Rediscover

Educators across the country look forward to the summer months. During this time they can unwind a bit and try to get some personal things done. So, why not look at the summer months a little differently. Look at this season for recovery, rediscovery and how to find time for yourself.

The last blog post talked about reflection, rebooting, and recharging during the summer months. Recovery and rediscovery are just another part of your process to become a healthier educator. As teachers or administrators, you know that time is a luxury. There is never enough of it! For example, you have probably made statements like these. “ I need more time in the day to do all that I need to do.” Or you have said, “I’m so busy that I don’t have time to breathe or go to the bathroom.” Then there is the statement, “ I wish that I had some time for me.” Before you know it, you are unhappy, overwhelmed and stressed by everyday life and work issues.

Do you need some free time?

Continue reading →