Rejuvenation for Educators

For many districts around the nation, the last week of school is coming up. Although students may have been energized by the barrage of field trips, field days, assemblies, concerts, celebrations, and school countdowns, educators are likely feeling exhausted. Tears on the last day are not only from the relationships that will soon be missed, but also from the fatigue that has been pushed off because there was too much to do.
 
This week, as you say your goodbyes to teachers, you might consider leaving them with a message about rejuvenation – ideas that will help them make the space to recharge physically, mentally, and emotionally. What that means, of course, will be different for each teacher. Just like their students, teachers have unique personalities, unique wants and needs. Unique ways to refill their reservoirs.
 
And while you’re thinking about how to support teachers replenish, make a plan for your own nourishment as well.
 
Education is social business. This means that teachers’ days are filled with relationships and interactions. Teachers have less personal time during their work day than any other profession. Whether a teacher is naturally more extroverted or introverted, this constant parade of people takes a toll. Scheduling time alone in the upcoming weeks could be part of teachers’ rejuvenation plan.  This might mean a mountain retreat, a solo night at the movies, daily morning walks in the park, or a good soak in the tub. For teacher-moms with young children, who will also be out of school, purposeful planning will be required. As exhausted as these teachers are right now, they might need a little nudge to make this happen.
 
One teacher I spoke to recently, reflecting on last summer, said, “I had forgotten how it feels to be a normal person, how it feels to be myself. I didn’t even realize how hard work was until I didn’t have to do it every day.”  Teaching well requires a teacher to be all in, and her personal interests may be squeezed out of the schedule. Thank goodness for summer! Encourage teachers to make time to reconnect with their unique talents and interests. This can replenish their reserves.
 
Teaching is also a physically demanding job. We work completely on someone else’s schedule, adjusting our bodily needs to fit the clock. This can take a toll. During the summer, educators can sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom at times more aligned with their personal needs. Letting your body find it’s natural sleep rhythm by turning off the alarms can offer a recharge. (Allowing children their own morning diversion might be necessary!) Summer might be the time to meet with a health coach, reevaluate nutrition, drink more water, and extend the exercise routine. Scheduling an annual physical and semi-annual dental visits should be on the summer list if they haven’t happened regularly.
 
Of course, we don’t completely take off our teacher hats over the summer. Summer also gives us the leisure (dare I use that word!) to read a professional book, revise the unit that didn’t go as planned, attend a workshop that we choose, sort through accumulated teacher supplies, and gather new ones for next year. Revisiting and renewing instructional approaches can recharge us professionally.
 
For a list of Educator Rejuvenation Options to share with teachers so they can create their own plan for refilling personal reservoirs, click here. It might be the most welcome paper teachers find in their mailbox this week!
 
As a lifelong educator, summer has always been my favorite season. I love my work, but I also love putting my hands in garden soil, hiking mountain trails, traveling, and spending time with family. These things get squeezed out during the school year. Although I understand the rationale for year-round schools, I value the change of pace a summer break brings, along with the fresh start we get when a new year gets underway. Let’s help teachers, and ourselves, prepare for a pause that will refill and restore. When school resumes, we’ll all be glad that we did.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
Videos showing how math is used in various careers, along with interactive challenges full of algebraic reasoning for older students:

http://www.thirteen.org/get-the-math/

Integrating Math + Literacy:  Going on a Shape Hunt
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/going-shape-hunt-integrating-776.html?tab=4#tabs

For those of you who still have time left in the school year, check out these ideas for the last weeks of school:
http://www.middleweb.com/7320/ideas-the-last-weeks-of-school/

Think like a writer/think like a teacher:
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/being-a-teacher-writer-is-more-than-being-a-teacher-who-writes/
 
Use upper-grade “Reading Ambassadors” to ignite reading interest:
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/reading-ambassadors/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: MAY2023 for 15% off plus FREE SHIPPING. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!
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