Self-care has never been the whole answer for educators. When wellness is treated as an individual responsibility, systemic strain goes unnamed and unresolved. This piece explores why educator burnout is structural, how working conditions shape wellbeing, and why shared responsibility matters in schools and districts across roles and leadership levels.
Solution #1 for teacher recruitment and retention is salary and benefits, and that’s typically outside a principal’s control. However, what
All of my clients are people who work in caring professions. As leaders and practitioners in organizations that help others, their commitment to compassion, professionalism, and justice is genuine and profound. For them, knowing that their work makes a difference holds tremendous intrinsic value, and is the reason why they persist.
Those who lead organizations of caring professionals right now will need to ask our staff and those we serve to be flexible. Every aspect of our work will happen differently for a while, and leaders are right to communicate this truth. However, leaders can sometimes ask employees to “be flexible” when they really mean something else. Here are three examples along with some helpful tools for you and your team.
Stress is what we feel when demands from others and the pressure we place on ourselves is greater than the resources we have to manage it all. Chronic stress is what we feel when we come to understand that the sources of our stress probably aren’t going away on their own.
There is a mesquite tree in my front yard that my children love, and for that reason, it’s the most important tree in my life. My oldest loves this tree because “It looks weird and cool and spooky, and it’s fun to climb.” I think my twins like the tree because they can climb it too. What is amazing about this tree, however, is that it began as a small seed and that this tree is as big, massive, and majestic below the ground as it is above.
For the past three years, I’ve attended and facilitated professional learning events about trauma-informed practice. Each event included a section on self-care. Sometimes I would share a breathing activity or a list of inexpensive ways participants might treat themselves or their staff. More recently, I’ve participated in Zoom-yoga, and have run across two or three invitations to online meditation groups.
This article is for leaders of caring organizations who work hard to take care of their people. The words and action steps below reflect the perspectives and experiences of caring professionals who have generously and kindly shared with me what they have learned about self-care.
Imagine your family and friends were profoundly and genuinely challenged by your behavior. Because they are spending such massive amounts of energy managing your frequent, chronic, and intense outbursts, they cannot connect with others who deserve their care and attention. They feel this is unfair and that the situation has gotten out of hand. It’s time for action.
Recently, I’ve been working with a number of schools, nonprofits, and government agencies on self-care. Because I only bring my clients tools that I believe in and can recommend with integrity, I’ve been doing a lot of work on my own wellness. The Eight Dimensions of Wellness have been one of the best ways to think about what happiness and success look like in my own life, so I’ve been creating resources that anyone can use to get to know themselves from the inside out and to make their own choices about how and what to do to build the kind of life they want to lead.
