Why?As I head into my third (can that be real?) year of teaching, I've come to realize how important self-care is. And, how unpopular it is to actually practice. It is not uncommon at a school to hear people complain-bragging about how they were there until 8 or 9 the night before. It is not uncommon to feel guilty about leaving at 4:00... when we are contracted to leave. It is not uncommon to feel like less of a "super teacher" if you don't spend the time having matching bulletin boards and name tags and a themed room. I'm sure these same feelings of comparison are similar in many other fields as well. I don't doubt that teachers are the only ones out there who are overworked and who have to stay well past 40 hours/week to actually do the job that is expected of them. But here's the thing about self care: it should be our number one priority. (Cue gasping. But what about the children!?!) I mean it though, I really do! During the past few weeks of inservice, we've had people come in to tell us how important curriculum is. How important diversified instruction is. How important collaboration is. Integrating the arts. Writing good IEPs. Behavior interventions. And it goes on and on and on. Even the speakers telling us about "mindfulness" and "wellness" who claimed to be for us, even they instructed us on how we should be teaching social and emotional learning. No one will be looking out primarily for your OWN self care. That is why YOU need to! (This is as much a reminder to myself as it is to others. I forget this on the daily.) [Insert corny picture of person sitting next to a child putting their own oxygen mask on first.] How?As much as self-care is important, learning how to do your OWN self care is also crucial. For me, it means meditation in the mornings, regular exercise, eating healthy foods, and walking to and from work each day. It means talking to good friends, practicing hobbies in the evenings, and getting enough sleep each night. It also means boundaries. Meaning, I'll take a lunch break each day unless there are dire circumstances. I will leave work to be home in time to make and eat dinner with my husband. I will chose not to check work emails at home. And, when I inevitably think about work (okay, stress about work) at home, I will gently remind myself, without self-judgement, "This can wait until tomorrow. I do not need to worry about this right now. I am not working now." A Final ThoughtIf you chose self-care, you may not be the "super teacher" who has a beautiful insta feed and wins annual awards. You may not be the super accountant or super programmer or super fill-in-the-blank.
But you will have something better. A whole, balanced, and satisfying life that is not based solely on the work you preform. As I heard in a great sermon this weekend "Why sacrifice what only you can do, for something somebody else can do?" meaning, I am the only one who can be a wife to Sam. I am not compromising that for the role of SPED teacher, a job many other people can & will do. My life is not my job. I chose a full life. I chose self care.
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December 2022
I'm guessing I'll have it all figured out by the time I turn 30.
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