5 Essential Teacher Wellness Tips for a More Engaging Classroom

Teachers have an immensely demanding job! Trying to manage the behavior of 25-30 unique students, plus get them to learn and master the subject you teach, all while individualizing instruction to meet the needs of each one. Add on to those duties, grading papers, attending committee meetings, scheduling parent conferences, communicating with parents, extra-curricular activities such as coaching, and lesson planning, it can get extremely overwhelming and can also lead to burnout. I've been there before! Burnout and stress can really take a toll on your mental and physical well-being. As educators, we cannot serve our students in the best way possible, when we are in burnout mode. It is absolutely in the best interest of everyone to take care of ourselves.

I know that you have probably read blogs like this before, talking about exercise and meditation and maybe even thought, "yeah, ok, when do I have time for this?" Those were my first thoughts as well, but eventually I tried some things that did actually help. Those are the ideas that I would like to talk about and hopefully put a unique spin on how to beat the burnout educators face everyday.

Tip #1- Prioritize Self-Care

I listed this as number one because if you don't prioritize yourself, then you won't be able to do anything that I list in this blog. If you do not think of yourself as important enough to prioritize, then nothing is going to work. You HAVE TO find the time in your day or week to work on physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. All three of these go together to prevent teacher burnout and manage stress. You cannot just focus on one area or you will create an imbalance. However, they can all be intertwined together using the following tips. But I cannot emphasize this anymore... self-care has to become a priority in your life! It always reminds me of the safety procedures in an airplane- if something happens put on your oxygen mask FIRST! You cannot help others if you are struggling to breathe.

Tip #2- Establish Healthy Boundaries

It's no secret, teachers! This one is hard for us to do! I have seen teachers come to work at 6:30am and not leave until 7pm at night. Why? Contract hours usually begin around 7:30am and end at 3:30pm. It's okay to honor those contract hours. There is nothing wrong with adhering to those hours. I know what you are thinking.... we cannot get everything done that we need to do! My answer to that is this... so what? So what if you don't get every single paper graded that the students did that day? So what if you didn't have a chance to call that parent back? So what if you did not get all of those birthday cakes laminated to put on the birthday bulletin board? It will all still be there next day. Grade what papers you can during your planning period. Just make sure you get the minimum amount of grades put in per district policy. Put a smiley face on the rest of the papers and hand them back. Send a quick email to the parent to answer their question. As for the laminating task, find a student helper! I am sure you could find an older student from the school that would love to help with that.

Another thing that really great teachers do is over-extend themselves. Not only do you teach your class/classes, you most likely coach a sport or mentor new teachers or serve on several school or district committees. Chances are, you probably get asked to do these extra duties a lot, especially if you are a seasoned and highly-effective teacher. But do you know what? It is completely okay to say no. Set those boundaries! Come up with a number of extra duties you can handle and stick to it! Even if that number is zero. You can only handle what you know you can handle. By saying no to extra tasks and keeping to contract hours you will be helping yourself avoid teacher burnout and manage your stress.

Tip #3- Engage in Regular Exercise

I understand that this one can be really easy for some and extremely difficult for others. It's been both at various times in my life, but I can fully attest to the importance of prioritizing your physical health. It's actually an imperative part of teacher wellness. In my life, the times that I did not prioritize exercise have been full of mental health struggles and feelings of hopelessness and uncomfortable in my own body. On the other hand, when I have gone through long periods of prioritizing exercise I feel like a normal person again. I don't have as many aches and pains and my mental health is 100% better. So how can all teachers incorporate exercise in their lives? Here is a quick list:

• Morning Routine- If you're and early riser, this might work well for you. Get up and go for a walk or quick jog, do a yoga routine, or hit the gym if you have one at home.

• Classroom Movement Breaks- Incorporate movement breaks with your students. Do stretches, run in place, jumping jacks, squats, or any other body movement routine. Not only will this help you, it will help your kids as well.

• Active Commuting- If this is feasible, consider walking or biking to school each day.

• After-School Routine- Make a date with the gym at 4pm each day. Of course it doesn't have to be the gym but make it a date to exercise.

• Weekend Workouts- Maybe you can only fit in workouts on the weekends and that is just fine! Commit to longer more leisurely workouts that you enjoy.

There are so many benefits to exercise and I sincerely hope that this is something you make a priority in your life. Your energy will skyrocket and your mental health struggles will decrease immensely. Exercise has been proven to be the best tool for stress reduction. All of these benefits will decrease your burnout and increase your classroom engagement!

Tip #4- Find Time for Hobbies

There are so many activities that I enjoyed doing that I pretty much quit after I started my teaching career and began having a family. I just didn't have the time for hobbies. I have recently began some of these ventures again and it has made quite a difference in my thought process. I would like to share my own experiences so that you might understand the power of finding joy in hobbies.

I am pretty passionate about 3 things: music, writing, and reading. I joined a book club a few months ago and have had such a wonderful time meeting with women that share the same interests. We get together once a month to discuss our book and eat and have some wine. We also have a group chat that I really enjoy being a part of and sharing my thoughts and surprises on the books we read. Not only do I get to read, but I've gained a group of supportive friends as well.

I've always enjoyed writing and I've wanted to start a blog for years. I finally decided to just do it and write about what I'm most passionate about, which is helping teachers be their best! I look forward to my time at the end of the day to sit and research and write about topics that I think will eventually help others. It makes me feel useful in the world and I enjoy all the parts that come with blogging such as, making reels and marketing my blog.

My greatest hobby and the one most personal to me is music. Singing, playing guitar and writing songs to be more specific. I love it. I can't even explain my feelings about it other than pure joy and love. So, I began challenging myself a bit and posting some songs on my Facebook and Instagram account.

The reason that I am sharing these experiences is because I want you to understand the power that this has had on my mental health. I feel joy, not despair. I feel like I am a part of this world, not just someone going through life unnoticed and alone. And because of this, I've gained confidence and energy to get up and get going! That is what I want for you! So find those hobbies and get going! Find your passion and share it with the world! Your wellness as a teacher depends on it!

Tip #5- Cultivate a Supportive Community for Teacher Wellness

It's very important to build relationships and bond with people that you work with. This is especially true as an educator because other people don't always understand the stress and burnout that we endure sometimes. We need supportive people in our corner that we can go to when we need it. The school that you work at should be cultivating a culture of support. If it's not, there are several things that you can do as a teacher to help build a better supportive culture.

• Teammate Bonding- Try to eat lunch together as a team each day. During lunch you can talk about the day and discuss any issues or amazing things happening in your classroom. Eating with your teammates makes it easier to get to know one another and find your commonalities.

• Support Committee- If your school does not have one of these, ask if you could start one. We call ours "The Sunshine Committee". The purpose of it is to create a culture of support and build rapport between all staff. We plan potluck lunches, buy birthday, sympathy, and thank you cards for staff, plan holiday parties, and also plan team building activities for after hours, such as bowling or happy hours.

It's also important to have a network of friends and family to use as support, not just coworkers. Make time to socialize with these supportive people and do fun things together.

Prioritizing your wellness as a teacher is so important, not only for you, but for your students and your family. We cannot be our best if we feel down in the dumps. Remember the importance of "putting on your oxygen mask first". If you prioritize yourself you will feel so much better and your lessons will be more exciting and engaging. You will also have more energy for your family. Get that exercise and do what is best for you!