Heading 1NDMTSS Conference
Description
Teachers have always needed to know and practice protective strategies in their social emotional first aid kits to manage the daily stressors of working on the front lines of a human-service oriented profession. That need has never been greater given the massive increase in uncertainty and unpredictability in the teaching profession and in one's personal life due to COVID.
In short, teaching is emotional labor-- the effort required to manage and metabolize strong emotions like anger, shame, guilt, anxiety, and overwhelm, as well as generate and stoke positive emotions like joy, hope, and compassion.
Stress significantly diminishes a teacher's capacity to regulate their negative emotions and cultivate positive emotions. Ironically, teachers who leave the profession often cite their inability to cope with their own emotional reactions to loss of control, unpredictability, and lack of purpose in their teaching as the primary reason for burnout.
There are many, many strategies and practices rooted in cognitive and affective neuroscience and social and behavioral sciences that teachers can learn, practice, and integrate into their personal and professional lives as teachers to metabolize stress, manage negative energy, protect themselves from the burnout cycle, and find joy in teaching the whole year through!
Learning Objectives
In this session, teachers will:
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Explore the core elements of the teacher burnout cycle and learn how to protect one's self from the 2 paths to burning out,
Present TeacherTM
Virtual Well-Being Series
Balancing your mental & spiritual
well-being while being a teacher
during uncertainty and change.
Core Values of Present TeacherTM
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Teaching is a calling, and this calling is our most important and precious source of powerful mental, emotional, and spiritual energy.
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The ultimate sacrifice, ourselves, is not an option for any educator. We must be healthy, whole, and embodied to be fully present for our students so they feel seen, felt, and understood, and because our purpose on this planet should bring us closer to ourselves (not further away).
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We can learn to METABOLIZE stress to BURN IN to our mental health, emotional intelligence, and self-vibrancy! We can leverage stress to stoke the best parts of who we are. We can then inspire, influence, and make an impact as educators that is in alignment with our values and personal integrity.
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"We teach who we are," (Parker Palmer) so taking deliberate and intentional care of our minds, bodies, and spirits IS how we best serve our students, our own children, peers, parents, family members, and the broader community. Our vibrant, alive, happy, and healthy personal PRESENCE as teachers is our greatest professional asset AND greatest source of personal well-being.
