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.
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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.
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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.
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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,
Teacher SE:
SOUL & Emotional First Aid
Learning Objectives
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Develop a repertoire of emotional and spiritual health strategies to restore hope and gratitude amidst uncertainty.
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Explore "emotional labor" in the teaching profession & how your mood impacts your teaching,
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Learn how perception, thoughts, and emotions are all interconnected and impact your daily mood and "emotional style"
Core Elements of
Soul & Emotional First Aid
JOY
Click to discover powerful gratitude practices from Mindful Magazine.
HOPE
Emotional Health & Resilience
"Mental and emotional immunity is just learning to avoid the destructive emotions and to develop the positive emotions."
(The Book of Joy)
Facts about moods that will change your life:
Creating the Teachable Moment (Darlene Stewart)
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Moods come from the inside.
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the world outside is a reflection of the world inside.
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Moods can change.
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A change in mood changes everything.
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Moods are contagious.
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Communicating in negative moods leads to misunderstanding and conflict.
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Moods alter our sense of time.
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Low-mood thinking starts a negative feedback cycle that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Soul Health & Resilience
Acting in alignment with A (awareness), B (breath), and C (choice) in emotionally proactive moments to cultivate core virtues
A (Awareness)
Feel the emotional reaction.
What is this emotion meant to show me?
How am I perceiving this moment?
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B
Breath
What are my core values?
How do I want to "be" and feel in moments like this?
What's a slightly better thought to think and emotion that I'd like to feel?
VIRTUES
A virtue is a characteristic of a person which supports and cultivates their well-being as they act in alignment with it.
Virtues are good ways to BE.
Courage
Honor
Reverence
Compassion
Grace
Gratitude
Commitment
Hope
Joy
Forgivness
Empathy
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C (choice)
What virtue do I want to cultivate and embody in this moment?
What actions would align with this virtue?
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Self-Care
Soul & Emotional Health
Practice Plan
#1: Meditate
Dan Harris
10% Happier
#2: A.B.C
Soul & Emotional Health Practice
In addition to calming your body and mind, it is critical that you shape shift your perception and line of thinking and feeling toward the stressors in your teaching and your life.
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We do this through intentional focus and reflection on our emotional triggers and how they impact our actions. A fundamental way to practice this awareness of our daily emotional re-actions is to engage "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy." CBT is a powerful psychological tool that is rooted in comprehensive theories of emotions and behaviors connected to these emotions.
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Grab some sticky notes! When you have an emotional reaction you would like to learn more about WHY you felt and behaved the way you did, walk your awareness through the Infinite Well-Being Model above. Slow yourself down to really focus on the reflection prompts and write your responses out on your sticky notes.
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You will be amazed at what you discover is the true origin of your stress, anxiety, fear, etc...
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Your Spiritual Rx: Complete (1) S.E. Health Reflection per day for 7 days.
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