וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃
Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Eternal.
If you must love your neighbor as yourself, you must first love yourself in order to love your neighbor. In order to have a meaningful relationship with our students, we must first take care of ourselves as teachers. What are some self-care techniques you employ? What can we as teachers do to take care of ourselves?
The following is a selection of self-care tips for teachers from 55 Teaching Dilemmas: Ten Powerful Solutions to Almost Any Classroom Challenge by Kathy Paterson:
Tension-Taming Techniques
- Learn to recognize the things, people, and situations that cause you stress, as well as your personal signals of stress, such as a headache or quickness of breath.
- List the moments of happiness, peace, and joy you have had in the past week. If these are few, you may have reached your stress quota. Insist on taking a time-out; one of the best ways to do this is to go for a long walk.
- Stand apart from trivial classroom conflicts, such as the “he-did-it-first” or “she-took-my…” arguments, or from unimportant disagreements that arise in the staff room, such as who cleans the microwave. Choose your battles carefully. Avoid the ones where failure is probable unless this avoidance would lead to personal reproach for not having fought at all. Consider each situation separately.
- Consider yourself a “teacher in progress” as opposed to a “teacher product.” Accept that you are always growing and learning and are allowed mistakes.
- Get enough rest. Plan for two hours rest more than usual at least once a week. If you have trouble sleeping, try meditating, listening to relaxation music, using guided imagery (tell yourself a story), or discussing the matter with a doctor.
- Look at the beauty around you. Make a point of finding one miracle a day, perhaps something as simple as snow sparkling in the sun.