During January I did trainings at quite a few schools and there was one commonality at all of them — people are tired. Teachers and staff are feeling the pressure and fatigue of having too many demands, not enough resources, and students who are struggling.
Feeling this collective exhaustion at one of my recent trainings, I decided to change up the way we started our time together. We spent time talking about why we do what we do. It’s so easy to forget why we got into education because to be honest, it’s hard right now!
Some days we want to be like a kindergartener or first grader who falls on the floor kicking and screaming, saying, “I don’t want to do this anymore!”
Next, we talked about how when kids fall on the floor, they are literally getting grounded so they can go on with their day. How can we do a version of this for ourselves? What can we do to metabolize our stress throughout the day so that our stress doesn’t metabolize us?
See if you can give yourself a quick “grounding break” to reset when you need to today. You could pause and look at the trees outside your window, or take time to twist in your chair as you breathe slowly; or simply allow yourself to take one big sigh before you move on to whatever comes next in your day. And if you have time and space, go ahead and lay on the floor for a moment and notice how you feel afterwards.
Just like your students, you deserve small breaks throughout the day to get grounded.
Will these breaks change how hard it is to be in education right now? No, but it will change the way you deal with the stress so you can continue to do great work.
Taking small breaks with your students is super easy with the movemindfully App. Select a mindfulness practice that feels right for the moment, click “play” and project it on your whiteboard. Fun and easy!