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Care for the Child Starts with Care for Ourselves
Care for the Child Starts with Care for Ourselves
“Ultimately, there are two kinds of schools: learning-enriched schools and learning impoverished schools. I’ve yet to see a school where the learning curves of the youngsters are off the chart upward while the learning curves of the adults are off the chart downward, or a school where the learning curves of the adults were steep upward and those of the students were not. Teachers and students go hand in hand as learners - or they do not go at all." (Barth, 2001, p. 23)
As adults, we provide important models for children. No child can be expected to accomplish self-nurturing, compassion and emotional regulation that is not shown to them as example. Thus, it is paramount as educators and caregivers of children that we first take care of ourselves. Much like in an airplane, we are instructed to put our own oxygen masks on first so that we are able to put on the oxygen masks of others without becoming incapacitated. Trying to keep up for the needs of a child without first meeting our own needs as a human being is a losing battle that takes an intense emotional, physical and spiritual toll on the whole person.
Those in caregiver roles, including teachers, have a higher rate of burnout, which includes symptoms such as emotional and physical exhaustion, social isolation, feeling helpless, becoming unusually irritable, changes in sleep patterns, unable to concentrate, changes in appetite/ weight and getting sick more often. According to the CDC, 1 in 5 caregivers report poor health and there is a higher prevalence of chronic disease among caregivers than the general population.
Because of the realities of caregiver burnout, it is especially pertinent that caregivers tend to themselves and practice regular self-care that address every area of their whole personhood to be able to tend to the whole child. What does it mean to nourish the whole educator? As detailed in the diagram above, positive relationships with other adults, teacher professional development training, and a positive school environment to to support the "whole teacher."
Relationships matter - relationships between adults at school matter and relationships between all members of a school community matters. No matter how much we, as individuals, have good relationships, if we walk into a negative school atmosphere, it will, affect us.
Professional development helps educators feel more prepared with a greater tool and skillset, helping us to feel whole and well-rounded in our approaches to problem-solving.
Self-Care Resources
Self-Care Resources
General Information
General Information
Self-care is a well-rounded approach to a healthy lifestyle and includes regular, daily and weekly practices. Well-rounded self-care includes:
Nutritious diet: rich in vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, protein (limiting red meats) and whole grains.
Physical activity: 30 min 5 days of week of an exercise that gets your heart rate up as well as strength training 2 days a week
Sleep: adults must get, on average, 7-9 hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally, protect immunity and regular appetite. Sleep debt can incur for up to two weeks so if we have slept less one night it is important to sleep more the next.
Community support: having a social support network is one of the greatest predictors of long-term happiness and reduction of chronic illness
Prayer/ meditation: regular activities that allow one to be still, reflect, breathe and practice intentional gratitude are important to one's overall wellbeing. Activities we enjoy such as reading, getting a massage, journaling, etc. can be a part of this prayer and meditation so long as we are intentional about these practices.
Volunteering and service: helps to reduce focus on our own life stressors and feel we are part of something larger and more meaningful than just our own lives-- regular participation in volunteering can also help us to form community.
Getting outside/ being in nature: being in nature, whether that means going for a forest walk, visiting the beach, going to the park or getting some fresh air in the sunlight has been proven to significantly impact our mood and health
Micro Self-care
Micro Self-care
Not all self-care needs to be a tremendous amount of effort or time commitment! New research finds that meditating for just 2min a day can be more effective than meditating one day a week for 20min. In this busy world, focused on ever-increasing productivity, we at the Roche center understand that it is not realistic to spend hours a day on self-care while also meeting all the other demands of life.
This is where micro self-care comes in. Micro self-care is the kind that is done in little ways all throughout the day. Taking a few seconds to breathe when we are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, saying a Hail Mary when we notice we are having a judgement about ourselves or someone else, getting up from our computers to stretch and do a few jumping jacks, texting a friend just to say hi, meal prepping on the weekends or finding a buddy at work to take turns making lunch for each other, etc. are the small things that can make a big difference in our lives and the lives of others.
To learn more about micro self-care practices, please read this article inspired by the work of Ashley Davis Bush.
The Ignatian Spirituality Workbook
The Ignatian Spirituality Workbook
Below is a Roche Center formulated Ignatian spirituality workbook which provides a basic overview of Ignatian prayer practices you can engage in your daily life to stay grounded and connected to the source and summit of Love.
IgnatianSpiritualityWorkbook.pdfThe Self-Care Workbook
The Self-Care Workbook
Below is a Roche Center formulated self-care workbook which provides basic information on how to care for yourselves as educators so that you can best care for your students.
SelfcareWorkbook_Catholicleaders.pdfProfessional Development (PD) Resources
Professional Development (PD) Resources
Elena Aguilar, a best selling author and educator on the topic of emotional resilience, has written an article on 3 top qualities of resilient educators:
1) Regular reflection on how core values align with actions
2) Boundary setting to preserve energy and prioritize tasks
3) Clear on what matters most in order to effectively make decisions
Read Elena's full article by following the link above. You can also learn more about her book entitled Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by visiting this website link.
Social-emotional learning is not just for adults. To teach children how to improve emotional intelligence, it is crucial that parents, educators and the larger community of adults model this emotional intelligence for children. As social animals, our brains are wired to mimic what we see others around us doing.
There are many different SEL programs for adults, click on the following link to learn about a few.
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