Calm Teachers

I went back to school today after what seemed like an especially short summer this year. On our first day back, our school staff attended a Professional Development workshop on Trauma-Skilled schools. As we started the morning session, I noticed impatiently that we were not getting any closer to speaking about the stress and trauma the students might suffer in our Title 1 school (a school that receives federal funding to support students from low-income families), but rather we were spending a lengthy amount of time talking about us, the teachers. It seemed like a waste of time to me until we reached this conclusion: a dysregulated adult can NOT calm a dysregulated child. Until we prioritize our well-being, we will not be able to address our students’ emotions. It’s like what we hear from the flight attendant before our flight: in case of an emergency, put on your oxygen mask first so you can then put it on your child.

This got me thinking about goals for upcoming school year and my life at the moment. This year I am making the decision to engage in as many self-care practices as I can. I will try to support my emotional, mental, and physical health, in order to find a balance for myself and my students. Or, at the very least, begin to build a kit with tools that will help me be ready to put on that oxygen mask for my students to feel regulated.

My wellness plan does list photography at the very top, but I will also add more abstract practices such as listening to my body, believing in boundaries, or looking for ways to be more creative in different ways that are not photography related. Calm teachers are effective teachers and calm students are successful students, don’t you agree?

Here’s to a great school year for everyone in education and for all families with school aged children,

Maite

PS. Below are some images of my very short but calming summer.