Teacher Self-Care 101

For many teachers around the nation, it can be extremely difficult to balance the time spent for themselves and the time spent for their students. Most teachers will find that much more of their time is spent toward their students, which, while they don’t mind, will obviously create a rift in their own lives. Whether this be by limiting the time they have to spend with friends, partners or their children, many teachers will yearn for more time in the day for themselves. Is this entirely the teachers fault, though? Or does the responsibility fall onto the shoulders of the schools that they teach for? A healthy work-life balance is achieved just as much by a teacher’s efforts as by a school’s efforts. Schools should be more of a driving force for advocating for environments in which their teachers feel valued, respected and supported. Working toward creating this environment and culture for teachers is sure to push them to be more open about what they need, which can give schools the opportunity to provide more individualized offerings to their teachers to help them achieve a healthier work-life balance. This isn’t to say self-care won’t play a vital role in this process, as many educators understand such change in their schools will take time. To learn more about how to practice self-care in the meantime, please check out the infographic paired alongside this post.