Instead, lately, I’ve been gravitating towards ‘What got you here, won’t get you there.’ It is fitting for this conversation about teacher work-life balance on both an individual and collective level.
What got us and our education system to this point of mass teacher burnout and attrition will not get us to mass teacher wellbeing and retention. On an individual level, if the choices you’ve made up until now have left you feeling like your life is unbalanced, then you will need to make different decisions going forward to create more balance.
If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting the results we’re getting. Balance is needed more than ever because, without it, teacher burnout and attrition will continue.
That’s not what I want for you, dear teacher. It’s not what I want for the staff at your school, and it most certainly isn’t what I want for the children of our nation who are impacted by this.
It’s a very annoying fact of life, but the only person who can make a real change to this in your life is you. Nobody else has as vested an interest in your health and wellbeing: you’re the one with the most to gain, and the most to lose.
Remember, the struggles and wobbles are a normal part of balance. Sometimes you might fall over but don’t let that deter you.
Ask for the help you need when you need it and keep on getting back up again!
P.S.
If you’re waiting for or need somebody to give you permission to make you and your health, happiness and wellbeing the absolute priority in your life, here it is:
Self-Care for Teachers is an online teacher wellbeing hub founded by Ellen Ronalds Keene. It began life as a Facebook Support Group (which has now closed) and soon expanded to a blog, podcast, coaching services and a series of wellbeing resources.
Ellen is a teacher, wellbeing coach and passionate self-care advocate who understands the demands of the teaching profession. She has been on her own journey of illness and burnout, and knows first-hand how powerful self-care can be in reclaiming health and happiness, and in creating a new level of work-life balance.
As host of the Teacher Wellbeing Podcast, Ellen's mission is to give teachers permission to put themselves first, and to remind them that this benefits everybody. Through Self-Care for Teachers, she hopes to inspire and empower educators of all kinds to be proactive about their wellbeing so that they can thrive in the classroom and in life.
Connect with Ellen at
Self-Care for Teachers website
Self-Care for Teachers Facebook page
Self-Care for Teachers on Instagram