Social Emotional Learning is NOT just for your students- it’s for you too!

I spend every day of my life caring for the emotional and academic well being of my 22 students, yet every day, I neglect my own.
I encourage students to use “I feel” statements and express their emotions constructively, yet I lay blame of my own feelings at the feet of others and my circumstances.
I help my students reframe, change, and challenge their mindset, but I allow myself to refer to myself as “stupid”, “unworthy”, and “not important”.
I walk alongside my students while they face challenges head on, yet I walk away from anything that requires any amount of grit.
I work tirelessly and collaboratively with guidance counselors and other staff members to help my students with trauma backgrounds, yet I ignore and try to hide the fact that I am dealing with trauma of my own.
I aid my students in focusing on the present, being mindful, and how to sit in postures conducive to clear thinking and deep breathing, yet I can’t get my brain to slow down enough to worry about one task at a time.
I give my students as many chances as they need, as much mercy and grace as they require, yet I take it out on myself when I can’t get something right the first time.
I know I am not alone in this sentiment. Mindfulness and growth mindset centered language are a staple in my classroom. My students have commanded this language, often ask for mindfulness breaks, and frequently take advantage of our calm down spaces. We use Class Dojo’s Growth Mindset videos, we set measurable goals for ourselves, we end our sentences with “yet”, we take breaks when we need to.
I can encourage my students to follow through on these self care tasks, yet sometimes, I snooze until I have 5 minutes to get ready for the school day. Sometimes, I don’t eat lunch until 4 pm because I was so busy lesson planning the night before that I forgot to pack one. Sometimes, I’ll pull all nighters worrying about my students, my school work, and my various committee roles I’ve placed on myself. Sometimes, I lash out at my students, my coworkers, and the people outside the school because my job is just too hard, too demanding, and too selfless.
I think sometimes we forget as teachers that while self care and mindfulness practices are so important in the classroom, social emotional learning and taking charge over your own thoughts and feelings as a teacher is just as important. 40% of teachers report feeling high stress every single day during the school year (https://www.waterford.org/education/teacher-self-care-activities/), and this statistic should be a wake up call to administration and people in power. Not only do we need to emphasize social emotional learning for our students, but we also need to put an emphasis on teachers’ social emotional well being as well. The NEA estimates that in the next 5–7 years, 50% of teachers will be leaving the profession. That is a staggering statistic, and much of that has to do with the exacerbated stress level that teachers undergo every day.
If administrators and the powers that be want to recruit and retain quality, highly qualified educators, they need to make sure they are not just looking out for the social and emotional wellbeing of their students, but their teachers and staff members as well. We shouldn’t have to wait for our summer vacations or our mid year breaks to recuperate, teachers deserve the training and curriculum that we provide students to be their best self, and in turn, the best teachers they can be.
