3 Simple (and Cheap) Ways for Teachers to Practice Self-Care

Right now, I am listening to the leaders of my school district. They are discussing how to disinfect a classroom after a student has tested positive for COVID-19.

I recently searched “preparing a living will” — just in case.

My stomach tightens at the thought of being back with all of my colleagues. Will I be able to have conversations about race and social justice with courage and grace?

Flashbacks of the times I wasn’t the best teacher I could be for my black students haunt me. I mourn the missed opportunities to connect with them. I obsess over the ways I hope to show up for them when we finally return to school.

I ask myself over and over: What will I do if my daughter’s school is on a different schedule than mine? Can I handle it if one of my parents get sick? If I get sick? What will happen next?

When I finally do fall asleep, my recurring back-to-school nightmares startup. I am in a large, oddly-shaped classroom with hundreds of desks. My students come in and — if you are a teacher, you know how it ends, or you have a version of your own.

I have spent the better part of five months consuming images, words, and actions that have exposed human nature’s worst impulses.