Helping Students Cope With Trauma Starts With Taking Care of Yourself
Helping students cope with trauma begins with taking care of yourself
How many nights have you gone home after class or checked out just to keep thinking about your students? It probably happens all the time. Now, how many nights have you spent contemplating your own well-being or practicing teacher self-care? Most teachers would say not nearly as many.
When thinking about trauma and stress in schools, the focus is often on the students. But teachers do it too Trauma.
"We become teachers because we care so much about our students," a Florida teacher recently told Buzzfeed. "And I had a hard time allowing myself to fully process some of my stuff because I process a lot of my students' stuff."
"If you take care of the teachers, they take care of the children."
Self-care isn't just healthy for teachers; indirectly it also helps the students.
"If you take care of the teachers, you take care of the kids," Meisha Porter, the chancellor of New York City Public Schools, said in an interview discussing the trauma of teaching during the pandemic.
When the physical, mental, and emotional needs of educators are met, they have the energy, determination, and patience to overcome challenges. Then they can help their students do the same.
To build resilience in students, the first step is to build resilience in educators, says Caelan Soma, PsyD, chief clinical officer at Starr Commonwealth, an organization that provides resources and professional training to help schools build trauma- to help informed, resilience-focused communities. starting with teacher self-care.
"It's one of the biggest things I think about," says Soma. “One of the most important protective factors for children is the association with healthy adults. If you are doing well, you will have more children in your classroom who are doing well.”
Taking care of yourself is especially challenging right now, but it's more important than ever.
The pandemic has made it harder to maintain well-being, just when we need to take care of ourselves most. Many educators have been isolated from their peers during distance learning, depriving them of vital support. The closure of gyms, yoga studios and other facilities also disrupted many teachers' self-care routines.
Still, Soma says it's possible -- and crucial -- to focus on teacher self-care during the pandemic and beyond.
Here are five ways to create a classroom environment that focuses on your own well-being, alongside that of your students:
1. Confide in your co-workers when you're having a tough day.
Teachers are naturally very generous. While that's important, the fact that educators need to fend for themselves also needs to be normalized. One way to do this is to talk to peers about how practicing self-care isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength.
"A lot of teachers feel like they can't say how they really feel because they think they're going to lose their job," Jeannette Sandoval, a psychotherapist and founder of Wellducation, told the Los Angeles Times. "We need to normalize the stress and anxiety and not be ashamed of it..."
Teacher Renee White summed it up perfectly post on twitter.
"Colleagues, I don't know about you, but this is difficult for me. I'm constantly up late into the night working on something, even when we're technically off work. I think I need to keep that in mind and get some rest."
2. It's okay to let your students know you're struggling too.
It's okay to let kids know that sometimes teachers struggle too. This normalizes the experience. At the beginning of the lesson, say, “I don't know if I'm ready for this. Let's all take a deep breath and close our eyes," Soma suggests. This allows for a moment of mindfulness for the teacher and offers the same benefit to the students.
Ms. Raleza, a fourth grade teacher, shared Twitter how she models being open about feelings when she's having a rough day. It helps build relationships with students while showing them positive ways to deal with their challenges.
3. Drop the desks and make your classroom more comfortable for everyone.
Anything that helps children and teachers feel comfortable, secure, and less stressed promotes resilience and is beneficial to academics.
"One of the things I love the most #distance learning is that the students can sit where they want. When a student is best seated on the floor or on a couch, it works for me," said one teacher divided on twitter. "Also, if your pet wants to sit on your lap...even better."
lessons in the classroom? Consider flexible seating to help you and your students reduce stress and increase focus and engagement. Here are 21 teacher-tested flexible seating options, including wobbler stools, paddle rockers, lap tables, and more.
4. Share surprise notes with your fellow teachers.
Teaching can be an emotionally draining job. While talking to friends and spouses can be helpful, talking to other educators is a great way for teachers and administrators to catch their breath, but also to brainstorm ideas and share advice.
Encourage other teachers to visit each other by leaving a surprise pick-me-up or a nice message. Encourage them to share how they practice self-care for the teacher. An educator on Twitter divided A simple post that helped her set boundaries at work and transition into time at home.
Just as building community among students helps them feel connected, strengthening relationships between teachers helps them build resilience. It is very reassuring to know that your colleagues are there for you! If you need ideas on where to start, check out these things teacher friends do for each other.
I'm sharing this as I felt it helped me to see it today. To all my teacher friends out there - you are all AMAZING ❤️ #TeachersSupportTeachers pic.twitter.com/uIZl8QJ82i
— Miss G. Harcus (@teentoteacher) October 22, 2020
5. Establish wellness themed days in your classroom.
Some parts of teachers' self-care needs to be done outside of school hours. However, educators can also practice self-care in the classroom, which has the added benefit of setting a good example for their students.
"It's not like a teacher has to take care of himself before he comes into the classroom," says Soma.
The Los Angeles Unified School District has a program called Resilience Daily. Through themed days like Free Tuesday and Wellness Wednesday, the program encourages teachers to create opportunities for self-sufficiency for themselves and their students.
Need ideas? It can be so easy to create a classroom culture where it's acceptable and encouraged for you and your students to take a water break, grab a snack, or go for a walk outside. You can also try these 5 calming mind-body exercises with your students.
Today is #SHHSWellnessWednesday! Wear your favorite fitness gear and join us from 12pm-1pm for some ZOOMba and a nutritious bite demonstration. Donations are welcome:
Credit card: https://t.co/PtL6BV1LH4
Wage deductions: https://t.co/gVJRSTgxsO #ShareBringsHope pic.twitter.com/0wbuph47wp— SHHS (@SHHSLausd) March 10, 2021
Looking for more ways to practice teacher self-care and build resilience in yourself and your students?
Starr Commonwealth provides educators with tools to help you and your students build resilience. Try these everyday trauma-related activities and interventions every day to try in your classroom.
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