AY Advent: Let's prevent burnout!
In which I share the first of 10 anti-burnout posts ushering us into the new Academic Year
Many many years ago, when I was a true idiot, I got engaged to a man who was terrible for me. I had my good reasons, and this idiotic move did what it was meant to do (that is, it got my parents’ attention), and I eventually broke off the engagement. But, true story: In an unusual glimpse of reality, this man and I decided we needed to go into couples therapy. So we searched for a good therapist.
And here’s what we heard over and over again: “Why would you need therapy before getting married?”
To be fair, we were living in southern Utah, where wisdom about male - female relationships, especially married ones, was rare if not absent back in those days of talking salamanders. (It might be really different now. I hope so!)
Still. What a question!
My answer to why couples can really use premarital therapy is kinda long — and irrelevant to this post. What is relevant is the possibility that some of you dear readers might have an equivalent question:
“Why do I need to prevent burnout before school starts?”
Succinct answer (really to both questions, the one about premarital therapy and worrying about burnout now): To keep yourself from doing something dumb that’s going to ruin your life.
Because burnout ruins your life.
And burnout is not inevitable. It is preventable. But preventing burnout requires self-awareness, discipline, planning, and informed experimentation.
Enter TTE!!
For the next two weeks, I’m going to be sharing my tips for preventing burnout this year. If you’re a teacher who is in no danger of burning out, FANTASTIC!! Please share these posts with the dozens of teachers you know who are in danger of burning out. You’ll be doing a great public service.
Now, without further ado, here’s
Tip #1: Make meditation a daily practice in all your classes.
There has been a ton of research on the value of meditation in classrooms, how it stills the mind and body and facilitates concentration and settles anxiety and promotes self-regulation and compassion — in you and in your students. And, just sayin’, all these outcomes are protective factors against burnout.
Mediation is not frivolous. It is not goofy. It is not New Age. It is not religious. It is a practice that has remarkable salutary physiological benefits that every single body can benefit from. So having your classes meditate isn’t just good for you and your lesson plan. It’s good for your students.
How to introduce meditation in your classroom? Here are some tips.
Start small. With just breathing. I have a teacher friend who frequently says to her students, “OK, I’m gonna breathe for a second. You’re free to join me.” INHALE. EXHALE. INHALE. EXHALE. INHALE. EXHALE. SMILE.
If you’re asking students to do something new or tricky, you can stop and ask them to visualize themselves doing that thing in their heads. For 30 seconds. Done. I’m not sure visualizing is considered meditating, but why get picky? Picturing yourself doing something also has remarkable salutary mental and physical benefits. Why not do it?
Or maybe have students try a yoga pose that helps settle them down and prepare them to focus. Like the tree pose. I’m no yoga teacher, but I’m a big fan of bodies. Centering ourselves in our bodies and grounding ourselves in concrete reality are two crucial skills that can help you and your students throughout your lives and in the classroom moment. No downside.
If you do any of these — breathing, visualizing, yoga-ing — in every class, you’ve actually started a routine. An expectation. Which you can formalize as time goes on so students begin to anticipate and accept it. And you can build on it. “Breathing” for one or five minutes (i.e. meditating) can be an entrance ticket. It can also be an exit ticket. Visualizing before doing anything can become automatic. And moving or standing in a way that feels great can be something students do for themselves whenever they need it.
OK so I’m talking about the effects of meditation on your students. How can that help you prevent burnout?
Meditation centers you in your body and allows you to self-regulate when you’re getting activated. Getting activated over and over — feeling emotions you never process, having them pile up in an eventually overwhelming mess — is a great way to burn out.
If you are settled and self-regulated, able to concentrate and think productively, you will avoid feelings of helplessness and anxiety and frustration and all the other emotions that can lead to burnout.
If your students are settled and able to concentrate and think productively, you will avoid the feelings that can lead to burnout.
If everyone is self-regulating and stilling their negative feelings, space for joy or at least enjoyment can open.
If you respond to your stress-in-the-moment with deliberate acts that provide instantaneous relief, you will know you are an agent in your life. You notice what’s happening inside you! You don’t like it! You can change it! You are in charge of your experience! These are all antidotes to burnout.
This is a simple tip that requires planning and commitment. Build it in now. Decide to experiment. See how it goes.
Do you already meditate in your classroom? PLEASE share your experience!! Is it worthwhile to do? How do you do it? When do you do it? Let us know!