We know educators have a lot of cynicism about "wellness." Too often, they've heard people tell them to practice yoga or get a massage when they are deeply burned out while understanding that you can't self-care yourself out of structural and systemic issues that undermine wellness. Educators want decision makers to understand the importance of a whole-school approach to educator wellness, one that also encompasses the need strong staff culture, and creating aligned policies and practices that sustain rather than undermine their wellness.
In this highly-interactive workshop, we’ll directly address the cynicism educators hold, and offer new frameworks that can truly create educator wellness. Using a whole-school tiered framework, we’ll practice self-care on three levels: 1) individual; 2) interpersonal; and 3) organizational. On the individual level, we’ll discover the ways that perfectionism can impede our self-care, and the common way many of us confuse numbing behavior (binge watching, social media scrolling, shopping, etc) with authentic self-care. On the interpersonal level, we’ll explore the importance of personal and professional boundaries, and how strong boundaries and authentic appreciation helps build essential relational trust with colleagues. On the organizational level, we’ll learn a new model for better understanding the root causes of staff stress, and understand the importance of incorporating staff voice into any educator wellness plan.
