This week we learned from Shelby Denman and Kaila Albright about how to identify and cope with teacher stressors, a few tips for practicing mindfulness, the mindset of a humble leader, and more. Enjoy!
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Being an educator can be incredibly stressful at times and the shift to remote work has only amplified this. Luckily, Shelby Denman and Kaila Albright generously provided a few ways to identify teacher stressors as well as some different techniques for coping with them. 💆
"Both stress and anxiety take a mental and physical toll on the individual. . . . To care for teachers, you must first care for yourself. A burned-out match is useless for igniting a fire: In the same way, a coach who has nothing left to give is no help to those around them."
Fiona Hurtado shares some tips for practicing mindfulness, empathy, and exploration when working with teachers.
"As our group explored through mindfulness, being curious means being in the moment, dropping our critical mind, and seeing things with wonder and possibility. It removes the pressure to be, or defend, what is perceived as 'right'. It opens pathways to empathy and collaboration. And when teachers are given time to be curious - about themselves, about their students, about education - they feel empowered, and eager to act."
Geoff Knight digs into the book, 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning, as well as the three stages of a coaching cycle that support it.
" One of the most formidable challenges facing educational leaders today is the challenge of translating research into practice. Unfortunately, professional development often has little impact on what actually happens in classrooms, despite the money and effort expended. . . . The challenge, is to find a methodology for translating the Visible Learning research and ideas into practice. Instructional coaching offers a fitting methodology."
Sherry St. Clair covers four ways you can become a humble leader and why it's important for building relationships that promote collaboration.
"Humble leaders always remember the limits of their knowledge and do not see themselves as superior. While their role demands decisiveness, they know that the best decisions cannot be made without the on-the-ground insights of those who work for them. . . . To humble leaders, employees are not a means to an end; rather they are humans of untold value who can, when intrinsically motivated, make a real and positive impact on the organization."
Michelle Blanchet believes that teachers can better create solutions to meet their students current needs through encouragement, guidance, and designated time.
"Too often we use professional learning as a space to try to give the solutions we think teachers need. Instead, we should focus on how we can use the professional learning space to work with teachers as they try to figure out how to solve challenges for themselves. . . . Teachers desperately need more time and support as they tirelessly work to support the needs of our students. They have the answers; we just need to provide them with an outlet to materialize those answers."
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