Happy Teacher Revolution E-Book

Danna Thomas

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 302

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Preserve your mental health while meeting the demands of the education profession using proven tools and research

Happy Teacher Revolution helps educators address burnout and jumpstart their own practices to claim joy. Using the latest developments in neuroscience and her experience as a teacher, author Danna Thomas introduces you to self-care practices that help you prioritize your wellbeing while handling the difficulties of a demanding profession. This research and evidence-based handbook amplifies the voices of a wide range of changemakers, providing data and deliberate action steps to support well-being on both an individual and systemic level in order to enact transformational change. Realize increased self-worth and learn to decrease prolonged stress by pushing back on expectations of time, money, and emotional capacity.

You will:

• Access tools and videos that explore caregiver burnout, vicarious trauma, and the importance of self-care in the field of education
• Understand why it’s essential to claim happiness as your own "best practice" to help students
• Discover practical techniques for identifying your limits and authentically setting boundaries
• Learn to support peers in your community and work together to address the social-emotional and intellectual demands of teaching

Educators, including both teachers and school leaders, will appreciate the practical and person-centered approach in Happy Teacher Revolution. With the techniques in this book, you can build a more resilient classroom, a more resilient community, and, most importantly, a happier you.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

COVER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

MY WHY

A MOMENTOUS ROAD TRIP

PART I: INVESTING IN YOURSELF

1 TENDING TO YOUR BASIC NEEDS

DISCOVER WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

PRACTICE SELF-CARE COMPETENCE

MAINTAIN YOUR SELF-CARE

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

PRESENT YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF

SHOW UP FOR YOURSELF

CENTER YOUR WELL-BEING

2 CULTIVATING BELONGING

IDENTIFY BELONGING VERSUS FITTING IN

AIM FOR BELONGING

FULFILL YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF

GO TO WHAT YOU KNOW

REACH OUT FOR SUPPORT

3 FEELING COMPETENT

MANAGE WITH MINDFULNESS

ACCEPT SOME DISCOMFORT

AFFIRM YOURSELF

CREATE ROUTINE

STAY FOCUSED ON YOU

DROP SOMETHING

FACE PROCRASTINATION

STRENGTHEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE

4 REACHING BEYOND EVERYDAY LIFE

DANCE. SING. CREATE.

PUT THINGS DOWN

PLAN REST

SCHEDULE DATES WITH YOURSELF

5 ENGAGING IN SELF-CARE WITH STUDENTS 1

START A WIN JOURNAL

EXERCISE YOUR BEST SELF

PRACTICE MINDFULNESS TOGETHER

6 ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES 1

CREATE CONTAINERS

CULTIVATE SPACIOUSNESS

PART II: REFLECTING/INTEGRATING 1

GUIDED MEDITATION: CULTIVATING JOY AND CONNECTION WITH SELF

SOMATIC EMBODIMENT EXPERIENCE

BREATHING EXPERIENCE

SCENT EXPERIENCE

SOUNDTRACK EXPERIENCE

TASTE EXPERIENCE

POETRY EXPERIENCE

PART III: NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLEAGUES, FAMILIES, AND KIDS

7 MODELING AND BUILDING COMMUNITY

CREATE SPACE TO FOSTER CONNECTION

VALUE COLLABORATION OVER COMPETITION

PRACTICE “UNMASKING”

CONSENT TO VENT

FIND A POLYVAGAL PARTNER

8 OFFERING AND REQUESTING MEANINGFUL APPRECIATION

CULTIVATE GRATITUDE

CONSIDER “CODE LAVENDER”

KNOW YOUR “WHY”

PRACTICE CELEBRATION

APPRECIATE BY LISTENING

9 SUPPORTING STUDENTS WHO'VE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA

STUDY THE SCIENCE OF TRAUMA

BEAR WITNESS, OFFER COMPASSION

FAVOR CONNECTION OVER COMPLIANCE

REMEMBER: IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU

PRACTICE RESPONDING WITHOUT HARMING

10 ENGAGING IN SELF-CARE WITH STUDENTS 2

CREATE A PLAYLIST TOGETHER

REGULATE BY EMBODYING

SHARE A MEAL TOGETHER

REST AND DIGEST

11 ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES 2

SPECIFY YOUR LIMITS

CHOOSE BOUNDARIES OVER BURNOUT

EXPRESS YOURSELF

BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF

PART IV: REFLECTING/INTEGRATING 2

NAMING YOUR SUPPORT

GUIDED MEDITATION: CULTIVATING JOY AND CONNECTION WITH OTHERS

SOMATIC EMBODIMENT EXPERIENCE

BREATHING EXPERIENCE

SCENT EXPERIENCE

SOUNDTRACK EXPERIENCE

TASTE EXPERIENCE

POETRY EXPERIENCE

PART V: ADVOCATING FOR YOURSELF AND FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE

12 LETTING YOURSELF BE AUTONOMOUS

BE A PIONEER

MAKE THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

ADVOCATE FOR ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUALITY

YOU CAN'T SPELL “RESIST” WITHOUT “REST”

GIVE YOURSELF FILLER EPISODE DAYS

13 FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU KNOW IS RIGHT

WORK TO CHANGE THAT WHICH HARMS STUDENTS

GET COMFORTABLE WITH BEING UNCOMFORTABLE

MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS

IDENTIFY THE FEAR

IDENTIFY IMPERFECTION VERSUS DYSFUNCTION

CREATE COMMUNITY

AMPLIFY YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF

BREAK STUFF AND REBUILD IT

14 ADDRESSING VICARIOUS TRAUMA

TUNE IN TO THE WISDOM OF YOUR SYSTEM

CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF AND KNOW YOU AREN'T ALONE

WHAT YOU WITNESS, YOU NEED TO BEAR WITNESS TO

ADVOCATING FOR YOURSELF IS ADVOCATING FOR OTHERS

15 ENGAGING IN SELF-CARE WITH STUDENTS 3

CULTIVATE EMOTIONAL WELLNESS

BE A LIFELONG LEARNER

TRUST IN YOUR OWN TIMING

16 ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES 3

PRIORITIZE YOUR WELL-BEING

FRONT-LOAD SELF-CARE FOR ACTIVISM

EXPRESS EMOTIONS CONSTRUCTIVELY

PART VI: REFLECTING/INTEGRATING 3

GUIDED MEDITATION: CULTIVATING JOY AND COLLECTIVE CHANGE

SOMATIC EMBODIMENT EXPERIENCE

BREATHING EXPERIENCE

SCENT EXPERIENCE

SOUNDTRACK EXPERIENCE

TASTE EXPERIENCE

POETRY EXPERIENCE

PART VII: FINALE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

GLOSSARY

NOTE

REFERENCES

INDEX

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Figure 0.1 Permission Slip for Self-Exploration in Well-Being.

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1

Figure 3.2

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1 Best-Self Exercise.

Figure 5.2

Part 2

Figure P2.1

Figure P2.2

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1

Chapter 9

Figure 9.1 What FIGHT Might Look Like in the Classroom.

Figure 9.2 What FLIGHT Might Look Like in the Classroom.

Figure 9.3 What FREEZE Might Look Like in the Classroom.

Figure 9.4 What FAWN Might Look Like in the Classroom.

Figure 9.5 Patterns of Stress Activation.

Part 4

Figure P4.1

Chapter 12

Figure 12.1

Soundless Cries Don't Lead to Healing,

Valencia D. Clay, 201...

Figure 12.2

Chapter 13

Figure 13.1

Figure 13.2 Human Centered Design Process adapted by Happy Teacher Revolutio...

Figure 13.3

Chapter 14

Figure 14.1 The Happy Teacher Revolution guide to glimmers.

Part 6

Figure P6.1 “We Fear Change.”

Figure P6.2

Part 7

Figure P7.1

Figure P7.2

Figure P7.3

Guide

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Glossary

References

Index

End User License Agreement

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Happy Teacher Revolution

The Educator’s Roadmap to Claiming & Sustaining Joy

Danna Thomas

Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

All quotes from Deb Dana, Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory, published by Sounds True, 2021, are reproduced with permission.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available

ISBN 9781394195725 (Paperback)ISBN 9781394195749 (epdf)ISBN 9781394195732 (epub)

COVER DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHYCOVER ART: © GETTY IMAGES | YUANYUAN YAN

This book is dedicated to teachers:

past,

present,

and future.

To the Revolutionaries who so bravely pioneered this global movement, thank you for your vulnerability to commit to the radical act of claiming your own well-being and holding space for others to do the same.

You inspire me every day to keep going and keep fighting for the wholeness and wellness of teachers.

Visit https://www.wiley.com/go/happyteacherrevolution to access the videos and forms mentioned in this book.

FOREWORD

I choose to disconnect and detach with love.

In January of 2017, I resolved to swear off what had become a soul-sucking habit of daily doom-scrolling and replace that fear and dopamine-driven exercise with the intentional consumption of good news and bright spots, stories elevating everyday kindness, compassion, courage, servant leadership, brave truth-telling, and posttraumatic growth. A few months later, I came across an article in Education Week highlighting the now-well-known epidemic of educator burnout. This story was different because it was personal, hopeful, and solution-focused without the invalidating tones of toxic positivity. This story was about Danna Thomas and the beginnings of her grassroots efforts inviting us all to take more compassionate care of ourselves and each other by telling the truth, connecting in our shared struggle and strength, embracing our sense of agency, and choosing how we want to show up in any given moment. This was the story of a responsible revolution in service of equitable student outcomes and human flourishing, and I was hooked.

The following year, on the heels of significant loss in our community, we at Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Salem, Oregon, were awarded an employee wellness grant from OEA Choice Trust. We immediately decided to join Happy Teacher Revolution (HTR) and invite Danna to come train 30 instructional mentors, counselors, and administrators in how to facilitate peer support groups oriented toward providing the time and space to heal, deal, and be real about the social-emotional and intellectual demands we all face in schools today. This coalition of the willing didn't need to be persuaded that this was necessary work. Like many of us who suffer from bouts of harsh self-criticism, these Salem-Keizer professionals just needed validation, permission, basic resources, and moral support. They were already gifted, whole-human wellness champions fully invested in finding meaningful, low-burden, high-impact strategies to influence school culture. They were already committed to the mindset of not letting what we can't do yet prevent us from doing what we can do now.

Danna's contagious spirit and compelling story of personal and professional struggle, active healing, and posttraumatic growth profoundly resonated with our team, as it has with thousands of educators across the United States and Canada. Her elegant upstream solution to the downstream outcomes of empathic distress and burnout is particularly powerful because it is a veritable marriage of sense and soul. Sense comes from her deep understanding of the well-established research related to toxic stress, primary trauma, indirect trauma, educator burnout, and the complex systems-level variables influencing contemporary public education. Soul is reflected in how Danna honors the perennial wisdom traditions with a reverence for the art and ritual of gathering and holding sacred space for our lived experiences to be shared and for all participants to encounter the affirming power of community.

We started with pilot sites for HTR in 2019, supporting early-career educators, 50 percent of whom usually leave the profession within their first five years, and veteran educators who were particularly impacted by the rapidly escalating behavioral health needs of students today. Anecdotal feedback from educators was exceptionally positive—and worries that these peer support groups might devolve into prolonged venting sessions were alleviated when participants and facilitators quickly adapted to the norms, expectations, and structure of HTR. Little did we know how important it would be for us to build more capacity for nurturing a culture of care prior to March 2020. During the pandemic and ensuing global upheaval, virtual HTR groups and the 12 Choices became a lifeline for dozens of educators, counselors, and administrators.

This project also coincided with what would become the first biannual survey of more than 5,000 district staff on the topics of belonging, well-being, and staff relationships—topics similar to those we started assessing with all of our students in 2018. The anecdotal data continued to reflect educators' profound appreciation for this resource—but now that perceived impact had reliable, valid data to support it. Our pilot sites that continued regular HTR meetings in a virtual format had among the highest overall levels of staff well-being in the district and showed some of the most dramatic improvements in positive and challenging feelings, from early Spring 2020 to late Fall 2020 and beyond. This further validated our belief that multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for students must be accompanied by multi-tiered systems of support for adult social-emotional learning (“SEL involves evidence-based programs, practices, and policies through which children and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”) and well-being. HTR provided us with an effective Tier 1/2 intervention to understand, support, and help retain our precious human resources, and we finally had a data-driven lever and a place to stand for advancing work that centers employee wellness as an essential driver of equitable student outcomes.

I have served for more than 25 years at the intersection of education, mental health, and social-emotional learning as a counselor, teacher, school psychologist, adjunct instructor, and district administrator. During that time I've burned out of two jobs, forgetting to care for myself with the same level of intentionality I aspired to care for others. I felt guilt, shame, and shades of imposter syndrome for not knowing better, especially given my training as a helping professional. I can't help but wonder if those episodes of burnout might have been prevented, or if finding joy again might have been easier if peer support groups like Happy Teacher Revolution had been available to me then.

If you've ever struggled to say no without fear of relational repercussions; if you've ever felt guilty for going to the bathroom during the school day, taking more than five minutes for lunch, or not answering all emails within 24 hours; if you often feel emotionally and physically exhausted; if you've felt shame for not being all things to all people, all the time; if you feel like you're in a near-constant state of hustling to prove your worthiness; if you've ever wondered what it might be like to work in a truly collaborative Community of Practice where you can lean into your own sense of agency and self-determination; if you've ever wondered what it might be like to feel seen, heard, and valued at your school, with no strings attached … then Danna Thomas is your person and HTR is for you!

—Chris Moore, Ed.S.

Director of Mental Health & Social-Emotional Learning

School Psychologist

Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Salem, OR

INTRODUCTION

My journey with the Happy Teacher Revolution Movement began before I was a teacher, before anyone referred to me as Miss Thomas, before I held the responsibility of educating a classroom filled with incredible minds. My story begins when I was still a student myself, a student suffering in silence from severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. Not only was I experiencing thoughts of ending my life, but I was expending so much energy pretending like I was “okay” when I really wasn’t by hiding my shadow from family and friends. But I couldn’t hide from my teachers. I refer to my educators as my emotional first responders who recognized the subtle changes in behavior and compassionately encouraged me to seek treatment and get help. They’re the reason why I’m alive today, writing these words, and sharing this very road map to claiming joy. I owe them my life.

After spending nearly a decade as an educator, I recognized both the lack of preparedness and the lack of ongoing support for the emotional demands of the job. I was shocked there was no such thing as a support group for educators, so I decided to create an opportunity for systemic change by organizing support groups through a grassroots network in my community. We called it “Happy Teacher Revolution,” and slowly our movement began to take root and spread beyond the city limits of Baltimore.

Over the past ten years, Happy Teacher Revolution has supported hundreds of individuals in leading communities to support themselves and one another by creating the time and space to feel, deal, and be real about the social-emotional demands that they face on the job. We’ve supported these educators in leading their own support spaces from the West Coast to the East Coast, in rural areas and urban areas, in small schools and massive districts across the United States as well as in Canada, Senegal, Nigeria, Brazil, and Kuwait.

MY WHY

This book is a necessity. While I don’t believe in operating from a sense of scarcity or urgency, I realize as I write this that we need a strong teaching force now more than ever. We are already seeing a reduction in the numbers of people choosing to enter the field, and enrollment in schools of education is down. The effect of educators leaving the field is absolutely immense.

The pandemic of educator burnout existed long before the pandemic of COVID-19. According to a 2022 EdWeek survey described in Forbes magazine, “a whopping 60% of teachers expressed they were stressed out and many educators are considering leaving for the first time ever or have already left the profession altogether due to stress” (Gomez, 2022). When we apply this research to the teachers in the United States alone, that means that of the 3.2 million current teachers—over 1.9 million estimated teachers—are stressed out … which means nearly 31 million children are sitting in the classroom of a stressed-out teacher (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022).

As teachers leave the classroom, we have realized that they are a target market for other employers based on their tenacity, resilience, work ethic, and innovative approaches. Furthermore, social media celebrates individuals who share their stories around leaving the profession, with many posts going viral because so many can relate to hitting an absolute breaking point.

Poor-quality teacher self-care, the lack of systemic change, and the complete ignoring of financial well-being are all topics that folks have been vocal about especially recently, and the voices are only growing.

Here are some of the headlines at the time of this writing:

“Superficial Self-Care? Stressed-Out Teachers Say No Thanks” (2022)

“Teachers Are Not OK, Even Though We Need Them to Be” (2021)

“US Teachers Work More than Teachers in Nearly Every Other Country” (2019)

“Teachers’ Pay Lags Furthest Behind Other Professionals in U.S., Study Finds” (2017)

“Teachers in America Were Already Facing Collapse. COVID Only Made It Worse” (2022)

“Violence, Threats, and Harassment Are Taking a Toll on Teachers, Survey Shows” (2022)

“More than Half of Teachers Are Looking for the Exits, a Poll Says” (2022)

“Educators Are More Stressed at Work than Average People, Survey Finds” (2017)

There's a common thread through the voices and perspectives of the hundreds of humans who influenced this text, and that is an overwhelming craving for a sense of belonging. This desire of belonging—especially for new teachers who don’t know what it's like to not be a pandemic or postpandemic teacher. The mentor teachers I’ve talked to share that they are less in the space of coaching new teachers around curriculum, intellectual demands, or academic facets of the job but more so supporting the social-emotional lens from a humanistic perspective. They pick up the phone or start a Zoom call with new teachers who are sobbing, craving someone to just listen and connect with.

What does the teacher turnover crisis mean? First of all, it means there are fewer people in a field that is already experiencing historical shortages. Second, it also means that schools will be out of money, as it's expensive to hire teachers, and even more expensive to hire administrators. Third, it means that children will be missing out on an opportunity to have a stronger teacher—research shows that teaching experience is positively associated with student achievement gains throughout much of a teacher's career. Every year that students get a brand-new teacher means that the students are missing out on the benefit of having a veteran teacher. Things are hard for teachers now. But, in truth, things have always been hard for teachers. We are at a turning point, which I pray will not become an absolute breaking point.

Self-care looks privileged because we think of it as an Instagram feed. Going places, doing things, spending money. But it's not like that. Self-care isn’t treating yourself, self-care is taking care of yourself. It's legit to take care of yourself. Love yourself. Accept yourself. It's noticing what you need. It's using your voice to advocate for your needs.

—Alexis Shepard, former Middle School English Language Arts Teacher, Clemson, South Carolina

In this book, a new definition of self-care works alongside systemic change. (See Part V about systemic change.) The enhanced aspects of the book, including its interactive design, videos, and shareable graphics, are designed to be digested in small doses without being overwhelming. Thus, they make well-being seem a little less daunting. The voices amplified in this text draw from teachers’ experiences in a wide range of locations, with a wide range of backgrounds and a wide range of experiences in their role. Steeped in mental health research, this is the opposite of a “fluffy” book and posits happiness as truly revolutionary not just to pursue but to claim as your own.

This guide is for you if you hope to restore your passion and your why for this work. It was created with you and your colleagues in mind as we collectively crave autonomy now more than ever. We are in the work of supporting the growing minds of the individuals we teach and also in the practice of building relationships (with students and with adults), and we know that the importance around social-emotional learning is only growing. In my decade of work as a national spokeswoman for mental health and well-being awareness for educators, the piece that has translated into financial investment is retention of quality teachers and also quality administration. In the United States alone, before the pandemic, we were spending over $7.3 billion on the constant recruitment and training of new teachers (National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, 2007). Our educators are not a renewable resource, and not only is it financially expensive to train a revolving door of new teachers and new administrators, but the emotional costs are even higher.

This revolutionary text aims to support you, dear reader, in …

not just surviving but

thriving

,

not just retaining but

sustaining

,

not just functioning but

flourishing

,

not just identifying problems but

building solutions,

not just focusing on the deficits but

leveraging the positives,

not just curating individual meaning but

cultivating collective purpose,

not just repairing the weaknesses but

amplifying strengths,

not just a singular individual focus but a

collaborative humanistic vision,

not just fixing what is broken but

nurturing what is best

.

Buckle up. It's about to be quite an adventure on the road to well-being.

A MOMENTOUS ROAD TRIP

As this book was being formed, I realized I wanted to cross off a bucket list item and embark on a personal journey that I have always wanted to do. As I was drafting the very proposal for the book that is in your hands right now, I decided to hop into my tiny red convertible and drive across the United States from Baltimore. And back. Alone.

This was a goal of mine since the day I got into a car accident less than a mile from the school building where I taught. After my car was totaled by a driver who hit my driver's side, I felt obliged to go to work the next day because I knew that it would be hard to find a sub since we had been short staffed already. As my back started to hurt more and more throughout the day, a colleague encouraged me to leave early to get evaluated by a medical professional. As it turns out, I was injured. The fact that I had chosen to go to work after the accident was used against me later during arguments by the insurance company not to compensate me for my medical claims. After the insurance company attempted to deny my claims, I realized this was an opportunity to learn the value of prioritizing my well-being unapologetically, and also to encourage others to do the same.

I mapped out the route cross-country based on Happy Teacher Revolution sites and Revolutionaries who had launched support groups within their unique communities across the United States. I also aligned the trip to the lunar calendar so that I was leaving and returning to Baltimore on the full moon and spending the new moon gazing at the beautiful stars in Joshua Tree National Park. Well … at least that was the plan for my road map. But, as life so often shows us, even the best-laid plans can go haywire, and a series of unpredictable events led me to the most serendipitous adventure that was even better than my original game plan.

As I made it to the West Coast after about two weeks of traveling across the country and multiple years of not even considering that I could make my dream a reality, my engine light came on. And my big plan to spend the new moon under the stars in Joshua Tree? As it turns out, I was smack dab in the middle of monsoon season and risked getting my car stuck in the sand and trapped for days from potential flooding.

My seemingly perfect adventure hit a few hiccups, but as a result I rerouted. I adjusted the game plan and took a moment to allow the current of the river to flow with ease in the direction that was meant for me. I opened to divine timing, synchronicity, and chose to trust that what is meant for me will present itself and what isn’t will be let go. I decided to head north to avoid the monsoons before going east and connected with a fellow entrepreneur and social innovator in Salt Lake City whom I may have never had the chance to meet otherwise. Learning about the work of Project Embrace to repurpose medical equipment and specifically offer support for Indigenous populations during COVID-19 (and beyond) was such an incredible opportunity that I didn’t plan in my original road map but suddenly became an absolute highlight of my journey. This unexpected detour on my trip led me to adventures like swimming in a crater, maxing out my car's speed in the Bonneville Salt Flats, and weeping tears of joy as I drove past Moab and crossed into Colorado while witnessing the most vibrant sunset in my rearview mirror as I drove through the Rockies.

These pages were formed over the course of multiple journeys across the country and around the world, meeting hundreds of educators and hearing their unique stories. I stayed in their homes, crashed in their basements, met their children and their families, took time to truly understand the stories and perspectives each of them brought to the table. Their voices are featured throughout these pages, and their hearts beat passionately for the message of the Revolution.

As much as I wish I could tell you that this handbook will be a clear-cut road map to a destination of pure uninterrupted bliss, I’m also so glad that this text won’t just give you the easy answer. In fact, you may have even deeper wonderings about yourself as you engage with the concepts I’ve collected for you (us) here in these pages.

What I’ve realized in drafting a road map to consider my own well-being and mental health in my role as an educator and for fellow educators is this: Life isn’t about only experiencing joy and being immune to the rest of the feelings of a human's spectrum of emotion, and that isn’t even the point. The roadmap here is not a linear one and the goal is to feel the fullness of each emotion without censoring ourselves to filter in only joy or bliss.

The personal well-being journey you are about to engage with is unique to you. This book has been a teacher for me, and it’ll be a teacher for you too if you choose to participate with and in this text. There is no single specific narrative for your personal growth, your personal journey, your personal well-being that is already prescribed.

So therefore … you are the creator of this. The painter. The maker. The sculptor. The one behind the wheel. You are the one blazing that trail, journeying on a path into the unknown. So, know this is also nurturing yourself as the creator. Valuing the creation itself of course but also valuing the process in making. Acknowledging the power of the ART in well-being.

You are the author of this story.

Track data for yourself, starting now, to gather a snapshot of your well-being. This is the beginning of capturing observations, patterns, internal seasons and external observances. Some days may be ones where you share, verbalizing the message to create systemic change. Other days are ones where you upload from your incredibly wise body the learnings of your ancestors. Other moments are ones where you hold the red pen, and your ability to nitpick and edit are actually your superpowers. While others are days of integration, where intentionally doing nothing and choosing rest is the ultimate act of rebellion and pushback on grind culture. It all belongs. You belong.

The self-help and self-care industry is exactly that, an industry. It is built on the expectation and doctrine of capitalism that happiness is an achievement and that some sort of a fix exists that is so linearly focused on an archaic pedagogy which ultimately misses the mark. Because, dear reader, there is no end goal that can be achieved, there's no check-the-box type of accomplishment by the end of this book. You will always be working through, working on, and working with the evolution of your personal well-being. There are no prescribed steps, automation, or quick-fix pill to get you to “achieve” happiness. In fact, the entire concept of achieving an endpoint or mastery is a toxic way of considering well-being; the healthier invitation is to consider well-being as an ongoing practice.

Similarly, I argue that there is no such thing as work-life “balance.” Rather, I believe in work-life integration. How can you integrate, evolve, and collaborate with your own learnings about yourself, ongoing research at large, and the larger context of observations as you continue your own journey? How can you participate with this book and consider your personal evolution not only in your path as an educator but your path as a person?

The education system was not designed with your well-being in mind. Let that sink in. The system we are collectively working within was not designed to prioritize the mental and physical well-being of either its teachers or its students. The education system was built to teach workers, not thinkers, and certainly not Revolutionaries.

Mapping our revolutionary road map overview

In Part I, we start with the individual. Rooting into our individual well-being and basic self-care is our foundation, building on safety and sense of belonging; next is competency; and finally is an enlightened “self-actualized” sense of oneself.

After exploring the research and practices of nurturing your personal well-being, Part II offers an integrative approach to embody individual wellness as a means of reflection.

Next in the ripple effect outward is self in relation to others. Self in relation to connections with students, colleagues, leaders, and stakeholders is the focus of Part III. We do not operate in isolation or within a vacuum.

In Part IV, you are invited to embody the information presented around facilitating authentic human connection.

Finally, the larger extension beyond oneself is systemic change covered in Part V: large scale impact, societal reprogramming, and how we can collectively move the needle when it comes to supporting well-being for humanity and the generations long after our own.

There also are repeated sections that discuss similar topics around boundaries, engaging with students, and self-care strategies to integrate into the classroom. Additionally, there are repeated parts for reflecting and integrating holistically through the body in Parts II, IV, and VI. These sensory experiences are deliberately sandwiched between the research- and data-driven parts of the book to offer an embodied approach to your own well-being.

This handbook is a support tool for your own personal well-being and is a reference to continue coming back to as your own learnings evolve and unfold. There may be opportunities for you to process backlogged feelings into your own lived experiences. Even further, there may be acknowledgment bubbling up to the surface of ancestral trauma and experiences of those who have come before you. You may be carrying the emotions of your parents, their parents, and so on.

This resource is based on positive psychology, which is the science that investigates the strengths and factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive. This book is written intentionally with sections ending in -ing