First, teachers need to be healthy to do their best teaching. Engaging, inspiring and attending to students’ needs takes a lot of energy. Talking to parents, collaborating with peers and getting lessons ready take a lot of energy. Sleep and nourishment are required to build up and sustain the energy these activities take each and every day.
Second, teachers are role models for their students. Their students are watching them: how they eat, talk to other teachers, and respond to situations. Students learn self-care from their teachers just as they learn it from their parents. Last, living well is important for establishing positive relationships with your students. Students need teachers to be healthy and at their best because teachers’ positive energy transfers to them.
This last one can be unpacked even further. Establishing a safe, secure and trusting relationship with students requires teachers’ brains to be calm. The teacher brain connects with the student brain signaling safety and security so the students’ brains will trust the teacher and the environment. This is the foundation of healthy communication and connection between social engagement systems and is required for learning to occur. Let me state this again. Students’ brains need to be calm in order to optimize their learning and healthy teachers’ brains can do this.
We have identified four areas in which a teacher can gauge their wellness: self-care, classroom management, emotional self-regulation and support systems.
To find out your wellness score, click on the link below. We are working on a personalized wellness program based on your wellness score so you can be the best teacher you can be, for all the right reasons!