Episode: 376

Episode Title: We’re Beyond Self-Care for Teachers

When someone is stressed, is your default to tell them to practice self-care? Here’s why this advice isn’t helping the overstressed education community, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 376 show:

Hello and welcome to The Perna Syndicate! I’m your host Mark Perna. Education is currently in crisis mode across America and, I suspect, around the world. A recent study found that almost half of all teachers are thinking about quitting. Can you imagine the catastrophic effects if they do?

Sadly, one of the first things that is often said to stressed teachers is to practice self-care. Just practice self-care, they’re told. Pamper yourself a little and you’ll be fine. 

But self-care needs to stop being our default advice. We’re far beyond the point where self-care is going to help anything. Not only do educators not have time for it, but it puts yet another burden on them. Now it’s their job to fit another tasks, self-care, into an already jammed schedule.

Educators today need care from others, not just from themselves. So how can we do that? I think we need to start asking teachers and administrators what they need, rather than assuming we already know. We should ask them: What is your biggest challenge right now? What can I do to take some of this pressure off you? Do you know how valuable your work is? 

As we deal with the severe and ongoing effects of the pandemic, educators need to be credited for the amazing sacrifices and effort they put forth every day for their students. Our teachers and administrators were there for the students during the darkest days of the early pandemic. Let’s show them that we’re there for them now.   

Tomorrow: alongside ditching the whole “self-care” advice, there’s another highly practical thing we can do to help teachers immediately. Tune in to the next episode of The Perna Syndicate for more. We’ll see you then!