Roberto Germán [00:00:01]:
Welcome to our classroom. In this space, we talk about education, which is inclusive of, but not limited to, what happens in schools. Education is taking place whenever and wherever we are willing to learn. I am your host, Robelto Herman, and our classroom is officially in session.
Roberto Germán [00:00:28]:
Grace and peace back once again. Took a break there for a few weeks. I hope y'all didn't mind, but gotta recognize sometimes you need to recharge the batteries. And that's partly what we gonna be. Not partly, it is. This is what we gonna be talking about today. Gonna be talking about the importance of educators taking care of their mental health. Glad y'all with us.
Roberto Germán [00:00:59]:
And, you know, we want to dive into the heart of education and the issues that matter most to teachers and students alike. You know what time it is? Roberto, your host here. And as educators, we often focus so much on students well being that we forget to look after our own. I know some of y'all can relate to this. And as a former school principal, oftentimes I was taking care of one fire, putting out one fire after the next, attending to the needs of various groups of people, all the while ignoring my own needs. And it's wild because nearly 58% of teachers report experiencing high levels of job related stress. I don't know if y'all were aware of that or not. The burnout's real.
Roberto Germán [00:02:06]:
We know that and definitely seen that throughout Covid and post Covid, we're the shift for many people out of education into different fields. And so the burnout is real. Let's talk about that a little bit, you know, and explore why mental health is essential for educators and how we can better take care of ourselves. And when we're thinking about mental health, thinking about it as it refers to our emotional, psychological and social well being and how that affects the way we think, feel and act, and that it helps determine how we handle stress, the way we relate to others and the choices that we make. You know, for educators, maintaining mental health is essential to effectively manage your classroom. How you gonna manage the classroom if you're not right? If you're not in the right mental space, the right emotional space, the right spiritual space, you know what I'm saying? How are you going to inspire your students and foster a positive learning environment when you haven't been able to take care of yourself? And so, you know, we gotta consider some of the common mental health challenges for educators. You know, we be facing unique challenges and it impacts our mental health. So let's be honest about that.
Roberto Germán [00:03:36]:
The stress from the workload and administrative demands and the pressure to meet the educational standards, all of that stuff could lead to burnout. And the anxiety and depression is real. You know, those matters are real. And it's probably more common among teachers than people realize. And perhaps it's. It's more common than we even discuss. But we need to recognize that, you know, these challenges exist and take some steps towards addressing them. And one of those steps is simply recognizing the signs.
Roberto Germán [00:04:20]:
You know, how do you know if your mental health is suffering? Well, maybe if you're dealing with constant fatigue, your mental health is suffering. You got headaches all the time. You got changes in your sleep patterns. You know, you always stressing, how do you feel emotionally? Are you always irritable? Are you overwhelmed? Are you detached from your work and your students? That might be a flag, a red flag behaviorally, you know, are you noticing changes in some of your patterns? Maybe your eating habits, maybe you got increased absenteeism. Maybe there's a decline in your performance, even though you might not want to admit that. But we got to take a step back, look in the mirror, and be honest with what's happening. And so, you know, I received a message from a fellow educator who shared how they felt constantly drained and started dreading going to work every day. That's the worst real talk.
Roberto Germán [00:05:33]:
If you dread going to work every day, if you dread going into the classroom every day, if you dread going into the school every day, if you dread working with your colleagues and dread working with your students every day, yikes. Uh, that's a dead giveaway, and you got to do something about that, you know? So, in this case, these feelings led this fellow educator to realize that we're experiencing burnout, you know? And if you have a story experience to share, please do, because we. We want to share real stories and real antidotes, and your story might resonate with someone going through a similar situation. Some people might be dealing with this stuff, and because they're so focused on completing the next task or, you know, getting the students to where they need to be, that's all good and finding dandy all noble, right? But you might be so focused on particular things that it's hard for you to see what's happening to you. It's hard for you to fully feel the weight of the emotions and tap into the weight of those emotions in a vulnerable way that allows you to say, I have to do something different. And so, folks, need strategies for self care. Here's some practice. Let's offer some practical tips.
Roberto Germán [00:07:18]:
I want to make this short and sweet, because this has just been something that's been on my mind lately, maybe for the past week or two. I'm like, I feel like we should talk about mental health, and I think now's a good time. Most folks are on break at this point, and if not, they'll be on summer break soon. So you're gonna have a period of time where you could recharge the batteries. And hopefully during that period of time, it'll inspire you to do some self reflection. And I pray that most of y'all are doing great. I pray all of y'all are doing great. And because I've been here myself at certain periods of times.
Roberto Germán [00:08:02]:
And I also want to encourage you to take some time for self care. Consider. Let's consider collectively, let's consider what we can do to take care of ourselves. So, you know, many folks engage in mindfulness and meditation, and that could be incredibly beneficial. I'm a person of prayer, so engaging in my prayer life helps me to get centered. You know, you need to find a thing that's gonna help you get centered. But for me, being able to, like, engage in my prayer life, to call out to God, to reflect, has got to strengthen me in the areas where I'm weak. That has been helpful for me.
Roberto Germán [00:08:55]:
And again, many folks have things that they do, such as mindfulness meditation, prayer to help them get grounded, help them get centered. So taking just a few minutes each day to do simple things, such as breathe deeply and clear your mind, you know, that can reduce stress. Taking time each day to engage in prayer, that could reduce stress. Setting boundaries for yourself, that's a good one. That's crucial. You know, I remember there was a period of time where, because I, you know, I like to. I like to please people. I like to, you know, make people happy.
Roberto Germán [00:09:42]:
I like to not just for the sake of making people happy, but, like, I like to connect with people in a way where we're building, collaborating. They feel supported, you know, feel like I'm championing something and advocating for people and really making things happen. Right. So I felt like I went through a period of time where people just asked me to do stuff, and, you know, I would often say yes, but then I would be over committed and sometimes a little bit overwhelmed. It's so recognized. Like, yo, hold up. I don't have to say yes to everything. Gotta slow down.
Roberto Germán [00:10:26]:
I gotta set them boundaries. Make the boundaries clear. It's gonna be good for me. It's gonna be good for others. So setting boundaries is crucial. Learn to say no, when you need to. And don't be afraid to take breaks. Sometimes you need a break during the day, man.
Roberto Germán [00:10:44]:
For real? For real. Sometimes you just need to step aside, get a little breather, get a fresh air, go on a quick walk. I think that's a healthy thing. Instead of allowing ourselves to get to the boiling point and then we say or do things that we could potentially regret. Now, when I think about long term care strategies, that might include seeking some help, whether it's seeking help from a spiritual guide, a mentor, seeking professional help, there's no shame in that game. There's no shame in talking to a therapist or a counselor. Some of us might need that and benefit from that. For others, it might be building a strong support network of friends or colleagues.
Roberto Germán [00:11:48]:
Or having accountability partners can help you process your thoughts, and you can brainstorm certain things or have them as a think tank, a sounding board. Sometimes you just need good people in your corner to help check you, right? To help affirm you, to help challenge you, to help remind you, to help question whether you're maintaining the proper boundaries or not. So it's important for us to have that strong support network of friends, family and colleagues that can provide that much needed emotional support. Additionally, we should look for professional development opportunities that focus on well being and stress management. Right. A lot of our professional development is often focused on student outcomes. I'm not saying that's bad, right? It's necessary. Well, they might be focused on other areas, but I don't think we have enough professional development opportunities that focus on our well being and stress management.
Roberto Germán [00:13:16]:
Right. As faculty, as staff, as individuals on the front lines. And so let's make a push for that, let's advocate for that. And then when it's there, let's take advantage of that. We should also consider school and community resources. Many schools offer resources such as employee assistance programs. Did I say that right? Employee assistance programs, counseling services, workshops on stress management. And sometimes things are there and we just don't, we just don't utilize them.
Roberto Germán [00:14:09]:
Let's be honest. Sometimes we don't, we don't take advantage of these opportunities, of these resources. And if your school doesn't offer these resources, then you should consider advocating for them. These community resources, like local support groups or wellness centers, they could be extremely valuable. I'm often surprised when I'm out and about and I see what type of programming is available, and I'm just talking about, like, the community in general, not necessarily in a particular school, but in the community in general. So how can we leverage community resources that are already in place that can potentially be in partnership with the schools. And maybe they're not in partnership with the schools, that's fine. But if they're not in partnership with the schools, then you can still check them out for yourself.
Roberto Germán [00:15:04]:
Right? And if it works for you, then you could share that with your colleagues and others. And so, again, I promise to keep this thing brief because it's just something in my mind. I want to spark the conversation and then encourage you all to run with it. So, to wrap, remember that your mental health is just as important as your physical health, right? Yes. You should be working on your body, exercising your body. It's good to get movement, good to get the heart rate up, so on and so forth, but your mental health, just as important. So just like we exercise our body, we want to make sure we're exercising our mind. We want to make sure we are taking care of our mind, taking care of our emotional state, balancing our stress, recognizing that and recognizing the potential burnout and not hesitating to implement the self care strategies that bring greater balance to our lives.
Roberto Germán [00:16:15]:
I want you to hear this very clearly. Your well being directly impacts your ability to teach and inspire students. Should I say one more time? Let me go ahead and say that one more time. Your well being directly impacts your ability to teach, inspire your students. Stephen, I encourage each of you to prioritize your mental health. And take a moment, take a moment today to do something for you. It's okay. Do something for you.
Roberto Germán [00:16:50]:
Take that break, take that walk. Get in that journal. You know, do some reflection, do some writing. Let's manage our mental health and share your experiences and tips on the social media platforms. Please share them. Share them widely, man. Talk about it, because we could all learn from each other. And I definitely want to hear from you all.
Roberto Germán [00:17:17]:
So I appreciate y'all. Thank you for engaging. We're gonna continue to discuss strategies as it relates to, you know, classroom and student learning and anti bias and anti racist approaches and social emotional learning, and continue to have authors here to address a variety of topics. But I wanted to take a little bit of time to really encourage us to think about and respond to our mental health. So peace and love catch you on the next episode.
Roberto Germán [00:18:05]:
As always, your engagement in our classroom is greatly appreciated. Be sure to subscribe, rate the show, and write a review. Finally, for resources to help you understand the intersection of race bias, education, and society, go to multiculturalclassroom.com. peace and love from your host, Roberto Herman.
