Category Archives: self care

Lemonade from Lemons

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Yesterday, I had a not so great interaction with a student, which left me feeling really bad and it ended up consuming my entire night-yes, I woke up at 2 a.m. thinking about this kid. Why? Oh, why do we have to care so much? Anyway, every year I inevitably have a couple interactions with students that I wish could have gone better, which is par for the course when you work with people, especially teenagers. Many years ago, I realized one way to counteract the way these unfortunate interactions make me feel is to write positive emails to parents of students with which I’ve had great interactions. Fortunately, these positive interactions way out number the negative ones, like by 1000%! Here is a sampling of a few emails I sent this morning:

Dear Mr. and Mrs __________, 
Good morning! I’m writing just to let you know that it has been an absolute pleasure working with _________ this year. He is a great kid! _________ is a joy to be around; he always listens attentively and consistently contributes to our classroom community. I am so happy that he is in my class! 
Have a wonderful day and God bless!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Cutright
Dear Mr. and Mrs. ___________,

I just want to send a quick note to acknowledge what a great kid you have. I am ________’s English teacher this year, and I feel very lucky to have her in my class. I went to England with ____________ a couple of summers ago and I see how she positively influenced her peers during that trip. I get to see another side of her in the classroom. ___________ is hard-working and interested in learning. She really is a joy to be around!
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Cutright
When the time is right, I am going to revisit the conversation I had with the student of yesterday and try again. In the meantime, I do feel better. What do you do when you have a not so awesome interaction with another human?

From Mind/Shift: “Why Mindfulness And Trauma-Informed Teaching Don’t Always Go Together”

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I love that we actively think about mindfulness here at Carondelet. In my personal experience and in speaking to former colleagues, many schools don’t don’t give space to mindfulness in their programming, and that is a missed opportunity in my opinion.

However, I stumbled across this article today after our morning interviews. KQED’s Mind/Shift posted an article entitled “Why Mindfulness And Trauma-Informed Teaching Don’t Always Go Together,” and I felt immediately compelled to read. The following line deeply resonated with me and made me wonder how many students aren’t comfortable in what can feel like an otherwise normal and inclusive school environment:

“You never want to force people to close their eyes,” he said. That alone can cause trauma for some kids. “The goal is not to turn people into meditation monks. It’s just about learning to turn inwards and practice self-awareness.”

Looking back on some of my teaching experiences, I wonder if some of my past students’ behaviors weren’t merely rebellion or refusal to do activities, but signs of trauma (however big or small they may be). To quote the article again, some potential signs could be:

  • Students don’t take the activity seriously 
  • Students are triggered by silence because it feels like a storm is brewing, so they don’t want to be quiet 
  • Students feel too many requests are made of them without the requisite trust being built up 
  • Students exhibit avoidance behavior
There are some interesting tips for how we as educators can encourage mindfulness among our students in ways other than the traditional activities we’re used to, and even tips for teachers who themselves are feeling burnt out, and in need of self care just as much as our students!
If nothing else, this was a good reminder to mix things up and to create an inclusive space for everyone in my classroom and in my curriculum — it’s hard to know what invisible burden students are shouldering on any given day, but I am trying my best to be as thoughtful and as welcoming as I can to all of my students so that there is a level playing field for learning to happen, trust to build, and relationships to form.