With the end of another busy term it is important to reflect on the well-being of our colleagues and ourselves. Many of your may have heard Ian Vickers (Deputy Principal, Sancta Maria Catholic College) speak on this subject.
"We saw a 27- 40% decrease in staff sick days"
Here are some thoughts from Ian around teacher well being:
"The art of looking after one's self, or caring about your own well being is a jigsaw of learnt habits. Teaching is an extremely demanding profession and it is vital that you make sometime for 'you' during each working day".
Triggers
To learn a new positive habit you need to remember to adopt this new activity on a regular basis. We all need reminders, so seeing an aircraft in the sky may be the trigger to remind you to re-hydrate and have a drink of water.
You need to think about a few triggers that will remind you to regularly practice a new approach!
Examples of triggers: Our College is on the Airport flight path so seeing or hearing an aircraft could work for you. Having a special screensaver on your computer could be a trigger. A poem, a photograph on your desk, a treasured item that you frequently see or even the school bell, could be a trigger. It could be the smell from a fragrance from your tissues or a room air freshener. If could be another external noise such as a distant motorbike or police siren. In essence pick a few things that will constantly remind you to remember to follow a new activity.
“Remember to Remember ”
Resources and Podcast
Here is the teacher wellbeing page for New Zealand teachers and a teacher well being resource Ian had created for schools to adopt.
Have a fantastic and relaxing Term Three holiday break!
No comments:
Post a Comment