Hello Friends and Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a restful and recharging break and enjoyed some quality time with family, loved ones, and friends. As an educator I have always understood the value and importance of having breaks to help us recharge and re-energize. As teachers we have a lot on our plates and it is easy to get burned out from all the stress and pressures associated with the profession. This post is going to be short, sweet, and I hope it will be meaningful.
The Inspiration
You have probably already guessed by now that I’m talking about self-care and avoiding burnout. This morning while on my morning treadmill run at the gym the song Roots, by Zac Brown Band came on. Now before your inner Simon Cowell comes out to respond with a witty comment about my taste in music, hear me out. I don’t really have a favorite genre of music, and don’t normally listen to country music. With that said, I like many forms of music, and much like my attitude, what I listen to is a reflection of my mood at that given point in time. Anyways, I digress. So back to the song. Part of the lyrics from the chorus are “My roots always keep me grounded. Roots, remind me where I’m from.” This had me thinking, what are my roots?
What Are Your Roots?
I’m going to tell you my roots in a minute, but before I do there are a couple of things that came to my mind about the importance of roots. These are our core values, the things we value most, our essence of life. They are where we draw strength and courage from during times of hardship and distress. They are where we find joy and peace from when we may be feeling down. They are the pillars that keep us grounded as human beings and as educators. What are your roots? Take a moment to reflect on this and I even encourage you to stop reading for a minute, get a piece of paper and pen and jot them down. What are your core values? What is important to you most in life and in teaching? If you can’t think of them at the moment it’s okay, but come back to that thought when you have a clear head. I have three core roots: family, self-care, and commitment to my students. Most of my life falls into these three categories. I should also point out that when I say family, I am referring to the broader concept of family, whether they be immediate, close, or distant. These are all the people who I love and who are important to me. Roots are the things we value and we should never lose sight of them.
In Conclusion
As you return from break and get back into your classrooms with your students, I challenge you to focus on your core roots. As educators, there are many things out of our control, but we need to focus on the things we can control. Try to dedicate time each day to commit to each of your roots. Start small, it may even be for just 5-10 minutes that you dedicate toward nurturing and growing each root, but just start! Set a goal and timeframe for yourself and make a schedule. At the end of your predetermined timeframe, reflect and evaluate yourself on how well you were committed to each of your roots. You may need to adjust your goal or create a new one, but always push yourself to commit as much time as you can on each of these roots. Remember, these are your core values, they are who you are as a person. In a world that is full of turmoil and somewhat uncertain at times, we need to find peace and harmony to help keep us grounded.
Cheers!
– Inspiring students and teachers to reach their highest potential –
@MrPurdyMath
