OES Staff June Newsletter
OES Vision: Building Foundations for Every Students' Success
Greetings!
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Book Study:
Four Ways for Educators to Recharge Over the Summer
“Teachers are notorious for taking care of everyone but ourselves,” says Arkansas grade 1-2 teacher Justin Minkel in this article in Education Week Teacher. “The coming summer provides a perfect chance to change that.” He believes it’s time to answer the question, “Who are we when we’re not teaching?” Minkel has four suggestions:
• Become the learner instead of the teacher. Learn Arabic, kickboxing, pottery, bicycle repair. “It takes curiosity, perseverance, and humility to learn a new skill,” he says. “The struggle and excitement of being a novice can deepen our empathy for our students, who are asked every day to attempt new and difficult things.” One lesson he learned from kickboxing classes was that general exhortations – “Keep it up! Nice going!” – are unhelpful. What novices need is coaching and guidance on the specifics.
• Hyphenate yourself. Minkel sees himself as a teacher-dad, a teacher-writer, and teacher-hiker, among other identities. Strong outside-of-school interests make teachers more interesting and effective with their students.
• Be your full self with your loved ones. Those closest to us “often get a depleted version of us during the school week and year,” says Minkel. “It’s harder to be patient, present, and playful with our own children when you have exhausted those reserves with your students over the past seven hours.” Hence the importance of the summer months.
• Join a new tribe or two. While there’s an instant bond when teachers meet teachers, wherever they meet, Minkel says it’s good to hang out with people who have radically different professional lives and experience a different kind of camaraderie.
Minkel loves teaching, but acknowledges that it’s hard. “We need deep rest and renewal if we’re going to keep doing it well.”
“We’ve Said Goodbye to This Year’s Students. Now It’s Time to Take Care of Ourselves” by Justin Minkel in Education Week Teacher, June 5, 2019, https://bit.ly/2Iv3WoR