3 Signs Your School Culture Needs Boundaries
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Hello, beautiful people! My goal each day is to help teachers like you prevent burnout so you can have a long, healthy career in education.
And as a health coach, I can tell you that you cannot prevent burnout without school year boundaries.
I can also tell you it’s much easier to set healthy boundaries if your school community encourages them and models them with you.
So that brings us to today’s big question - Do you or your school culture at large need to practice better boundaries?
The summer is a great time to reflect on how well you and your school community set boundaries, so that you can continue practicing healthy boundaries, or set healthier ones, in the year to come.
If you want to know HOW to establish healthy boundaries, register for our upcoming webinar at the end of this post ;)
Without further ado, here are 3 signs your school culture needs boundaries (adapted from Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab), 2 quotes about this topic, and 1 question for you to consider this week.
3 Signs Your School Culture Needs Boundaries
I.
You and the teachers around you feel overwhelmed. Do people in your school building feel chronically overwhelmed during the school year? Overwhelm is one of the most common manifestations of boundary issues, and is typically a result of trying to “do it all”. Unfortunately, our well-being is the price of trying to add more and more to our already packed schedules. A school with no boundaries to limit or discourage a culture of busyness or “a daily grind” among staff likely has overwhelmed teachers in its ranks.
II.
There’s a culture of resentment, venting, or gossiping when a coworker asks for help, says no, or uses their PTO. “All I can say is, she had better be really, really sick,” I heard an exhausted, overworked teacher sigh years ago when she found out her assistant would be absent. Resentment, or feeling frustrated or taken advantage of, is another sign there’s a boundary needed - either by the individual or the school culture at large. Everyone deserves to take their PTO and care for themselves when they need it. Support is needed for the remaining teachers to prevent a culture of resentment developing.
III.
You or the teachers around you feel like you have no time for yourselves. “I have no life outside of school!” is a cry I’ve heard more than once. Self-care requires making time for yourself, which can be easier to do if your school culture encourages boundaries with work and taking time for yourself. Self-care can be adding things like journaling or meditation to your day, or it can be saying “no” to the things that drain you. The more the culture is encouraging daily boundaries and self-care, the easier it will be for individual teachers to practice them.
2 Quotes from Others
I.
“We can’t create more time, but we can do less, delegate and ask for help.” - Nedra Glover Tawwab, author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace.
II.
“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated.” - Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly.
1 Question For You
Reflect on this past school year - Did you notice any of these signs for needing boundaries in either yourself or in your school community as a whole?
If you enjoyed that, please share this post with other teachers who may benefit!
Until next week,
Emily Hemmingson
Health Coach for Teachers
Book Our Workshop, “Set Healthy School Year Boundaries” to Support Your Whole Staff
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Thank you for taking a moment to join me, and for giving yourself a moment to consider your needs this school week. You can get more actionable ideas in my popular email Teacher 3-2-1 newsletter. Each week, I share 3 of my teacher wellness tips, 2 quotes from others, and 1 wellness question to think about. Thousands of teachers are already subscribed. Enter your email below to join the community!