Self-Care for K-12 Educators

Trauma

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education by Alex Shevrin Venet, 2021

Trauma-informed initiatives tend to focus on the challenging behaviors of students and ascribe them to circumstances that students are facing outside of school. This approach ignores the reality that inequity itself causes trauma, and that schools often heighten inequities when implementing trauma-informed practices that are not based in educational equity.

In this fresh look at trauma-informed practice, Alex Shevrin Venet urges educators to shift equity to the center as they consider policies and professional development. Using a framework of six principles for equity-centered trauma-informed education, Venet offers practical action steps that teachers and school leaders can take from any starting point, using the resources and influence at their disposal to make shifts in practice, pedagogy, and policy. Overthrowing inequitable systems is a process, not an overnight change. But transformation is possible when educators work together, and teachers can do more than they realize from within their own classrooms.

Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress by Debbie Zacarian, Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes, 2017

Half the students in U.S. schools are experiencing or have experienced trauma, violence, or chronic stress. Much has been written about these students from a therapeutic perspective, especially regarding how to provide them with adequate counseling supports and services. Conversely, little has been written about teaching this population and doing so from a strengths-based perspective. Using real-world examples as well as research-based principles, this book shows how to: identify inherent assets that students bring to the classroom; connect to students’ experiences through instructional planning and delivery; foster students’ strengths through the use of predictable routines and structured paired and small-group learning experiences; and develop family and community partnerships.. Experts Debbie Zacarian, Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes outline a comprehensive, collaborative approach to teaching that focuses on students’ strengths and resiliency. Teaching to Strengths encourages educators to embrace teaching and schoolwide practices that support and enhance the academic and socio-emotional development of students living with trauma, violence, and chronic stress.

Building a Trauma-Informed, Compassionate Classroom: Strategies & Activities to Reduce Challenging Behavior, Improve Learning Outcomes, and Increase Student Engagement by Jennifer Bashant, 2020

Meeting your students’ social and emotional needs in the classroom is foundational to effective learning. It’s a difficult job among typical learners, let alone with students who have a trauma history and more demanding mental health or behavioral challenges. Mental health expert Jennifer Bashant details how using a trauma-informed approach will greatly reduce, even eliminate, challenging behavior in your classroom. Using her practical, easy-to-use strategies based on the latest research, every educator can create a classroom where all students feel welcomed, supported, and ready to learn.

The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom: Building Resilience with Compassionate Teaching by Patricia A. Jennings, 2018

Fully half the students in U.S. schools have experienced trauma, violence, or chronic stress. In the face of this epidemic, it falls increasingly to teachers to provide the adult support these students need to function in school. But most educators have received little training to prepare them for this role. Tish Jennings―an internationally recognized leader in the field of social and emotional learning―shares research and experiential knowledge about the practices that support students' healing, build their resilience, and foster compassion in the classroom. In Part I, Jennings describes the effects of trauma on body and mind, and how to recognize them in students' behavior. In Part II, she introduces the trauma-sensitive practices she has implemented in her work with schools. And in Part III, she connects the dots between mindfulness, compassion, and resilience. Each chapter contains easy-to-use, practical activities to hone the skills needed to create a compassionate learning environment.

Self-Care

Practicing Presence: Simple Self-Care Strategies for Teachers by Lisa J. Lucas, 2018

Most teachers enter the field of education to make a difference in children's lives. But many end up, as author Dr. Lisa Lucas puts it, “tired, wired, and running in circles.” This leads to many new teachers abandoning the profession or to burnout among veteran teachers. In Practicing Presence: Simple Self-Care Strategies for Teachers, Dr. Lucas invites the reader to learn how to fully inhabit the present moment. Written in an informal, conversational tone, Practicing Presence is filled with ideas, exercises, checklists, personal anecdotes, and practices you can use to reframe and establish a mindset that will enhance your focus and engagement in the classroom. With approximately 50% of new teachers leaving the education field before they hit the 5-year mark, it is more important than ever for educators to prioritize their self-care. Each chapter of Practicing Presence includes self-care strategies that explore how to self-regulate, nurture self-acceptance, and promote compassion. Inside you'll find: Quotes and affirmations throughout the texts Scientific research and reflections on how these theories and practices can apply to your own lifePaths to Mindful Teaching and how to integrate into your daily life. Additional resources and online content to further support your practice When teachers care for themselves deeply and deliberately, they are better able to care for the people that matter most in their lives—their students, friends, and families. Practicing Presence focuses not on doing, but rather on being present in the life of the classroom.

The Beginning Teacher's Field Guide: Embarking on Your First Years (Self-Care and Teaching Tips for New Teachers) by Tina H. Boogren, 2018

The joys and pains of starting a teaching career often go undiscussed. This field guide dives deep into the personal side of teaching, offering crucial advice, empathy, and new-teacher support. The author details six phases every new or first-year teacher goes through (anticipation, survival, disillusionment, rejuvenation, reflection, and second anticipation) and outlines targeted classroom strategies, teaching tips, and self-care practices for each.

Cultivating Happiness, Resilience, and Well-Being Through Meditation, Mindfulness, and Movement: A Guide for Educators by Christine Y. Mason, Jeffrey Donald, Krishna Kaur Khalso, and others, 2022

In this book, you'll discover the why and the how of using techniques to reduce stress, improve executive function, and set the stage for increased memory and attention, better self-regulation, and improved cognition and academic learning. With this practical, research-based guide, you'll incorporate age- and grade-appropriate meditation, breathing, mindfulness, and secular yoga activities into your teaching, in ways that work for in-person as well as virtual and hybrid settings.

Cultivating Teacher Renewal: Guarding Against Stress and Burnout by Barbara Larrivee. 2012

Teachers today are more stressed than ever. It is crucial that teachers develop the tools necessary to keep from falling prey to the potentially destructive effects of stress and burnout. Cultivating Teacher Renewal: Guarding Against Stress and Burnout offers the antidote by providing the knowledge, skills and practices that will keep teachers from surrendering to burnout. Cultivating Teacher Renewal is evidence-based presenting an extensive review of the abundant research on stress and burnout specifically applying it to the teaching profession.

The Frazzled Teachers' Wellness Plan: Five Step Program for Reclaiming Time, Managing Stress, and Creating a Healthy Lifestyle, (2nd edition) by Allen Queen & Patsy S. Queen, 2013

This handy wellness guide helps busy teachers optimize their classroom effectiveness and breeze through stressful times. Custom crafted by an educator and a nurse who understand the stresses teachers face, this updated second edition offers a five-step program to help weary educators: Master the science of stress management Restructure professional and personal priorities Use technology for time management Easily fit health-promoting nutrition and exercise routines into their day New research and expert tips address high-stakes CCSS, 21st Century Learning initiatives, and technology requirements.

Teaching Well: How Healthy, Empowered Teachers Lead to Thriving, Successful Classrooms by Lisa Bush

How can teachers balance the needs of busy overwhelming classrooms with the needs of their own health and well-being? This remarkable book shows you how embracing a healthy lifestyle is not only beneficial for teachers, but for students, classrooms, and schools, too.