Taking Care of #1: How to Become a Resilient Educator | By: Committee for Children by Tonje Molyneux As one who has chosen to work in a child-serving profession, it’s a given that you’re busy, and very likely that you experience some degree of stress on a daily basis. In fact, it’s likely you could use a moment to de-stress right now. So use the few moments you spend reading this article to also relax by doing a simple breathing exercise. Breathe in slowly through your nose, feel your stomach move out, and then breathe out slowly through your mouth. Continue to breathe this way while you read. Some of you may recognize this technique from your Second Step Program lessons. Known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing, this simple technique can help you relax and reduce stress at any time throughout your busy day. It’s a great way to take care of number one: YOU! But—and be honest, now—how often do you really take time out to take care of number one? An unfortunate phenomenon, recognized for decades, is that many educators do not take care of themselves, resulting in physical and mental health problems, burnout, or even abandoning the profession entirely. In fact, between 25 and 40 percent of beginning teachers choose not to continue teaching within their first five years. There’s no doubt that teaching takes its toll; it’s mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. The incidence of work-related stress, anxiety, and depression is higher in education than many other fields. So what can educators do to prevent exhaustion and burnout, and sustain the energy and motivation needed to do their job well? The answer, in one word, is resilience. What is resilience? Resilience is often described as the ability to bounce back from adversity and is portrayed as something you’re born with. But Dr. Clayton Cook, a University of Washington professor and co-developer of the ACHIEVER Adult Resilience Curriculum (AARC), prefers a broader definition. He describes resilience as “not only about your ability to positively adapt in the face of adverse or challenging circumstances (that is, survive), but …also about learning the positive skills, strategies, and routines that enable you to live a happy, fulfilling, and successful life (in other words, thrive).” Using Dr. Cook’s definition, resilience becomes something you can learn and develop—and improve over time. And the payoff can extend beyond your own improved health and well-being; it can help you become a more effective educator! Becoming resilient There are many factors that contribute to resilience, and they are all things people can develop in themselves. The American Psychological Association tops their list of factors in resilience with caring and supportive relationships. Other factors they list include: The ability to make and follow through on realistic plans Communication and problem-solving skills The ability to manage strong feelings and impulses A positive self-concept You might recognize some of those as Second Step skills. Problem-solving and emotion-management skills serve as protective factors; they act as buffers against the effects of stress or adversity, essentially boosting your resilience. The sooner you can develop these skills, the better, but it’s also never too late. The AARC Dr. Cook co-developed with Dr. Gail Joseph incorporates these and other skills and strategies into its menu of evidence-based practice areas designed to boost the resilience skills of the early learning educators taking the course. Drs. Cook and Joseph took an eclectic approach to the development of this curriculum, drawing on aspects of positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches. They landed on eight practice areas, each of which can stand alone or be used in combination, to help educators reduce stress and burnout and increase their social-emotional well-being. The practice areas include the following: Values clarification and commitment: identifying what you value the most as an educator and committing to living in a way that’s aligned with your values Mindfulness practices: promoting self-awareness and empowerment using mindfulness techniques Attention training and practicing gratitude: choosing where to put your attention and acknowledging the positive aspects of your life Cognitive restructuring: identifying unhelpful thoughts and changing them to be helpful Emotion management: learning how to manage strong, negative emotions and encourage positive emotions Supportive relationships: connecting with others and developing a support system Physical well-being: eating well, exercising, and sleeping well Therapeutic lifestyle choices: keeping stress levels low by scheduling in relaxation and recreation In a series of ten lessons, early childhood educators learn about each of the practice areas and make efforts to integrate them into their personal and professional lives. In the end, they walk out with an individualized resilience plan that maps out how they will continue to use their skills to become even more resilient educators. Evaluations of the effects of the course on educators are underway. Early findings include decreased stress and increased self-confidence and job and life satisfaction among participants. One comment from the course’s discussion board says it all: “This is changing my life.” Dr. Cook hopes for this course to one day become a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) available to all. He also has plans to make this a required general education course for all University of Washington freshmen. Start small, but start! Still belly breathing? Good. While reading this article, you’ve taken time out to take care of number one and practiced a simple breathing technique. In these few moments you’ve spent breathing deeply, you’ve slowed your heart rate, lowered your blood pressure, and promoted a calm, relaxed state in your body and mind. We can’t all take courses on becoming a resilient educator like AARC, but what the developers’ approach makes evident is that incorporating even the smallest resilience skill or strategy—like belly breathing—into your daily life can have a significant effect on your ability to manage stress, helping you become a more effective and resilient educator! Tonje Molyneux is a Program Developer for Committee for Children. While teaching in the classroom, she got her resilience boosts from long walks in the local river valley during which she would occasionally break into a run.