I Triple Dog Dare You!

 

Believe it or not, we have reached the end of the 1st semester in the Pandemic Education Experience that is 2020. We have laughed, cried, yelled, and experienced an entire gamut of emotions trying to figure out what it is that we are actually doing. Through it all, we experience residual effects of anxiety, stress, and exhaustion as we try to figure out if we are making a difference in the lives of our students. If we ever needed a break, now is the time. Keeping this in mind, I Triple Dog Dare You to do the following:

TAKE AN ACTUAL BREAK

Educators are notorious (present company included) for saying they will take a break, but not actually following through with it. Most people outside of education think that it must be awesome having breaks during the year, but what they don't realize is that this time isn't recess. Educators are highly educated professionals who work ALL THE TIME even when they aren't supposed to. They serve kids, and like parenting, that is a full time job that takes precedence over everything else. During COVID, however, it is time to take a break and be a little selfish. Do what you want to do and don't work. Turn off the 24-7 educator brain that drives you and relax. The two weeks that you get for the holiday season should be about you and your mental health. You'll have 18 weeks of this pandemic education experience waiting for you on the back end of the break, but that can wait. For now, you do you and shut it down. Please understand, however, that you will be getting emails from your Principal over the break to keep you up to speed on what is going on, but don't feel like you have to respond. They are just doing their job and they will find time to practice what they preach and take a break also.

RELEASE THE KRAKEN

The Kraken is more than some mythical sea monster from the movies. It is whatever you want it to be and you can release it in any fashion you would like. The key is to actually RELEASE it in a positive and productive way that won't hurt others. For me, I go to town on an 80 pound heavy back in my garage and release an unfettered barrage of blows on it while listening to really loud music. After 45 minutes, I am dripping with sweat and so exhausted that I can't even lift up my arms. Needless to say, I think a lot as I go through this process, but in the end, I feel better and I haven't hurt anyone. Find your Kraken and unleash it during the break. This could be screaming into a pillow, running a marathon, or any other activity that is going to allow you to unleash the fury that you may be feeling. It sounds crazy, but it works.

REMOVE THE SCAR TISSUE

Undoubtedly, this first semester has created scar tissue for educators. What we can't do is ignore the fact that it is building up. Instead, we must carefully remove it so we can approach the next semester with an open heart and open mind. If you are like me, you have had someone in your life tell you at one point or another that "Scars build character." I believe this is true and scars can serve as a reminder of what we have gone through and how far we have come. Unfortunately, some scar tissue can be invasive to the point that it takes over and shuts things down entirely. If we allow the scar tissue of this pandemic education experience to remain intact, it will consume us and we may never be able to look at our jobs as educators the same again. Over the break, take a careful look at the scar tissue that has developed around your heart and head and remove the layers that may be jading you. You and your colleagues will be grateful for it.

TAKE WALKS - A LOT OF THEM

The greatest thing I ever started doing was taking walks on a regular basis. I try to do a 5k every day to center myself and get in touch with my surroundings. I started taking walks because I am overweight and stressed, but have now found that I do them because it activates a part of my brain that I want to use more often (the creative side). I get to think about things other than work and it is a time where I have complete solitude without having to answer a million questions or think about my to-do list. I am able to stop thinking about the sucky situation we are in right now and focus instead on one thing. ME.

FIND YOUR JOY

People often ask me why I identify as a workaholic with such pride and I tell them that I find joy in what I do for a living. This is true regardless of whether you believe me or not. Recently, however, I have found joy in other things and it has truly given me an opportunity to set boundaries and expectations on my time that I devote to being an educator. I don't need to work all of the time in spite of what my brain tells me. There is always going to be work to do, so it is important to take the foot off the gas pedal and let the engine reset to the idle position. Finding joy can take form in a variety of ways if you will just grant yourself the opportunity to be open to it, even for just a moment.

So there you have it! I am going to be THAT teacher and give you this as homework over the break. There is a deadline/due date, but if you don't do it, no worries. This is an enrichment activity for you to complete. I Triple Dog Dare You to do it.