This article is dedicated to educators of the world who need encouragement. Its purpose is to help teachers keep the joy and magic alive in teaching. It will provide necessary tools to avoid compassion-fatigue, strengthen emotional intelligence and build resiliency. A happier teacher is going to be far better able to nurture, educate and help students. As a fellow educator it is my hope that the words of this article jump off the page and into your hearts.
To be the best at our jobs, we must care for ourselves before we can care for our students. It isn't the day-to-day load that weighs us down, it is how we carry and manage it. If our general outlook upon life and moods are not at their best, we will be less effective with students. We must learn to excel in eagerness, inner strength and optimism.
The demands placed on today's teachers are much more varied and difficult than ever before in history. There will be days when we feel like shark bait ready to be gobbled up by a school of hungry, seething predators. There will be times when we truly wonder why we ever went into this wacky profession... "How soon does the next plane leave for Siberia?"
