With pajama pants and a sleep shirt on, you grab coffee and walk your unshowered self to your laptop. The cat follows you and sits on your feet. You’re scrolling through email, hitting “unsubscribe” at any chance you get (“Why does it take them so long to actually unsubscribe me?”) to create some sense of accomplishment (you have big plans later to finally watch Stranger Things Season 4). You scroll on, see some notices from the school district, and you stop.
The subject line is, “Welcome back!”
Oh. No.
The Back to School letter.
The end of summer fun letter.
The “time to go to Target for everything” letter.
Well, ok. You knew it was getting close: the teacher dreams have started, you’re mentally putting together bulletin boards…it makes sense. But still. You haven’t smelled marker or copy ink, or created weekly meal prep for 2 months.
And yet.
It’s your time to shine.
A good Back to School letter can remind us of the value of community. My school used to celebrate births, marriages, and honor deaths. There was a special welcome to the new folks, and updates on cleaning and construction. The letter was a call to the community; a need to reconnect and be ready for one another and our students.
More than ever, it’s essential our school communities are in good form, because you’ll need each other! Students are still struggling. COVID is still lurking, divisive politics are seeping deeper into education, and safety concerns are higher than ever. Yet, many positives prevail! Educators give their heart and soul for students.
Teaching Channel understands this at our core, and while we have a great bundle of courses for you to help you with self-care and balance, we’d like to offer some thoughts to get you focused and ready: in mind, heart, and soul.
Use Your Mind
You’re teaching because you know how important it is to build communities of learners, solvers of problems, and curiously minded people. The amplified voices of negative rhetoric can be loud in your ears at the moment and can impede on your well-held beliefs. But if you’re in education, you know: educators don’t scare easily. You are bright, engaged, intelligent superheroes who know better. You make sure your students remain curious, informed, and celebrated as they connect to new and impactful knowledge. You are the guardians of knowledge and learning, and we unequivocally support you.
Celebrate Heart
It’s nearly impossible to find an educator who doesn’t exude love. You know love can lift up and change students. It can prevail in its simplicity and endures through everything you do. You value social-emotional learning (SEL) because it can teach students to love themselves and be proud of their own accomplishments. You build a classroom community focused on love and respect. Just be sure to protect your own heart while protecting those of your students. Love is the answer, and you prove it every day.
Present Soul
Your soul is full of the ability to be present, caring, and open for students, and they feel your love, support, and encouragement. You bend down or pull up a chair to listen. You honor the importance of a skinned knee. You know relationships are the soul of connection, and you work hard to build them with students. You have an innate ability to inspire, challenge, and engage students with your presence. All of this is soul work. You embody it.
Pull together, educators. Your community — students, families, colleagues — are sounding the call for love, soul, and curious minds. You know just how to answer it. Welcome back. We’re behind you all the way.
Here’s the bundle I mentioned earlier — the Back to School Balance Bundle — designed to support you through a well-balanced and healthy school year!
Course 5142: Time Management Strategies for Educators
Course 5105: Living Your Happiest Life, Inside & Outside the Classroom
Course 5116: Connection and Calming Strategies for Today’s Teachers
