Hello Teachers…. finally, it’s vacation time!

Despite what most people think, that teachers rarely “relax” during vacation time, it is possible! School activities have come to a standstill and your thoughts would naturally turn to ‘winding down’, right? Believe it or not, there IS a neuroscience behind effectively switching OFF for spring cleaning and switching ON to rejuvenation mode.

Just as your brain’s memory strengthens with practice, so do your brain’s behaviour control networks. What this means is that teachers get used to patterns of behaviour – such as thinking about their students before themselves (during school terms), which can be really hard to break over the holidays. Many teachers experience the stressful fallout of the term gone by. For some, this is the exhaustion or burnout. For others, worries about the upcoming school year are already on the horizon.

But hang on, it’s important to switch off! As you begin to wind down, during the first week, just put your feet up, not worry about waking up early, relax with a book, do absolutely NOTHING for a couple of days . . . allowing the keyed-up, taught-muscled fatigue to dissolve into zephyr. You need to sweep away those ‘previous year’ cobwebs and open your mind’s windows, to let in some fresh air.

Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and YOU are worth the effort. ~Deborah Day

Here are some ideas that will help you:

1. First things first, leave school work locked away in that classroom! The danger of having your paraphernalia (books, notes and plans) lying around the house, will tempt you to get to it. If you can’t leave them at school – find a place that is not visible, nor easily accessible – to put away the stuff, at least for a week or ten days.
2. Get out of teacher-mode and let others do things for you. Teachers can find it hard to get out of the mindset of doing things for others – it’s practically ingrained into their DNA! But it’s important to allow yourself to relax a bit. Think about tasks your family and friends might want to take on and willingly accept a bit of help. Time to truly believe that if YOU didn’t do the task, the world will still go on!

3. Don’t waste mental energy on blame – Teachers often hold themselves responsible for problematic student behaviour, or failure to cover every required topic in depth, or for not adapting instruction to suit the needs of individual students. If you feel this way, know that you are not alone! Many educators feel upset and question their ability to fulfil excessive demands; they hold themselves to the highest standards. But when circumstances limit one’s ability to be in control, self-doubt builds, confidence drops and burnout can emerge.

   Vacation time is the time to start rebooting your positive mindset by recognising that these concerns are NOT a reflection of your teaching skill.

4. Write down all the things you’ve promised yourself to get done during the break. This could include organising things you’ve put off – cleaning your cupboard, getting some new gadget / furniture / curtains, etc., OR taking a short holiday with the family, OR arranging photos on your phone into albums on your computer, OR getting together with people you’ve not met for a long time, OR sending thank you cards to students, friends and families for their kind gratitude/birthday messages. And YES, emptying out the clutter in your laptop / computer!

   

   Make sure your list has tasks to just spoil yourself silly – enjoy a spa/massage, get a new haircut or add a temporary texture/colour, try some nail-art! You might also want to immerse in festive tasks including making any holiday fun-food or buying gifts for family and friends.

   Apart from writing a list of what you plan to do it might also be a good idea to set aside time to get it done. That said, beware… don’t let your holiday be weighed down by too many plans and deadlines; keep the list short and let it not become a source of stress. Write down what you need to get done, week by week, and then portion out tasks. Setting aside time to get things done will allow you to really enjoy the vacation and truly relax when you’re doing nothing.

5. 

   Understand your brain’s stress mode – The brain has a system that strengthens the memories and emotions that are most frequently used or experienced. The term for this, neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to change or adapt in response to thoughts and experiences. It is this neuroplastic response that builds skills when learning is practised and applied. When stress is frequent, the circuit producing that response becomes stronger – which means that after repeated frustrations and unachieved goals, your brain becomes more efficient at dropping into its stress response mode.

   Almost everything will work again if you UNPLUG it for a few minutes, including YOU. ~Anne Lamott

   You can reboot your brain by strengthening the circuits needed to activate motivation and effort. Plan activities that will provide frequent feedback on your development. This is not the time to challenge yourself with things that you feel you should do but won’t look forward to, such as losing weight! Select goals that you will truly enjoy and that will provide tangible evidence of your progress. These could include planting a garden, taking a pottery or cooking class, taking up a musical instrument or developing a new physical skill such as Zumba or learning mehendi art or candle making. As you make progress in new challenges, the repeated satisfaction of the dopamine response will literally change your brain’s circuitry.

   Repeated effort/reward experiences will promote development of new neural networks that expect positive outcomes. Each time you achieve a goal, your positive mindset circuit will become stronger and this will reboot your confidence when you return to the classroom.

It does take planning in advance to enjoy the restorative benefits of vacation time. The rewards go beyond your reinvigorated mind and body. However; if you can wind-down and spring-clean, you’ll return to the classroom less stressed. This will boost your energy levels and have a positive impact on your students as well.

After this process, you need to reflect, refresh and recharge yourself with new skills. To read more about how to be a Reflective Teacher, do read about it in the February 2023 QEDpress Newsletter, on Page 4:
https://www.qedrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/qedpress-issue-08.pdf