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I don’t think that teachers really understand what wellbeing is.
We know what emotional exhaustion feels like.
We know stress and anxiety.
But can most teachers articulate what effective wellbeing actually means to them?
I don’t think so. 🌼💛
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing
If you’re going to offer advice to a colleague, offer it through the lens of their challenges.
Make sure it’s wanted, constructive and supportive.
Make sure it adds value to the whole school community, not just your little patch of it.
Be a marigold, not a walnut tree.🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
I didn’t get much balance last week, because I was so focused on getting enough sleep.
That meant I just had an hour or two in the evening to live a life.
Even though I was looking after myself, I still felt robbed.
Need to work out how to get enough sleep AND enough life! 🌼
#marigoldteachers
What’s your philosophy?
Your ethos as a teacher?
Do you have one, or do you simply face each day as best you can?
I think my philosophy is to guide, empower and challenge, even if sometimes that can make life harder than if I just ‘delivered’.
Worth it though. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
Do you ever think about your legacy as a teacher?
I don't think I'm leaving much behind me.
But that’s because it’s not about me.
Schools and students will go on long after I’m gone.
So I think about the impact I’ll have today, and that’s enough. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing
Teachers need to re-learn how to be playful.
We spend so much time facing serious challenges, pushed to our limits and working to such tight timeframes that the idea of playfulness seems frivolous.
But play is powerful. It takes energy, creativity and bravery.
I love it! 💛🌼
#marigoldteachers
Hats off to all the teachers supporting their student communities with CCF, sports fixtures, DofE, drama productions and a million other activities.
Time away from family and friends, time away from self...
And yet, in those moments, their triumphs make it all worthwhile. 🌼
#marigoldteachers
I have mixed feelings about being a teacher.
I love working with students, I love the community and the opportunity to change lives.
But I also get scared, feel like I’m being judged, and struggle to teach with authenticity.
Still learning how to balance the ups and downs! 🌼
#marigoldteachers
I used to keep my personal opinions and stories out of the classroom.
But the more I teach, the more I realise that students need to be taught by a person who’s lived a life and can give their learning context.
I’m a better teacher when I share my stories. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
You'll know when your life and work feel balanced.
Until then, you’re just pretending. 🌼💛
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing #teacherlife
I genuinely believe that the happier the teacher, the happier the student.
The healthier the teacher, the healthier the student.
The more engaged the teacher, the more likely the student is to be engaged.
Everything grows from what we model. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing
Be good to yourself today.
Give yourself the gifts you deserve.
Reward yourself with wellbeing and wonder.
You are your whole world - so look after yourself if you want to flourish. 🌍 🌼 💛
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing #teacherlife
We're teachers.
We don’t have to keep on pushing through.
We need to learn how to overcome challenges, learn, grow and celebrate our successes.
Less TFIF, more OLGC. 💛🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing #teacherlife
How often do you get the chance to reflect on your wellbeing?
To actively consider the way your emotions, commitments and actions are balanced and learn from your experiences?
Is it up to us to make those opportunities or should they be intrinsic in our timetables? 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
The more honest I am with my colleagues about the challenges I’m facing, the less those challenges worry me.
The more we share our emotions, the quicker we shift our perspectives. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing #teacherlife
Why are our self-destructive habits so often the things we use to reward ourselves?
I know that wellbeing isn’t a bar of chocolate or a packet of biscuits. I know an early night is better for me than a glass of wine.
It just takes so much willpower to look after myself! 🌼
#marigoldteachers
A Marigold Teacher creates a community environment where everyone has the support they need to flourish.
The alternative is unthinkable.
It’s somewhere between indifference and sabotage.
And neither have a place in the lives of our learners. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing
I don’t cope with criticism very well, but I’ve learned to pause and process it positively.
There’s a strong part of my psyche that still becomes defensive and agitated.
That’s why I always balance criticism with praise.
I think it’s absolutely essential. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
You are a wonderful teacher.
I see how much you do, how much you care, how much you give.
You have your doubts about your ability, you know the shortcuts you take to survive.
But I believe in you. And that’s enough. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing #teacherlife
I think it’s supremely important for teachers to reward themselves.
Why?
Is it because there’s not much intrinsic reward to teaching?
Is it because we don’t feel rewarded by society or by our leadership?
Or because we don’t really own our student’s successes? 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
The best teachers I know are mercurial.
They can magically move between utterly dedicated and completely detached.
They’re fully authentic, and they live for themselves as much as they live for their students. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers #teacherwellbeing #teacherlife
That one student you don’t look forward to teaching…
The pupil who gives you a hard time…
Chances are they’re having a hard time.
And you might be the only one who notices.
How they make you feel is important, but how you make them feel can be life-changing. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
Managing anxiety as a teacher:
Keep your perspective. The stakes are almost never as high as you think. In a month, will this matter?
Think about the best possible outcome, not the worst.
Recognise that what’s out of your control (almost everything) isn’t worth your worry. 🌼
#marigoldteachers
Your colleagues play a vital role in your wellbeing.
From the cleaning team to the governors, it’s the support and care you get from those around you that helps you flourish.
So many in my community are caring, warm and genuine about the importance of teaching.
Blessed. 🌼
#marigoldteachers
Over the years, I’ve contributed by taking on leadership roles, organising staff events and running clubs.
But I did them because I was desperate to be needed rather than for the value of my contribution.
Now, I contribute by lifting others instead of myself.
Works a treat. 🌼
#marigoldteachers
I’m lucky.
My own kids are grown-ups.
My mornings are largely my own. And there’s no more school run in the evenings.
So, I balance my teaching days by starting early and finishing late (ish) five days a week.
Outside of those hours, I do the important things. 🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
“I have the capacity, strength and imagination to live today like it’s my first day in a new world. I’m open to the opportunity of change in myself and those around me.”
I promise you’ll see challenges and anxieties in a new way if you mutter this mantra to yourself! 💛🌼
#marigoldteachers #teachers
The little things in life can make a big difference.
Check out this video and feel all warm and fuzzy, especially if you’re a teacher.
We can’t change much about the world, our roles, or how we live.
But we can change the little things. And we can find joy in them. 🦋
#teacher #marigoldteachers
The longer I spend teaching, the more satisfaction I get from seeing students make breakthroughs.
I guess I’ve seen so many not quite achieve them that every time they do, I have a quiet celebration.
It means a lot to me because I know it will mean a lot to them, too. 🌼
#marigoldteachers
