Omygoooooooodnesss!!!!! WHY have i never seen this before?!? What an awesome idea!!!
Can you imagine as a prerequisite all seniors choose a kindergartners to mentor and teach....... teaching the seniors patience and pride, and the kindergartners have someone to look up to ( not in their family)
And when the seniors graduate, the kindergartners will graduate with them (into first grade)
That would be an AWESOME program!
Many Educators Are Not Okay!
Many educators are not okay right now and if you listen closely, you can feel it in the hallways, in the staff meetings, and in the quiet moments after dismissal. Over the past five years, the data has only confirmed what so many of us have experienced firsthand. Around 62% of teachers report frequent job-related stress compared to just 33% of other working adults, and more than half say they are burned out. In fact, teaching consistently ranks among the most burned-out professions, with roughly 52% of educators reporting chronic burnout. This is not about one bad year. It is a sustained pattern. Teachers are being asked to do more than ever, manage behavior, support student mental health, meet rising academic expectations, prepare students for high-stakes testing, and do it all with limited time and increasing scrutiny. Add in constant negative press, initiative overload, and unrealistic expectations, and it becomes a perfect storm for compassion fatigue and emotional exhaustion.
And the impact is real. About 1 in 7 teachers leaves the profession or moves schools every year. Nearly 70% of early-career teachers consider leaving within their first five years. Some estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of teachers may exit the profession in the coming years. That is not just a staffing issue, that is a human one.
As a therapist and former school principal, I have seen this up close. Good people are not leaving because they stopped caring. They are leaving because they have cared too much for too long without enough support.
But here is the hopeful part, this is fixable.
We can start by protecting time. Fewer initiatives. More focus. If everything is a priority, nothing is. Give teachers permission to do fewer things better.
We can rebuild connection. Adults need Maslow before Bloom too. Staff meetings that include check-ins, appreciation, and psychological safety are not fluff, they are fuel.
We can reduce the noise. Limit unnecessary emails, meetings, and compliance tasks that pull teachers away from what matters most, relationships and instruction.
We can shift the narrative. Celebrate the good publicly and often. What gets spotlighted gets repeated.
And most importantly, we can remind educators of something they often forget, you are allowed to take care of yourself. You cannot pour into others when your own cup is empty.
Many educators are not okay. But they can be, if we are willing to change the conditions, not just expect them to keep pushing through.
Join the discussion at: https://t.co/015cLKjJ1m
If you think teachers have it easy, youโre in luck. America is currently short more than 400,000 teachers. Give it a try! ๐
Or give subbing a tryโฆto get a taste.
Principal Kirk Moore, a high school principal who tackled a gunman in an Oklahoma school lobby and helped stop a potential mass shooting, was crowned prom king by students who voted to honor his heroic actions.
These kids are truly grateful. Iโm proud of them for honoring him!
As a therapist, former school principal, and teacher, I can tell you this with my whole heart. What matters most in our work is not perfection. It is not the bulletin board, the test score, the email, the meeting, the drama, or the endless noise that tries to steal our attention. What matters most is people.
This work has always been about human beings. It is about the child who needs to feel safe. The student who needs one adult to believe in them. The colleague who is barely holding it together. The family who needs compassion instead of judgment. The hurting kid who is acting tough. The quiet kid who is slipping through the cracks. The overwhelmed adult who needs someone to notice. That is the real work. That is the sacred work.
For teachers, counselors, principals, and all caring adults, the challenge is not just doing the job. The challenge is protecting your heart and your focus from all the clutter, distractions, toxicity, and negativity that can slowly pull you away from your purpose. If you are not careful, the small stuff becomes the big stuff. The urgent replaces the important. The loudest voices drown out the most meaningful ones. And before long, you are exhausted from carrying things that were never supposed to define your mission.
Please hear this. Do not let the noise make you forget your why. Do not let toxic people make you cold. Do not let criticism make you question your calling. Do not let the clutter convince you that what matters most is getting everything done. In this profession, what matters most is not getting everything done. It is making sure people feel seen, safe, supported, and valued while you do what you can with the time and energy you have.
Come back to the basics. Love kids. Support people. Build trust. Stay calm. Be kind. Lead with compassion. Notice who is struggling. Protect your peace. Let go of what does not matter. Keep the main thing the main thing.
At the end of the day, people may forget the lesson, the agenda, the spreadsheet, or the perfectly worded email. But they will remember how you made them feel. They will remember who helped them breathe. Who believed in them. Who stayed steady when life felt heavy. Who chose connection over control. Who chose grace over ego. Who reminded them that they mattered.
That is the legacy of great educators and caring adults. Not perfection. Not performance. Presence. Love. Safety. Hope. Keep going. Your work matters more than you know.
#maslowbeforebloom
There should be a teacher on every school boardโฆ
and at every table where education decisions are made.
Because right now, weโre making policies for classrooms
without the people who actually live in them.
You wouldnโt design a hospital system without doctors.
You wouldnโt build a plane without pilots.
But in educationโฆ
we leave teachers out of the room
Weโve created a school system where the students who follow the rules get the least attentionโฆ because all the energy goes into managing the ones who donโt.
Lord God,
Please fill my heart with Your peace.
Calm my thoughts, quiet my fears, and remove all restlessness within me.
Let Your peace guard my mind and guide my actions.
Help me release anger, worry, and pain from the past.
Give me patience, understanding, and a gentle spirit.
May peace flow into my home, my relationships, and my future.
I place everything in Your hands and choose to trust You.
Amen ๐
@FixingEducation With the system the way it is now there is no fixing it. That is why I left special education. I loved the kids and seeing their gains, however the paperwork and lawsuit threats took me away from the most important piece, the kids. Parents demanding the unreasonable didnโt help.
My home insurance rate
โขUp 28% and I didnโt make a claim
My auto insurance rate
โขUp 17% and I didnโt make a claim
My health insurance premium
โขUp 8% and I only used it for my annual physical
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ซ, ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ 2% ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐.
๐ค๐๐
Get Your 10 Christmas Free Gifts๐คฉ๏ผ
๐Christmas Special!Get Your $800 Free Gifts! Can you accept my invitation? You can get 10 free gifts worth up to $800!
https://t.co/T1flyq9jLG
@Drew197803 @wis10@RichlandOne Wow! You do realize teachers do not make the policies right? Indoctrination, hell if we canโt convince them to do the work, how are we going to indoctrinate them? You have obviously never truly known a teacher. Your views and these polices are why so many teachers are leaving.