Self-reflection in the classroom, as it is in life, is essential to growth. It is so easy to become caught up in our day to day practice and not take time for this essential tool. Through the exhaustion that comes with teaching we sometimes unavoidably begin to repeat undesired patterns of behaviour, if we are not being mindful of our choices. We all go to work each day with the best of intentions. The pace of our day can take us away from goals that we had, just that morning, without us even realizing that it is happening.

I have had coworkers in the past question my upbeat persona in the mornings, even on a Friday morning. I imagine this is because they wonder why they might feel tired or unhappy. It’s not that I never feel tired or triggered by something that may have happened before I left my house. An email I just read or a news article about the crazy current state of our planet. It’s that I know that it is my job to uplift my students mental state when I arrive. Many of them will have had a hard start to their day and it’s my job to shift that. I also know that like my dad says best that I need to set up through visualizations or coping techniques a place “Where you go, to get your mind right”. He’s usually taking about getting into nature in this reference but it works for any strategies that bring you joy quickly. Something as simple as getting into the sunshine for fifteen minutes or listening to your favourite song can drastically change your mood in minutes.

It is my sole purpose in my career to give my students a safe, comfortable and positive place to arrive each day. I know that if I calm my own nervous system through things like: a daily yoga practice, my lunch time meditations, a walk to work, some upbeat music… I can then be self-regulated and ready to help my students align with that in their own little bodies and minds. I also know that as a natural caregiver and empath that I will not regularly choose this for myself. So, I “trick” myself into treating myself well, to better help my students and family. Funny I know, but it works. Having this mindset sets the tone for my day and in turn gives me a positive start.

Journaling and Self-reflection go hand and hand in the classroom.

If you are anything like me by the time the quiet of the evening occurs we will start to recycle the events of our day. The good, the bad and the ugly. What worked and what didn’t. I liked to practice journaling these thoughts when I was younger it has now turned into this blog which I love to write so much. Both for personal reflection and shared experiences. Finding my true authentic self through my writing voice is limitless.

What I have always found writing to help with is my ability to process and learn from my experiences. I also get a better sleep because it’s out of my head and a tomorrow problem this helps me to approach things differently or the same the next time it occurs. All the good things that come when we learn from ourselves on a regular basis. Life will never be perfect or bump free, teaching will never be easy. Although it definitely gets easier. It’s all about creating a calmer more confident you and that is achieved when we do the work internally. The hard steps we might not always feel up to taking get us to the places we want to be and once we get into the practice of doing the work we can’t see it progressing in any other way.

Good Self-reflection can also improve your communication skills.

We all know how many people in our day, as teachers that we interact with. We are not just surrounded by our tribe. We must adjust regularly through out our day to meet the many different needs of not only our students but our: administrators, students families and co-workers. It can be overwhelming if you are an introverted person or even if you are extroverted and not aligning with someone else’s thoughts and belief systems. It takes a large amount of our energy to stay even keel’d throughout our day. We are not always successful in these endeavours and that’s okay! We are doing our best.

On days when I come home feeling deflated, I use self-reflection to realign. I don’t do this immediately upon walking in my door. I like my mom says so perfectly “switch my hat” because my own children deserve the best part of me. So I do as I do in the mornings and switch off my work day until quiet reflection can occur. I don’t allow things to drag into my home and affect my children if at all possible because it won’t change the experiences of my day it will just prolong them. Does this work every time? No, but it does most days.

I love my job and life very much but it is important to take all that joy, stress and exhaustion and leave it behind for a while. It’s all about balance and moderation as my Gram used to say. The beautiful voices of my tribe are ringing especially true as I write these words to you. If you are interested in some student directed activities and reflections you can find some here in my TPT store. I hope to continue to create more mindfulness activities to share on my store for educators and students as I value the idea of strengthening my students abilities to have these life long skills as well.

Above all else, remembering there’s only one you, so take care or yourself. Mind, body and soul as they are all connected.

With Love, C.