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I will take care by monitoring the amount of time I spend on discouraging reading. It is necessary, but needs to be balanced with rest, breathing, meditating...I will dedicate a regular and consistent time to pursuing change in my life, but also to free exploration. And, I will create space for these same things for my students. Talking about hard things on an appropriate level, but also making sure to focus on space, breathing, exploration.

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I've been thinking a lot on how I can be intentional about the small things that help me be my most healthy spiritual, physical, mental self. That begins with how I spend the first hour of my day. A walk with the dog. Slow coffee with encouraging readings. My sketchbook. No screen. It means waking earlier than my family, but I need that hour to be deliberate about my intentions for my day. I'm not in the classroom right now, but it has me thinking a lot on how I started blocks of time with my students. I'd have a "do now" up, and they often engaged straight away in something related to content/skills. Whether launching a meeting or teaching a group of students, I want to be intentional about my "do nows" going forward being much more centered on wellness, check ins, humor, creativity, and all of us starting our day with intention--prioritizing connection and people's stories.

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Particularly over the past 18 months, but true through most of my career, I have had trouble saying, "no." I genuinely want to be involved, engaged, participatory, and willing to stretch myself. But I've reached a point where it has become too much. I don't sleep, I stress eat, my work is not at the level I want it to be.
So my goals for this year are: to limit what I agree to do, and not to add anything new during the year; do what I can to limit work on the weekend, including not responding immediately to routine emails; recommitting myself to my religious practice - and actively engage in at least 4-5 times a week; doing some exercise each day, and something vigorous at least 4-5 times a week.
I plan on being upfront with my students about my plans to take care of myself, and stress that I will make space for them to do the same by being flexible (within reason) regarding due dates and homework, by acknowledging and making space for their families religious practices, and making sure that there is movement in my classes so that it isn't all sitting for each period.

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One thing I realized, and started, last semester was that I needed a hobby. Something that would take me out of my home office and off of the computer because in the distance learning environment, it was easy to be online well past "normal" working hours. So, I learned to brew kombucha. Already this semester, I am experimenting with new flavors and new techniques to get the carbonation just right. Having this hobby gives me a space to keep learning, to be creative, to share with family and friends (at a safe distance, of course), and to feel like I've done something for myself. It gives me something to look forward to and a sense of enjoyment when I make a really great batch! ~Shannon Beckley, Sao Paulo

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The last year and a bit have been a ride socially, politically, and personally. It has been a year where I have realized that there is a lot of work that I need/ want to do both in my career and in my personal life. For myself, I want to take care of myself by getting outside more, going on a walk, bike ride, or sitting in a park with a book. Limiting my screen time. And creating a divide between work and home- this was a hard one this past year. This school year I want to have more conversations about "taking breaks" with my students. We obviously provide students with breaks during the school day, but I think it is important in learning how to advocate for a break (whatever that looks like for you) when you need it! Everyone is going through different things day to day, therefore we can't just only provide certain times where students have to participate in a break, they may need more or less- but more importantly on their own time and terms.
- Robyn Selvam, Toronto

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Over the past year and a half, basically, I have been dealing with my own pre-existing health concerns so have taught remotely while almost all of my colleagues returned to the classroom last October.  Now I am going back - even though I am super nervous - I know I need to for my sanity and even to increase my activity level.

To be honest, the article disturbed me because I am a person who still definitely needs to wear a mask to stay safe.  I have been avoiding the controversy (I have friends who are anti-mask, too) because I need to move away from the negativity for myself, personally. Of course, I play devil's advocate constantly in the class, but I do not necessarily have to have it personally affect me there.

For this coming year, my strongest commitment is to sleep more - get 6 to 7 hours instead of the 4 to 5 a night...also, to start requesting/demanding the time to do things properly...to say something instead of staying quiet.  Getting more exercise will help, as well as stop eating so much for comfort....getting back to reading for comfort should help.

I also want to share with my students that I need to take care of me - just like they need to take care of themselves, first, too.

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The trauma of last year remains present in my body. I have done a lot of work to move myself into an environment where I can thrive and be my authentic self. However, I still hold a lot of anger. I am working hard to put boundaries on my time, create reasonable daily task lists, and find joy in those who are a part of my life. This is not enough though to work toward forgiveness. So, I am going to get some counseling and also try to find a physical outlet for my frustrations.

My boundaries focus a lot on time management. There have been too many unknowns this year. Thus, I am trying to model for my students that organization can provide you freedom.  One way to do this is to have my quarter planned with clear due dates and rubrics.

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Teaching during the pandemic and a polarizing election in the States really did a number on me. I had to learn to let go of social media and be more present with myself and my family. I found self care for me was being more present in nature and using that time to be reflective and at peace with myself. My goal for self care this school year is to continue to find the time to be outdoors and take care of myself so that I can be a positive presence for my students. I have also began to think about the necessity of being kinder to myself and to remind my students that while academics are important, there is a time and place for everything. It is ok to not be ok.

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This may sound counterintuitive, but it works for me! Uncomfortable, but low/no risk undertakings are incredible distracting when I need to shift my attention. For example, I painted a mural in my guest bedroom and joined an art journalling club. I am not artistic...at ALL. I've never painted, drawn...none of that stuff before. It's never been in my wheelhouse which makes me incredibly uncomfortable. I didn't even know where to start, had no concept! But when the opportunity came to try these things, I figured "What's the worst thing that could happen?" I can just paint the wall over...or throw the damn journal in the trash if it's a disaster. No biggie. Since I have no skills in these areas at all, a lot of my focus becomes about figuring it out. My mind can't wander to the things that may be weighing me down because it's so intent on "getting it to good enough" within my range of capability. It also opened the door to fun failure. Which gives me more confidence to take risks in general. So, my self care is distracting myself with discomfort!

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I am really working on establishing boundaries and following  through not only for myself but for my students and colleagues. Which means that I am going to have to step out of my comfort zone and be very clear about articulating my needs and expectations when it comes to my roles and responsibilities. The boundary is for self and will likely be hard for some to understand but after the last 20 months it really is about protecting my time and therefore my mental and physical health.

In my classroom this will look like- not allowing my students to email homework questions from 5 pm on Friday until 5 pm on Sunday, agreeing that a homework question is not an emergency. That time away from the class and course work has value in the learning process.

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I have been thinking a lot about how my school is managing this tumultuous time, at the eye of the storm. And I have decided to focus on staying in my lane, with my students, my classroom, and give everyone in that space my best self. Be collaborative not overbearing, encouraging not overwhelming, ease up and give myself and my students time to absorb, and relish the learning and time together. Simple but worthwhile goals.