I am beginning my personal professional learning this year with a self-care book entitled Take Time for You: Self-Care Action Plans for Educators by Tina H. Boogren.
Boogren, an educator and professional development provider, takes this topic seriously. This is not a read-and-contemplate book; there are reflective questions to answer--with space provided to do so--starting in the introduction. Worksheets can be downloaded from a website if you don't want to write in the book, including pre- and post-surveys to gauge progress. Boogren recommends taking several weeks to months to work through the exercises.
One of the first questions to answer is "Why are you reading this book?". My answer: I am proactively avoiding burnout.
My first round of teaching lasted six years, and I walked away feeling burnt to a crisp, never wanting to return to the classroom. Two decades and three educational positions later, I find myself back to working longer and longer hours and feeling farther and farther behind in personal and professional pursuits. Most days, I come home too exhausted to do much more than water my plants and go to bed.
I truly love my job as a librarian, and do not want to reach the point where my life is so out of balance that I feel like I need to walk away again. I'm hoping this book, as well as the two to follow, will help me achieve the balance I need to continue working the circulation desk for many years to come.
P.S. I know I'm not alone in this pursuit. Here's a segment from yesterday's edition of "CBS Sunday Morning" about teachers leaving the profession. It focuses on the financial issues, but workload and hours are also cited. Click link here.
Boogren, an educator and professional development provider, takes this topic seriously. This is not a read-and-contemplate book; there are reflective questions to answer--with space provided to do so--starting in the introduction. Worksheets can be downloaded from a website if you don't want to write in the book, including pre- and post-surveys to gauge progress. Boogren recommends taking several weeks to months to work through the exercises.
One of the first questions to answer is "Why are you reading this book?". My answer: I am proactively avoiding burnout.
My first round of teaching lasted six years, and I walked away feeling burnt to a crisp, never wanting to return to the classroom. Two decades and three educational positions later, I find myself back to working longer and longer hours and feeling farther and farther behind in personal and professional pursuits. Most days, I come home too exhausted to do much more than water my plants and go to bed.
I truly love my job as a librarian, and do not want to reach the point where my life is so out of balance that I feel like I need to walk away again. I'm hoping this book, as well as the two to follow, will help me achieve the balance I need to continue working the circulation desk for many years to come.
P.S. I know I'm not alone in this pursuit. Here's a segment from yesterday's edition of "CBS Sunday Morning" about teachers leaving the profession. It focuses on the financial issues, but workload and hours are also cited. Click link here.
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