The teacher becomes the learner: Self-care

Continuing my intentional path to explore what I can learn to become a better teacher in a remote synchronous online learning environment, here's part 5. I am participating in a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) sponsored by the Division of Online and Strategic Learning of Ball State University. I will periodically post my reflections in this blog to document my progress, and to serve as a resource for a future me, as I come back to review these posts. Perhaps there will be something of use for other readers that aren't me.

Module 5: Self-care

This module focused on our self-care. The following notes summarize what I gleaned from the module.

From Self-Care Strategies for Faculty: How to Care for Yourself & Others During COVID-19 (Hitt, 2020), I gleaned these practices for mental, physical, and spiritual health.

• Mind
• Limit unnecessary screen time
• Journal, write, blog
• Comforting workspace
• Be creative
• Body
• Stay hydrated
• Healthy snacks
• Exercise
• Spirit
• Meditate
• Spend time in nature
• Connect to community organizations

 Other things to consider from COVID-19: Resilient Educator Toolkit.

• Stay calm
• Be informed
• Self care
• Stay healthy
• Create a plan—routines
• Maintain balance
• Stay motivated
• Think positively
• Embrace change
• Move forward

A step in time…

When I was in my twenties and thirties, I enjoyed jogging. Then, for a few years, I didn't exercise much. For the last decade, I've taken up speed-walking. My goal for the last five years has been to walk at least as many miles as the year number. That means for this year I need to walk 2020 miles to meet my goal, or 35-40 miles per week. 

 

When COVID19 hit in mid-March and the recreation center closed, I didn't do as much walking as I was used to. I missed it, but not enough to convince myself to go outside and walk in the cold. Once the warmer weeks of May arrived, I spent much more time walking, and felt more myself. As I write this, I have 116 miles to go to reach my goal, and 14 days to do it in. COVID19 set me way back; previous years I've been 250-500 miles over my goal. 

 

Speed-walking has obvious health benefits, and is a great stress-reliever, but I find walking also provides a time for my mind to wander and think about things it might not otherwise think about.

My happy place (one of them)

Starting as a teenager, I've been to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in extreme northeastern Minnesota—way up in the little point on the Canadian border—at least six times for multi-day trips. It is one of my favorite places to be. Unfortunately, it's been seventeen years since my last trip. As a way to de-stress a bit (as I write this, I’m in the midst of finals week and learners are submitting their work which I then need to evaluate), I decided to take some time to look through photographs I took during my last two trips to the BWCAW.

I thoroughly enjoyed looking through my many photographs to select fifty images to include in a photo essay. The joy came partly because I enjoyed looking at the images and remembering when I captured them, but also because they were two weeks I spent with my son when he was a teenager. It was good to relive those wonderful weeks, and I now have a resource I can look at whenever I want to go to a happy place to de-stress. I've provided a few of the images here, but you may view the full PDF, if you wish.

 

A final thought

Remember that self-care does not mean you have to do it all yourself. Talk and interact with others. And if you are experiencing challenges beyond what you can address, contact someone you trust. For immediate help, call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.