The central premise of this discourse elucidates a profound and often unacknowledged truth within the educational realm: no one is coming to save you. It is imperative for educators to recognize that the responsibility of safeguarding their own peace lies squarely upon their shoulders. In light of this realization, the episode emphasizes the necessity of establishing firm boundaries, thereby reclaiming control over one’s time and energy. Rather than succumbing to an environment that perpetuates burnout, I advocate for a transformative mindset rooted in wisdom and compassion towards the profession. Ultimately, the act of protecting one’s peace is intrinsically linked to the preservation of one’s purpose, establishing a sustainable framework for both personal well-being and effective teaching.

The conversation pivots around the dualistic nature of support versus rescue, underscoring the distinction between seeking assistance from colleagues and administrators versus relying on them to alleviate one’s burdens. Kleve posits that while supportive colleagues can bolster one’s efforts, expecting them to rescue one from the systemic demands of education is counterproductive and fosters dependency. Instead, educators must take ownership of their boundaries and resist the temptation to await external validation or intervention. The episode further explores actionable steps that educators can undertake to safeguard their mental health, such as leaving work on time, utilizing planning periods for self-care, and cultivating the courage to decline additional responsibilities when one’s plate is already full. These practices serve to reinforce the notion that protecting one’s peace is not merely a personal endeavor but a professional imperative that benefits the entire educational ecosystem, further asserting that healthy educators cultivate healthy students.

Takeaways:

• The fundamental realization that no external entity will come to rescue educators is liberating, urging teachers to take responsibility for their own well-being.
• Establishing personal boundaries is essential for maintaining mental health and preventing teacher burnout in the demanding educational landscape.
• True peace is cultivated through proactive choices rather than awaiting permission from the educational system, which often prioritizes results over rest.
• Teachers must model healthy boundaries to their students, demonstrating effective stress management and emotional intelligence through their actions.
• Engaging in self-care practices, such as leaving work on time and taking moments for reflection, significantly enhances a teacher's ability to sustain their passion for education.
• The notion that protecting one's peace is an act of wisdom and love for the profession underscores the importance of maintaining personal well-being in a challenging environment.

Links referenced in this episode:

• beafunkyteacher.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Be a Funky Teacher

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This is Mr. Funky Teacher with Be a Funky Teacher dot com.

I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.

Welcome back everyone to today's episode is called Protect your peace.

No one's coming to save you.

That's right.

I came across a post recently that stopped me, Mitch Kroll.

It said this.

As a teacher, I've come to the realization that no one is coming to save me.

Not the administration, nobody.

It's up to me to create healthy boundaries for my sanity.

Now that hit me in an interesting way because it's true.

And it's not in a hopeless way, but in a freeing way.

Because this isn't about blaming administrators or districts.

It's about realizing that if you don't set your own limits, the system will gladly take all you have to give.

See?

Talk about how to protect your peace and your purpose.

That's what we're going to focus on today.

But before we get into it, I want to talk about three things that I'm thankful for, y'.

All.

First thing, I'm thankful for my two sons outside shooting hoops together, watching my 10 year old son and my 15 year old son just laughing and competing without a career.

Being kids.

That's the stuff that reminds me of why joy matters, y'.

All.

I, I, I, that's just wonderful.

Second thing I'm thankful for freeze dried Skittles.

It's a small treat that tastes like, well, I, I, I was gonna, I was thinking it tastes like childhood, but I don't know if it does because I, I didn't have freeze dried Skittles as, as a child.

It's kind of like a modified version of it.

It's such a unique taste.

It tastes like skittles, but it's different, A twist on it.

Ultimately though, y', all, it teaches me that simple pleasures can reset a Whole day.

Third thing I'm thankful for, time to get caught up on grading.

It feels good to breathe a little and see progress.

That sense of order is its own kind of peace, y'.

All.

All right, so let's get into the main topic here.

Main topic once again is to protect your peace.

No one is coming to save you.

Well, the system, it won't save you, and that's okay.

Teaching is a profession where the to do list never ends.

If you're waiting for someone to say, hey, go home and rest, you might be waiting forever.

This is probably not going to happen.

That's not because leaders don't care.

It's because the machine of education wasn't built for rest.

It was built for results.

And one could argue, hey, that's why that's contributing to some of the burnout we're having.

And that's a fair argument.

Ultimately, though, once you accept the truth, you can start to reclaiming control.

That peace doesn't come from permission, it comes from, from choice.

And so that's part of it is like if, if we want to combat this, this teacher burnout, sure.

Are there, is there legislation that needs to be done to help with teacher burnout?

Yes.

Well, we might be waiting for a while before some of that gets done.

Yeah.

Are, are there challenges that, that are out of our control?

Absolutely.

But I think one thing that is in our.

Is within our control is certain boundaries that we can put in place.

Because the system, ultimately the education system, it may never slow down, but you can.

Peace doesn't come from permission, it comes from choice.

And you have a choice to slow down.

See, protecting yourself isn't selfish, it's smart.

I know you feel this way sometimes.

I do too.

We feel guilty for resting.

Is that a fair statement?

We feel guilty for resting, for closing a laptop, for saying no.

Ultimately though, protecting our peace isn't self centered.

It's sustainable.

When you burn out, nobody wins.

When you set boundaries, everybody benefits.

See, athletes, they spend time to recover.

Singers rest their voice.

Teachers need to recover too.

Protect your peace to protect your purpose.

Write that down.

It's going to be in a test, y'.

All.

Protect your peace to protect your purpose.

All right, so let's talk about support versus rescue.

I do believe that good administrators and good colleagues matter, but they can't do your boundaries for you.

Support means I'm with you.

Rescue means I'll fix it for you.

One builds you up and the other keeps you dependent.

When you stop waiting for rescue, you realize you already have the tools to heal.

Empowerment starts when ownership begins, y'.

All.

And it comes down to once again looking at it in terms of support versus rescue.

Your.

Your.

Your colleagues and your administrators can support you, but if you're depending on them to rescue you, you're going to be waiting for and going to be burning out in the process, y'.

All.

So let's talk about reclaiming control in the chaos.

You can't control testing or mandates, but you can control your tone.

You can control your pace and your energy.

You can choose not to direct email at 10pm right?

You can decide to leave that stack for tomorrow.

Every boundary is an act of courage and clarity, y'.

All.

Control what you can and release what you can't.

Because it's so important to protect your peace in the middle of this, y'.

All.

Control what you can and release what you can't.

So let's talk about modeling boundaries for students.

Students learn more from our actions than anything we do in our lessons, y'.

All.

When they see us manage stress with grace, they learn emotional intelligence.

We're not just teaching math or writing.

We're teaching how to live without losing ourselves, y'.

All.

Healthy teachers grow healthy students.

We have to be able to model healthy boundaries for kids.

How are they going to live with healthy boundaries and set healthy boundaries in their life if we're not able to do it as teachers ourselves and we're in a state of.

Of chaos where we.

We don't have.

Well, we're not able to model the boundaries for ourselves and for them rather, where we can't set healthy boundaries for ourselves and model healthy boundaries for them.

So let's talk now about how to start protecting your peace.

Couple things here.

Y' all leave on time once a week and don't justify it, right?

Like you shouldn't have to justify why you're leaving on time.

Use plan time for you, even if it's five times or even.

I mean, if you have to take five minutes of silence just to sit in silence and stare at the wall, that's okay.

If you're kind of getting your mental, mental focus down or just kind of clearing your mind to get ready to teach, that is okay, y'.

All.

Another way to protect your peace is to say no without apology when your plate is full.

Sometimes we just have to say no and not have to apologize for it.

I encourage you to take breathing moments between tasks, too.

Breathe is such an important thing to do, especially when, when.

When there's so much on our plates and so much going on.

So much we have to do remembering to breathe in the process and then unplug before bed and let your brain reset.

This is one that I'm still working on where, you know, sometimes I'll lay down and I'll look at the phone, and it's not really allowing my.

My brain to necessarily reset.

I. I think I.

They say that I.

Even some.

They being.

Some researchers say that hey, might not even be a bad idea to put the phone away from the bed.

But certainly if, like, if you're laying in bed and looking at.

At the phone, you got that, that blue light coming in, it's going to make you more restless.

It's.

There's a lot of things that it can do in terms of impacting your.

Your restful night or lack thereof, if you're on your phone before bed.

And this is, you know, hey, this is one thing I'm working on myself here because I. I like to jump on my phone before bed, you know, take a shower and then lay down in bed and just get on my phone for a little bit.

And that's.

I need to get better about that because I think I sleep pretty good overall.

When I sleep, I sleep.

But if you're a person who, who maybe you're feeling restless, are you looking at your phone before bed?

Because that might be a cause you might want to consider maybe not looking at it before bed or just keeping it kind of away from your bed command.

I tell you, you can jump in there for five minutes, and all of a sudden 45 minutes has passed, and then you're going to bed late, and then you're feeling tired when you wake up.

And it's just a vicious cycle, y'.

All.

So unplugging before bed and let your brain reset is such an important thing to do.

Things like leaving in time, using your planned time for you.

Even if it's five minutes of silence, saying no without apology, apologizing, taking breathing moments, unplugging between before bed and letting your brain rest.

Those little tiny habits can become big protection over time for your peace.

Yeah.

So let's talk about the funky perspective.

Being funky means finding your rhythm in the madness.

It's joy with boundaries, it's grace with roof.

Funky teachers don't run unempty.

They know when to rest, when to refill, and when to dance through the chaos.

Y', all.

Boundaries aren't barriers to passion.

They're what keep the passion alive.

So as we do a reflective close here, I just want to say that no one's coming to save you.

And that's okay.

It's not a warning, it's an invitation.

When you you get to decide how to spend your energy, how to protect your mind, and how to model balance for your students.

Peace.

Peace isn't granted, it's practiced.

Boundaries aren't walls.

They're guidance that let you love your work longer.

Protect your peace.

Protect your purpose.

Protect your funky, y'.

All.

Now, if you found value in this episode, jump on over to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast and hit me up with a five star review and let me know what you think, y'.

All.

And remember to inspire greatness in young people.

And don't forget to be a funky teacher.

Bye now.

He's Mr. Funky Teacher?

Yeah?

He's Mr. Funky teacher?

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Sam.