Ideas for Administrators for Teacher Relaxation
Take the time to relax your staff
It's not easy being in education. You have lesson plans, student issues, administration issues, district issues, and the list goes on and on. Then you come home and have to cook, wash, help kids with their homework, grade papers, etc. But you can't let it get to you. You need to take the time to decompress and let yourself relax. But you have no time. The only time you have to yourself is the drive home. And you don't want to risk taking off and using a sick day. What can you do?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines wellness as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This resource defines well-being in terms of the broad concept of ‘feeling good and functioning well. In other words, a state where teachers perceive job satisfaction, experience positive emotions more frequently than negative emotions, and function well both as a teacher and in their other roles in life (as a parent, spouse, family member, friend, and so on). Teacher wellness correlates with teaching effectiveness and student achievement. As educators, we need to take care of ourselves before we do for others. An example given by Wetter (2025) think about the instructions flight attendants deliver as the plane taxis the runway—in the event of an emergency, always put your oxygen mask on first before helping others. Why? Because if you don’t take care of yourself first, you won’t be able to take care of others.
As I go through the administration program, I start to recall the times I was overwhelmed and felt like the admin made it worse. But then I start to think about when I become an admin, how I can help not stress my staff as much. How can I find ways to reduce the daily stress for my staff?
1) Yoga: I recall one Professional Development (PD) where we had a yoga session. It was a way to destress after work, during work.
2) Food: Another way was providing teachers with lunch. If someone was ordering lunch, everyone was asked, and no one was left out. Other times, the administrator would have lunch for the teachers. The most important ones were when we had lunch off campus at a restaurant to get to know each other and have conversations that were not related to work or the work environment. This helped to be free and not feel as if you are confined to a topic of work.
3) Snowball: Another PD we had was focused on getting rid of the negative energy. We wrote down 3 or more things on a paper, balled it up, and threw it in the garage. It was getting us to write down things that you don't want to tell others and getting them out there in the universe and just tossing them.
4) Bonfire: End of the year bonfire was the best! We fueled the fire with unnecessary paperwork.
5) Art: Coloring is a way to destress. There are adult coloring books. During a PD, you can have relaxing music playing and give a coloring to color with.
What are some other ideas that the admin could do for you?
Should all schools be required to try a distressing technique for at least one Professional Development?
Should districts have a personal wellness day included in addition to sick time, so a sick day is not used?
For more, visit my personal page: https://sites.google.com/eagles.cui.edu/marilyngubac/blogs
References
Fatahi, N., Warner-Griffin, C., AnLar, & Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2024). Approaches to Teacher Well-Being. In National Council on Teacher Quality & SR Learning Designs, Approaches to Teacher Well-Being [White paper].
Howley-Rouse, A. (2024, February 27). The importance of teacher wellbeing. THE EDUCATION HUB. https://theeducationhub.org.nz/the-importance-of-teacher-wellbeing/
Wetter, F. (2025, March 12). The Importance of Teacher Mental Health and Wellness | Catapult Learning. Catapult Learning. https://catapultlearning.com/2024/05/30/the-importance-of-teacher-mental-health-and-wellness/
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