By: Erin Swanson, M.Ed. Wyatt’s face grew a darker shade of red. Between sobs, he sputtered, “I hate recess! Everybody plays so rough!” I steadied myself with a deep breath, mustering every ounce of calm I could. I felt the eyes of 30 seven-year-olds watching...
By: Erin Swanson, M.Ed. On a crisp November evening, I sat huddled in blankets at my kitchen table, clutching a cup of steaming coffee. Stacks of paper covered every inch of the oak tabletop—I was drowning in a sea of essays, tests, and data. Eyes burning from twelve...
For teachers, supporting students through conflict can seem like a full-time job. How do you focus on a lesson when your students return from recess shouting and crying? All teachers know that—for learning to happen— students need minimal distractions and a sense of...
By: Erin Swanson, M.Ed. Supporting my students through trauma was a consistent and heartbreaking part of my teaching career. These stories from my own classroom and those of my colleagues might feel familiar to you: A student showed up to class one morning, seeming...
By: Erin Swanson, M.Ed. Teacher-Caregiver Relationships Matter When you become a teacher, you know you'll be working closely with students. Likewise, you know you'll have relationships with their parents and guardians. That said, you might not realize just how much of...
By: Erin Swanson, M.Ed. Why Teachers Need Self-Care Teachers choose their line of work to make a difference in the world. Bright-eyed and full of hope, they open their hearts to their first class. Oftentimes, the positivity they begin with diminishes as they struggle...
By: Catie Ensz, BSN, RN, CPN Nurse Catie (as her students and staff refer to her) has spent the last 7 years as a Title 1 school nurse. She works in a predominantly-Latino school and speaks Spanish. She lives with her husband and children in Northern Virginia....
By: Erin Swanson, M.Ed. Teaching Social Justice Teachers shape their students' worldview. This is both a privilege and a weighty responsibility. A teacher's response, or lack of response, to social injustice throughout history or in present-day life makes an impact....
By: Carolyn Grabiel Zombie films, like all genres, follow a formula. One of the first elements is the protagonist's lack of awareness that the world has gone dystopian. The actor playing the lead role goes about a routine while missing the dramatic changes all...
Overview of the JabuMind App Teachers, you give everything to your students and community, often putting your classroom and students' needs before your own. You are often our first responders to our children's trauma. Teaching is considered one of the most stressful...
By: Erin Swanson, M.Ed. Take a Mindcation Summertime. That blissful time of year when teachers pause. Teachers offer limitless attention to the needs of others; summer provides a welcome change, a chance to practice self-care and self-reflection. Yet, what happens...
By: Erin Swanson Teacher Anxiety is On the Rise With fall approaching and COVID cases rising, teachers face an impossible decision: return to the classroom and risk their own health and that of their students or return to complicated virtual learning that leans...
