Welcome to The Flourishing Teacher’s Field Guide. It’s time to sit back and soak up some life-changing survival strategies!

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This week we’re thinking about why ‘just getting through’ and ‘bouncing back’ aren’t successful recipes for sustained resilience.

Let’s jump in…

Just Surviving Isn’t Thriving…

How often do you face challenges as a teacher?

Every single day.

Sometimes, they’re small challenges that you have the immediate resources to solve. You find another textbook or seat in the classroom. You make the time for that meeting. You get that marking done despite nativity rehearsals getting in the way.

Of course you do. You’re awesome.

But sometimes those challenges are significant, and you can’t overcome them straightaway. They’re obstacles that cause you undue emotional exhaustion, fear or anxiety, and that you can’t see a fix for.

That’s when well-meaning colleagues and managers talk about the power of resilience. They use phrases like “Just push through it”, “Get over it and move on”, or “You’ll bounce back”, as if resilience was somehow worn like a suit of armour.

As though you can deflect or even ignore stresses and challenges or simply pick yourself up after a failure.

I used to think that resilience looked a bit like that. I was certainly a “Push through it” teacher. My definition of resilience would have been…

For me, resilience became purely about soldiering on. At best, it was about getting through a difficult time and coming out the other side in one piece, if I was lucky.

“Just make it to half term.”

I’m guessing that might ring a bell with you?

My wellbeing changed when I took a totally different approach to resilience. When I realised it wasn’t a battle for survival or about simply getting up after you fall.

Here’s the secret to making resilience work for you as a teacher…

Resilience Is A Three-Step Process

First of all, let’s acknowledge something.

Teachers go through a lot, and we need to be resilient as individuals and as a profession.

But resilience isn’t a sticking plaster or a bridge to better times. It’s about self-awareness, self-compassion and self-acceptance.

It’s not about survival or getting through an uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible.

As Amy Green says…

An effective, meaningful and sustainable approach to teacher resilience is, in fact, the opposite of what I always thought it was.

It’s not about being strong, bearing the load and getting on with the job.

It’s about acknowledging and engaging with the challenge, actively considering positive responses and behaving in a way that allows you to learn and grow from the experience.

It’s the opposite of weathering the storm. It’s dancing in the rain.

Also, when we’re told that to be resilient, we need to be able to ‘bounce back’, the implication is that once we get over the challenge, we’ll be back to our old selves.

I don’t know about you, but I like to move forward. To grow and develop. To improve. I want to face a challenge and emerge with new skills and wisdom, better prepared to face others in the future.

After all, resilience comes from recognising you’re facing a challenge and building solutions rather than just waiting for the challenge to pass.

If only I’d known that years ago, I’d have been a happier, healthier and (undoubtedly) better teacher.

Here’s how the process looks…

This kind of model works for the small stuff as well as the big stuff. From the challenge of finding the right marker pens to how to approach an overwhelming workload, it’s a powerful problem-solving tool.

How Does The Model Look In Context?

Let’s say the event was that I was overwhelmed by report writing, exam marking, co-curricular responsibilities and issues in my personal life (perhaps the illness of a family member).

The old me would have found a way to get through it.

I’d have stayed committed to everything, prioritised others, looked after family, and worked through the nights to meet my deadlines. By the end, I’d have achieved my goals, ‘shown resilience’, and come out the other side, beaten but not broken.

Would I have grown or developed better coaching strategies? No.

Would I have caused damage to my emotional and physical health? For sure.

Working with the three-step model above, I would now…

1. Acknowledge the pressure and emotional strain of the situation by journalling how I feel and discussing it with family and colleagues. Talking about it is so valuable, and 100% is not a sign of weakness. I’d recognise the threats to my wellbeing, and record how those threats made me feel.

2. Break down the separate challenges into their component parts and create a detailed timetable of which elements were achievable, given the circumstances. I’d then talk to my manager or SLT and indicate which aspects I could achieve by the deadline and which less critical elements would arrive later. I’d also prioritise time to support my family, putting this responsibility first or, if appropriate, using the support network around me. I don’t have to do everything.

3. I’d then commit to a manageable workload, allowing me to honour my deadlines. I’d also acknowledge my feelings and make time to put aspects of my well-being first by taking care of the basics such as nutrition, rest and exercise. Mindfulness is critical here and is something we’ll explore in the next issue. I’d also maintain clear lines of communication with management, continue talking to colleagues and put family needs before my professional role. It took me a long time to feel that way, but it’s vital for everyone’s long-term wellbeing.

The Three Types Of Resilience

This all made a lot of sense when I read some research that put three different types of resilience into context.

According to Professor Genie Joseph, we use three types of resilience as coping strategies. The first is Natural Resilience - the innate capacity for resilience we’re born with. Then there’s Adaptive Coping Resilience - the resilience we develop as we experience the ups and downs of life. Lastly, Restored Resilience is built by engaging in techniques that help us regain lost resilience strategies.

And that last kind is really the most powerful. It’s at the heart of what worked for me and, quite honestly, transformed my outlook as a teacher and helped me become a healthier person at the same time.

By actively pursuing resilience rather than expecting it to simply be a natural trait, we restore our natural reserves and develop our taught strategies.

Less bouncing back, more growing up.

Perfect.

The Marigold Teacher’s Podcast Has Arrived

After weeks of planning and preparation (and a few cups of coffee too many), our podcast is finally here.

With a new episode dropping each week, the podcast is a chance to listen to us discuss some of our favourite life-changing experiences in education, focus on techniques for your wellbeing and dive deeper into strategies that will help you transform your approach to teaching.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support as we’ve developed the format and tone; we’re proud to share the first episode with you here:

We begin by talking about the unbelievable power of affirmations and how they’ve changed our lives as teachers and human beings!

Hey, You’re Pretty Special (And We Know It)

As we come to the end of this issue, it’s super-important to us to remind you how awesome you are.

Teachers do a staggeringly brilliant job (if we do say so ourselves), and by turning up each day, you invest so much into the lives of those around you.

We’re in awe of you and what you do. And if no one else says it this week, a huge and heartfelt thank you from both of us for being exactly what your pupils need.

A reminder that if you’re feeling overwhelmed and in need of a resilience boost, here are the three main takeaways:

In next week’s issue, we’ll outline some helpful approaches to teacher mindfulness and explore strategies for being fully present in a busy classroom.

Until then, remember, you’re more than your marking, your lesson observations and your planning.

You’re you. And that’s all you need to be.