Brain Breaks and Why They Are Important!

So as optimistic as I like to be, yesterday just did not turn out the way I thought it would. In fact, I was ready to throw in the towel, blow after blow. It seemed like so many negative items, so much negative news, so many changes to plans that weren’t beneficial no matter how I looked at. It was just all too much!

I ended up going for a drive; one of those drives that you sometimes wonder afterwards how you ever avoided accidents because your thoughts were a million miles away. I then went home and completely did not feel like doing anything. In fact, for the very few minutes I had, I walked my dogs, then sat on the bed in front of the fan. Naturally this was short-lived as I had to pick up my husband from work. 

My brain was just sunk. My blood pressure was guaranteed elevated, my positivity was on the downhill slope, my hope was crushed, my body paying the price. I felt miserable. I felt like this was it, that I’m already at my breaking point and the year hasn’t even begun. I began second-guessing myself, asking if this job really was for me, if I wasn’t as strong as other teachers, if maybe I’m not as strong as I thought I was. But then something happened.

After picking up my husband from work, I put myself mentally in a place where I was just spending time with him. I wasn’t thinking about work. I wasn’t thinking about how in the world our finances are going to balance. I wasn’t thinking about all the stresses that I carry on my back right now. It was just him and I and quality time together. It gave my brain a break!

See, I used to laugh at people when they told me to take brain breaks in school. I used to think I was invincible. I used to think I could push myself to the utmost limits and even beyond. And quite honestly, I did. I used to work two jobs while going to university full time, in fact one semester I even had to request my credit limit be elevated in order to do 6 courses instead of my normal 5. Most mornings, I’d get off work, and wait around for my morning class because there simply wasn’t enough time to even go home and get changed before class started. I spent crazy hours working at work, being in school, and doing schoolwork.

The craziest thing that was an eye-opener to me was when friends used to come over to see if there was any way they could help me with my work or at least help keep me awake. Some nights, I don’t even remember what I said or did. I don’t drink, never have. I don’t do drugs, never even touched them. But out of pure exhaustion, my body and brain would continue on as if I were awake, and yet I was not truly awake. Countless times my friends would tell me the next day about the conversations we had and would be completely confused when I replied that I had no recollection of that conversation. They would tell me that I was sitting in the chair, looking straight at them, having conversations that made complete sense, and yet the truth was that I wasn’t actually awake. Isn’t that scary? As you can probably guess, this is right before my body crashed, and crashed hard.

You see, my brain was so used to running non-stop that even when my consciousness would rest, my subconscious continued in the exact way my consciousness would have. Thankfully I had good friends so safety was never an issue. But imagine it had been. I NEVER gave my brain a break. Not even a tiny one. 

Just because of the student I am, I have high expectations of myself as far as quality of work and grades go. I always received good grades, even in my tired state. But I know it wasn’t good for me. Sitting for hours doing homework, then spending hours between my two jobs, then hours and hours of classes. Everything was back-to-back and there was no break. My poor brain, seriously.

As a teacher, I am much more conscience of the brain breaks I give my students. I know that if they don’t get a break, then the work is going to decline in quality. That’s just the way it is. They easily get off track, derail to other topics, and just can’t focus. But give them a 2-5 minute brain break, and all of a sudden they’re energetic and ready to roll again. That’s what a brain break does.

So I challenge you to watch yourself. Watch how long you are actually causing your brain to continue working. And if you’re pushing your hours, get up and have a brain break. Whether it’s a simple exercise, a simple stretch, a change of topic, a small conversation with a co-worker or friend, anything that gets your mind off of the work you’re doing right now. Got time for a small nap? A mindless game? Great! Your brain needs that shift.

Don’t do what I did. I’ve lived out the mistake for you. Take care of yourself. You only have one body, so get it right the first time! Help it to remain healthy and see the advances it makes in your own life. Brain breaks are important!

Proud Moments – Teacher

Now it is true that almost every class has a very large range of students. Some that catch onto new concepts very quickly, and some that take more time to understand. Some that get their work done quickly, and some that may not finish their work. Some are motivated, some are not at all. Some follow the rules perfectly, some do not care for rules at all.

Since I teach grade six, they are in the “preteen” stage where hormones and emotions start to get in the way of relationships and learning. Many people will not teach this grade because it is less of dealing with academics and more dealing with behaviours and attitudes.

I have been through a large amount of struggles in this grade, and even though students have had their “ups and downs”, there are some students who continue to uplift me every day, whether they do it on purpose or not. I could sit and wish for a class that followed every rule I gave them, do everything I say, and never once put up a fight. But what kind of teacher would I be? I would have no students to teach me how to handle different situations, I would have no experience in behaviour management. Now don’t get me wrong, I’d probably love it. But that’s just something I want, not something I need.

One thing that people often don’t understand about teachers, is that there are indeed things that we don’t like about our jobs. The endless paperwork, the struggles with our students, things that make us cry and even sometimes want to give up at the end of the day. But there are moments when our students surprise us. It’s a promise that our hard work pays off. And it is incredible the amount of times these “miracle moments” have happened to me, and to other teachers that I’ve talked to, have completely erased the crying, the stress, and the grey hairs we’ve earned from the struggles with those students.

I have a couple students that have been really negative in the classroom the past few months. I have tried, and tried, and tried to figure out what was going on, but to no avail. I began to think that these two students just couldn’t be together because they fed off of the negativity from each other. It really seemed as if they began to hate me, and quite a bit of the other students noticed it as well. I had a teacher’s mentor in my room for about an hour, and she was able to see who these students were before I had even mentioned anything. It was incredibly obvious.

I cannot express the amount of times I had talked to these students, met with these students, discussed things with the principal, ended my days exhausted and frustrated, ready to pull out my hair, and even ready to cry. It really seemed like there was nothing I could do.

Finally, this week, one of those “miracle moments” happened. I pulled the students out of class because their “obvious hate” had come back, and talking to them together showed no results, no progress. When I talked to them separately, I wanted to cry. One of them immediately broke down crying and poured on me all of the home-life situations that were going on. The other one expressed how they thought I was the one who hated them. All of these things that I had no idea about, or I had been looking at in a much different way. All I can say is I ended that day much differently that I had been. These students let me in, and I understood.

I sometimes have to check with myself if it’s really the student I’m upset with, or if there is something underneath it all that I’m actually dealing with. I don’t expect all students to explain everything going on, but I do maintain a level of acceptance in my class and a level of safety that must be kept. My students know that, and although there are still some behaviour problems (mostly talking or lacking motivation to work), we usually can come to an agreement and understanding.

I encourage all of you that are teachers to take a second-look at your students. Sometimes we just don’t understand what is going on. There are always stories of students who had teacher after teacher hate him/her just because they never really stopped and try to understand the reasons why. Relate to your students, talk to them personally. Don’t be just the “mean teacher”, be someone who cares. Not always, but quite often, you will see a different side, a different light, and a deeper hope for the success of that child.