Monthly Archives: September 2020

Self-care tips for busy educators

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Self-care tips

Hi! Today I’m using my post to check in with everyone. How are you doing? I’m seeing there are many in my PLN who are struggling to stay afloat. I hear you, I see you, and I feel like I need to support you in some way.

In today’s post, I’m listing a few ways to manage self-care by staying in the present, not trying to predict the future, and not lamenting the past. I hope my tips are helpful. They are based on my life experiences without school, and also my expertise in finding a sense of belonging.

Almost everyone in the world is back at school, although many are doing it remotely while others are in classrooms, and others are trying to do both (hybrid). I am so grateful I retired last year. I don’t think I would have been able to cope with all the stresses educators are facing right now. And not only educators; I feel blessed that I don’t have any children in school right now. There is so much to deal with. And then if you’re an educator and also a parent, that’s a whole different stress level.

I am blessed not having to deal with school stressors, but that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of all the ways to support you all. As a retired educator with more than 25 years of experience in all sorts of stressful situations including wars, I have lots to share with everyone who is going through it right now. Below are some suggestions for self-care and mindfulness to keep yourself balanced and centered.

Proactive ways to take care of yourself:

Remind yourself every morning what is within your control.
For example, if you are teaching remotely and some of your students aren’t signing on regularly or you haven’t heard from a student, consider what you can do to try and contact them. Perhaps a phone call to the student’s parents, or checking in with the appropriate person at your school (counselor, team lead, principal) will get them to “attend”. If you’ve tried that and it didn’t work then think of other ways to communicate what the student is missing (including the engaging activities you’ve planned), or use the LMS or apps like Seesaw, Flipgrid, Wakelet, Buncee to entice them.
If you’ve reflected on your efforts and nothing seems to be working, do what’s in your control. Concentrate on teaching the ones who are showing up.

Surround yourself with colleagues who are proactive, problem-solvers, and hopeful.
When we have negativity and complaining around us, it’s hard to resist getting into that mode of thinking. So it’s important to express to others that you need those around you to be centered and focused on the tasks at hand and not worrying about what the world could be if it was perfect.

Be a good listener for others and make sure it’s mutual.
A good listener hears and internalizes what the other person is saying and validates what they’ve heard by giving feedback that is compassionate and says, “I hear you and I understand what you’re saying”.

Recall what you’re grateful for.
List a few things you appreciate and focus on how it makes your life better or happier. One idea is to create a gratitude jar for small slips of paper that you can write down what you’re grateful for. Then on the days you can’t think of anything or feeling down, you can take a few out and read them and remember.

Show someone kindness.
You can show kindness in many ways like a smile (even with a mask on we can see you’re smiling) or a kind word.

Reach out to others and ask how they’re doing.
Some people don’t reach out when they need a helping hand or someone to just listen to them share their thoughts or worries. Be the person who asks how they’re doing. Send them a message or call on the phone.

These are just a few ways to practice self-care that don’t take a lot of time but can become habits that boost you when you’re feeling stressed or anxious. It’s been hard for me too, although I’m not working full time. I am safe and well, but I’m missing my family. I haven’t seen my daughter since last November and my eldest son for even longer. My 96-year-old mother wonders when/if she will see me again…

This is my self-care routine:
When I wake up every morning, I remind myself what day it is (without a routine, the days kind of run into each other). Then I think about what my plan is for the day, and what I’m going to eat for breakfast. This is all under my control and distracts me from thinking about all the things I’m unable to do as we are still in the midst of the pandemic. During the day, I remind myself multiple times what I am grateful for and look forward to seeing my children every Saturday on Zoom and my mother, brother, and sister weekly on Skype. In between, I reach out and message my PLN on Twitter and FB, and I send Whatsapp messages to friends I haven’t heard from in a while just to check on them. I listen when they’re upset, worried or anxious and send words of kindness and compassion, so they know I’ve heard them. If they ask, I offer advice. I believe that’s my role right now as I navigate my retirement which was supposed to be filled with travel to visit family and friends. It’s much more constructive if I spend my time helping others find their way to wellbeing which makes me feel so much better.

Let me know if you find these tips helpful. Leave a note in the comments.

One person CAN make a difference!

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AIHD2 volunteer explaining WHO COVID19 prevention procedures to members of the Kakuma community.

I’ve heard the phrase “One person can make a difference”, but I never really believed it until now.

In the past year, I’ve been supporting three refugee leaders who have centers in Kakuma camp, Kenya. My support includes mentoring them and financing specific projects they proposed. It all began with a Whatsapp message in a refugee teacher group. The message, from Ebengo Honore, was a plea for help to create an IT program for youth (age 14-25) at his center, African Initiative for Human Development (AIHD). I replied in the group wondering about the cost of laptops. After seeing there was a possibility I could help him, I started messaging him directly. He shared with me how he’d begun to lose hope and feeling disconnected from the rest of the world. His message broke my heart. He also told me that many of those who completed high school didn’t have a chance to go to college. Online certificate programs were the only way for them to acquire skills needed when searching for a job later on. They could get work as freelancers doing remote work.

I decided to take a chance and support him but I asked him to write a proposal with a budget. My goal is always supporting and mentoring to ensure that whoever I help takes responsibility. Honore’s idea was to procure donations to purchase laptops, increase internet capacity, and hire facilitators to teach the basics of using a computer and Microsoft applications like Word. That was August 2019.

Students in AIHD2 program learning digital literacy

He worked on his proposal and sent it to me. I asked him for some changes to it, and we started the program in late September 2019 with my donation to purchase 10 laptops, upgrade the internet connection, and purchase solar panels to boost electricity. Honore road the bus to the nearest big city, Nairobi; a 12-hour ride to purchase all the items. While he was there, he sent me photos of his purchases and updated me on progress. Then he took the long nighttime journey home and let me know he’d arrived safely. He also expressed his gratitude that someone had finally empowered him to help his community.

Map showing the route from Kakuma camp to Nairobi, Kenya

Honore and I have continued to work on a variety of projects and programs at AIHD2 including:
1) digital literacy
2) freelancing and digital entrepreneurship; including courses from Codacademy
3) Leadership, Peace, and Conflict Resolution
4) online higher education
7) COVID19 Wellnesss campaign in Kakuma and Kalobeyei camps

In the past year, AIHD2 has empowered many youth and adults who are able to work remotely, mediate disputes between different nationalities, faiths, and families, and are knowledgeable about using the internet and basic computer skills.

A few weeks after Honore sent his proposal to me, another refugee leader in Kakuma contacted me. Kitala Fabrice had opened a center for women and young girls called There is Hope Africa (THA). He had ideas for two vocational programs: hairdressing or tailoring to empower the women with skills they can use to support themselves and their families. When women are employed, incidences of domestic violence decrease because the women are able to support themselves and provide for their children. Jobs are hard to find in the camp. Kitala sent me both proposals and after discussing them, we decided to start the hairdressing program. Equipment was purchased, trainers hired, and rigorous screening of potential trainees proceeded.

Hairdressing trainee practicing one of the techniques

Completed hairstyle

Since then, more than 120 trainees (two cohorts) have graduated from the three-month training program and several graduates have begun businesses with micro-loans. In addition, during the first cohort’s training, Kitala noticed that young mothers were bringing their small children and babies with them since they didn’t have anyone to watch them while they were at training. Kitala submitted another proposal to start a daycare for the trainees with some toys and a daily healthy meal for each child. Several trained staff were hired to supervise the children and soon the daycare was ready. It had a positive influence on the training since the women could focus on what they needed to learn and practice before being tested on each technique. Hairstyles are very specific to countries and cultures, so the trainees learn a technique and then practice on each other.

Children at the daycare are excited to play with their new toys and games.

Plans for building a daycare center and expanding to other vocational programs are currently being reviewed. An initial fundraising campaign is currently underway. To donate.

In February 2020, I received a message on Facebook Messenger from another refugee in Kakuma. Matabishi Narukako John, the founder of Kakuma Vocational Center (KVC), heard I was supporting Honore and Kitala and wondered if I would consider supporting his center. He was looking for something a bit different, though. He wanted to teach children design thinking and creativity. He wanted hands-on activities for them to make and learn from that process. I told him that I couldn’t support him financially but I had recently watched a webinar by BitSpace Chicago, project-based courses to teach exactly what he wanted. I told him I would message them and ask if they could offer the course for free or at a reduced fee. Bit Space was kind enough to offer a reduced cost for two courses: Make It, Race It and Make It, Play It. I am grateful to Bit Space for its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. I requested a budget from Mata based on the supplies and materials listed for each course. After we modified the list to essentials, I agreed to fund the first cohort and he purchased the items.

Students learning how to use woodworking tools to make a Bit Space game

So far two groups have completed the courses and created wooden games they designed. There is currently a new cohort attending the courses. The first cohort presented their completed projects and earned a certificate. Some were able to sell their games to other children in the camp.

To find out more about Mata’s programs that will now include a Maker Space to create robots, check out his fundraiser. To donate to KVC MakerSpace.

In the last few months, these refugee leaders and I teamed up to take an Acumen course about NGO fundraising. It was a 6-week course and we met each week as a team to discuss mission statements, vision, goals, and how to become better storytellers. We all learned so much! We also benefited from a session with my daughter whose work involves design thinking and goal setting. I’m so proud to be a part of the journey with three amazing refugee leaders who are making a difference in their community. They need our support and to feel connected with the outside world. They also need to learn skills to ensure they can support themselves and train other refugees to support themselves. In this way, we can do our part to improve the world for ourselves and others.

Now I believe that one person CAN change the world. I also learned that at a certain point we need to work together to be sure the work continues and expands.

Student working on building his design for Make It, Race It by Bit Space.