An antidote to burnout

Have you ever walked into your classroom or school (or your daily life) feeling angry, upset, frustrated, or exhausted? Then you might be an educator working in 2024! The pandemic, social unrest, and increasing violence have left young people grappling with more anxiety and depression than ever. Unsurprisingly, the leaders and teachers responsible for the education, care, and development of these young people also feel anxious, exhausted, and burned out.

This burnout not only impacts teachers emotionally, but it also has negative effects on student outcomes, including lower academic achievement and reduced motivation. Fortunately, research suggests that socio-emotional learning interventions can help alleviate teacher burnout.

Practicing Self leadership can help leaders, teachers, and students learn to recognize—and work with—their emotions, which ultimately leads to a more vibrant and positive school climate and culture. IFS is a culturally responsive and evidence-based model used to heal PTSD and trauma. And Self leadership refers to the innate sense of goodness, wisdom, and compassion we all have inside of ourselves.

IFS provides a model and language for recognizing what many authors and artists have known for hundreds of years: Humans have different parts of themselves that are not always aligned. As Walt Whitman (1855) wrote, “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.” The IFS model emphasizes that the key to health and healing is to understand and welcome these multitudes of ourselves. All parts of us (e.g., the inner critic, the taskmaster, the anxious part) have positive intent when engaged with curiously and constructively. When we welcome all parts of ourselves, we naturally develop more self-awareness, empathy, optimism, and self-regulation.

Practicing Self leadership puts the educator’s well-being first. When educators feel resourced, they can be their best Selves for their colleagues and students. We (Lindy and Melissa) have years of classroom experience at the elementary, high school, and college levels. Like many educators, we love teaching and our students, and we have both struggled with burnout.

We practice Self leadership using the P.A.U.S.E method, which stand for “pause, aware, understand, search, experiment” (Curry Sartori, 2022). In our experience, these practices help develop emotional intelligence—the ability to recognize and manage emotions and to understand and respond with compassion and calm. This capacity is especially critical for teachers, who interact deeply (and daily) with the emotions of students, other teachers, colleagues, administrators, and families.

Here’s an example:

On a busy Wednesday morning, Melissa, an elementary school music teacher at a Title 1 school, welcomes her students to class. She notices they are having difficulty settling into their 3-class routine as they walk in. Their energy seems all over the place. Melissa pauses.

She stops them and says, “You know, I think we should start with our Pause for Peace instead of our usual singing. I think we all need this today.” One of the students, Brandon (all names are pseudonyms), who often uses a loud voice, shouts, “I can’t pause for peace right now!”

Melissa encourages awareness by responding, “Wow, it really sounds like you have a part of you that wants to say something.” Brandon energetically responds, “Yes! I do! I have a lot of energy, but I’m tired!”

Melissa feels some trepidation but decides to seek understanding. “Oh wow, tell me more about that?” she asks Brandon. At this offer, he begins telling the class about how he is feeling. The class focuses on him intently, listening with curiosity.

Melissa then encourages Brandon to search for a solution: “What would happen if you asked this part of you to step back and give you a little space? You know that part which just wants to blurt things out? Because we all have this part. I have this part, too.” At this point, many children use the American Sign Language sign for “same” or raise their hands to show that they, too, feel like they have a part that wants to blurt things out.

Melissa asks again, “What would happen if that part of you took a step aside to give you some space?” Brandon responds, “It doesn’t want to!” Melissa takes a deep breath and remembers to remain curious. She replies, “Well, you know, sometimes that happens. We all have parts of us that have so much being in control that they don’t want to step back. But let’s take a look at this. What would happen if that part doesn’t step back today, and it doesn’t give you any space?”

Brandon quickly responds, “Oh, I’m getting in trouble!”

Melissa replies, “Well, all your parts are welcome here. I really mean that. Even the part that wants to shout out. But you’re right. If that part doesn’t give you some space, we won’t be able to get any learning done here, and your 4 friends might get a little aggravated.” Melissa pauses again, thinking about how to experiment with helping all the students to increase their own Self leadership.

She asks, “What if we all take a few deep breaths together?” The whole class takes some deep breaths together, and Melissa can feel a palpable shift in energy. Brandon seems more settled and is able to participate in class in a much more emotionally regulated state.

Melissa was hesitant when she began experimenting with P.A.U.S.E in the classroom. Would students understand the concept of “parts”? How should she get students to connect with their parts? Would this conflict with her curriculum?

She decided to introduce the idea simply to her class of fourth graders. Melissa drew a stick figure on the 5 whiteboard and asked the students to describe “the different parts of me.” She clarified that she was not looking for “outward things but the stuff on the inside.” Without any further explanation, hands shot up. Students said things like: nice, punctual, loving, warm, kind, worried, frustrated, honest, and fair.

Melissa asked them if they saw any similarities between her parts and how they would describe themselves. She was surprised at how freely and easily students were able to connect with, and talk about, the different parts of themselves. Melissa explained that they would be returning to these ideas throughout the year and that she hoped they would get to know themselves better. She emphasized that doing so would help create a classroom where everyone felt peaceful and like they belonged.

Do teachers really have the time and energy to engage with Self and to cultivate this practice in students? Consider the maxim, “Slow down to go fast.” This strikes at the heart of developing Self leadership. When we take moments to pause and connect with ourselves, we can actually accelerate the process of creating classroom environments where students do the same.

Self leadership provides a common language that the most emotionally dysregulated students can use to connect with themselves. It encourages the awareness to get themselves back to Self. The P.A.U.S.E method is a simple way for administrators, teachers, and students (anyone, really) to work with their emotions and feelings and to develop self-awareness, empathy, and emotional intelligence. This leads to an inclusive, connected school community.

Tips for implementing P.A.U.S.E in your school or classroom:

1. Ask yourself: “How do I want to feel when I am at school?” Share your answers with your students and colleagues.
2. Ask your colleagues/students: How do you want it to be when we are together? What do you need to be that way?
3. Ask your colleagues and/or students to answer the following question on index cards: Is there anything I should know about you that would help me to be a better teacher/leader for you? Keep the cards and refer to them throughout the year. Make sure to check in with colleagues/students at least once during each class period.
4. Follow the P.A.U.S.E  mnemonic:

• Pause: Stop, breathe, and notice. Ask yourself : What is happening with me right now?
• Aware: Become aware of yourself and what is happening in your body. Ask yourself, What parts of me are showing up right now? (These might be feelings, thoughts, and/or sensations that may appear in body.)
• Understand: Understand that all your parts have a positive intent. For example, anger often serves as a reminder that a boundary has been crossed. With curiosity, speak from the different parts of you. You might say, “A part of me is feeling angry right now.”
• Search: Searching for solutions. You might ask, “What do you need?” and “What do you want me to know?” These questions can be asked internally or with others.
• Experiment: Try out your ideas. Be open and curious as you imagine and try out creative possibilities and solutions.

References:
Curry-Sartori, J. & Nelson, J. (2022). Leading learning from Self : An IFS-inspired approach to nurture capacity in schools from the inside out, Other Education: The Journal of Educational Alternatives, 11(1), 124-130.

Schwartz, R. (2021). No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model. Sounds True. Whitman, W. (1855). Leaves of Grass. Fowler and Wells.