Back to School 2025/6: Four Steps to Be Less Stressed as a Teacher This Year

 Okay, well here we are. Goodness me. It seems that we haven't even had our first heat wave yet, and already the back to school supplies are out in all the stores. Oh, all the feelings for me, first of all, it's almost an impulse. Oh my gosh. These, the notebooks are only 50 cents. Let me grab 40 of them. Like, oh, no.

I don't need to do that anymore. Right. It's just an old reflex. And then there's part of nostalgia. I got a little teary eyed the other day. I saw so many lovely, cute decorations for the classroom. And I was just thinking back to all those years. That I just loved setting up my classroom so much, so much joy, so many happy memories.

But it seems that back to school is coming earlier and earlier again, I feel like, ooh, summer's just getting started and yet, you know, I see my friends who are thinking of going back, starting to stress already, and I'm already getting substitute requests. Oh my goodness, isn't it Summer? We need subs already.

Oh my goodness. So anyway, I am starting off the next, including this one, five episodes. I know I've been going every other week, but right now I'm gonna ramp it up and crank out some episodes of some things I think are really important for back to school. Keep in mind these things to set yourself up for success.

It's gonna be our next five episodes. Back to school special for 20, 25, 26 school year, the year you are gonna crush it. The year you are gonna create your own path, bring your own sunshine, and no matter what the school year throws at you, you are going to sparkle. Let me help you do that. Okay? So in this week's episode, right after the jingle, we are gonna dive right in with a review of my proven.

Framework, the four steps in what I call my Echo framework for educator empowerment. That's what it's all about. Even if you have heard me talk about it before, this is an excellent refresher. I'm gonna keep it short to the point. And I'll see you on the inside. Welcome to the Teacher Self-Care and Life Balance podcast, where we focus all things personal development to help teachers feel empowered to thrive inside and outside of the classroom.

If you are passionate about education, but tired of it taking over your whole life, you have found your new home in the podcast universe, you'll love it here. I'm Grace Stevens, your host, and let's get going with today's show.

Okay, friends, I have been at this for, ooh, 12 years now. I have written six books on teaching numerous journals. I have written blog posts. I have been interviewed on podcasts. I've had this podcast for coming up for three years. I think so much talking. So much rocky zig, so much to share. So much I'm passionate about.

But about two years ago I decided I need a framework. Let's drill it down for people. And when I really examined everything I talk about, which could be overwhelming, if you look at all of it, it all falls into these four areas. And so I have framed that called that, decided to call it my. Echo framework for educator empowerment.

If you've read maybe my last three books, I have called it that before that it was, it was all there. I just hadn't named the framework. So here it is. It is back to basics for this part, one of our back to school series for 20 25, 20 26. But I'm telling you, even if you go look at these a hundred episodes that I already have, everything falls into one of these four categories.

So. Let's just do the big overview, the kind of overarching themes, and then over the next four weeks, we'll get into the nitty gritty. So here it is, the Echo framework. Now one, I call it Echo because we love our acronyms in teaching. You know, we do. But also, how perfect is that name echo. 'cause the whole idea really, and not to get woo woo, but like what you put out there is coming back, right?

Just like when you, you scream, if you're in the right environment, that echo comes back. So E, the E stands for your energy teaches more than your lesson plans. Everything, everything, everything I do comes back to this phrase. Your energy teaches more than your lesson plans, and what that means is how you show up matters.

I'm not talking about your energy as like, oh my gosh, I got so much sleep and I had a, you know, a, a triple shot venti on the way here, and I am just jumping up and down. I'm not talking about that kind of energy. I'm talking about what are you putting out there in the world? What are you putting out in the classroom?

What is. The vibe that is gonna dictate how your students learn, how they receive you, how they participate, how engaged they are, how much grace you give them, and how much grace they give you. It is going to control everything. This whole idea of co-regulation. Now, before you tune me out, just think, think about your favorite teacher that you ever had.

The the for it could have been in high school, it could have been in grade school. My favorite teacher of all time was Mrs. Brown, second grade. Shout out to Mrs. Brown. I wish I knew if she was still around and where to find her, owe her so much. Everything I know about teaching, I learned from that wonderful woman and it wasn't until reflecting years later that I knew that she showed up.

Happy, smiling. Every day. She was excited to be there and we knew it and she enjoyed teaching. Is that the vibe that you have? Do you show up with this vibe that, you know what, it is fun to be here and not everything always goes smooth and not every day is great, but together we can create. A community where we all learn, we all try.

We're not afraid to take risks. We support each other, we champion each other. Right. It's that it's how you show up. It's not, there's a vast difference between that your favorite teacher, and it wasn't about the books that they taught or what their classroom decor was, or how they dressed or how, you know.

Proficient. Their technology was with beautiful Bitmojis or you know, whatever. All the stuff we stress about making it look beautiful. It wasn't about that at all. It was about the energy they were putting out there. And then if you think about your least favorite teacher, and I'm guessing it was that teacher who was.

You know, over it, they were grumpy, they were easily triggered. They had little patience for student antics, and you knew it. And, and winding them up was almost like a game, right? And it was just a miserable way to be in class. They were short tempered. They just were looking for ways to trip you up, right?

Everything you did felt like a. Gotcha. Right? They were looking for ways to take away points, not looking for ways for you to be successful. Okay? It's the vibe. Your energy teaches more than your lesson plans, and that sounds so simple, and yet it is so hard, right? There are so many things that tap away our energy and that what this podcast is all about, it's about maintaining balance.

It's about maintaining. Optimism when so many people around you are pessimistic. When there are so many hits that education is taking, how do you stay optimistic? How do you stay focused on student success, on students feeling good about themselves when so many of them show up with so much trauma and it feels like they are just being set up to fail and so are we.

Our resources are going away. More is. Being demanded of us. Like all those things, like it's really difficult to be in a classroom. I know that I'm still in classrooms every day. You remember how you treated substitute teachers? Listen, it's, I've had more abuse in the last year than I ever had in 20 years in the classroom, but I'm still willing to do it 'cause I still think it's important.

Okay. I feel that teachers need to be able to. Take time off when they need to and not be worried about who's gonna show up and take care of my class. Is it just gonna be a warm body? I would like to think that I am more than just a warm body, right? So anyway, there's that. The first thing is your energy teaches more than your lesson plans.

And with that in mind. That means that self-care is not selfish. It means the most important thing you can do is make sure that you're attending to your energy, that you are not worn out, burn out, demoralized, right against all the odds, you're still gonna have some sparkle. Okay? And that takes intention.

And attention. It doesn't just happen. Okay? Your energy teaches more than your lesson plans. Okay? So that's the first theme. C in echo is control what you can control. How do we make sure that our energy, our vibe, is correct, is good, is positive, is hopeful, and that only comes from focusing on what we can control.

There is so much you cannot control. But if you're putting all your energy about stressing on what you can't control, what you can control gets smaller and smaller and smaller. You feel so disempowered. And I'm all about teacher empowerment. Now listen, there is a book that is. Number one everywhere. Right now, it is a number one bestseller in New York Times, but it's a number one book.

I cannot tell you how many translations, how many countries, every podcast talking about it. She has one of the number one podcasts in the world, and that is Mel Robbins. She's fantastic. I am a fan. She's written this book, the Let Them Theory Now. Let me just tell you this. This is all packaging. This is all packaging.

Because I could have, I can summarize that book in six words. Focus on what you can control. That's the whole book. Focus on what you can control. Stephen Covey taught that to me. 30 something years ago, the first personal development book I ever read, seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is this framework of focusing what you can control.

I have taught consistently to adults, to students of every age. Okay, so her let Them Theory book, the whole idea is, yeah, she made it catchy. Let them let people be who they're gonna be. Let people stop giving your power over to other people. How other people are and how they receive you is their problem.

It's not yours. It's trying to free yourself from this exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and manage everyone. And so her theory is let them, let them be mad at you. Let them do their thing. Let you kids be who they're gonna be. All the things right. Then the second part is, let me, what's my responsibility in this situation?

Okay, so this framework that she has of let them and let me, is literally this, which is focus on what you can control. What is your responsibility in this? What can you focus on to improve your life, to improve your day in the classroom, to make things more productive, easier, happy, more joyful. For your students focus there.

Okay, so now I've saved you buying that book. Sorry, Mel. Mel, you're doing all right. The the five people who aren't gonna buy it now, 'cause they listen to my podcast are probably, you know, they're pro. You're probably gonna be all right. Don't come at me, but I just wanna put it out there to everybody, that this is a concept that everybody is talking about and has been talking about and repackaging for years and years and years.

The reason is. It's really important. It really is the crust, crux, excuse me, not the crust, the crux of of everything. Focus on what you can control. Okay? So many things you can't control. Maybe you didn't get the grade you wanted, you didn't get the kids you wanted, you didn't get the parents you wanted, you didn't get the classroom you wanted.

You did not get the curriculum you wanted. You didn't get the coworker you wanted, you didn't get the administrator you wanted. You know what? You can't control any of those things. Well, you could. I mean, just what I'm saying is don't waste time complaining about 'em. If they're that important to you, change schools, change districts.

We know you're not gonna do it, so don't waste time complaining about it. Okay? Sorry to be blunt, but that's basically where it is. You are never gonna have the perfect situation, okay? Ever. Don't wait for that dream class. Don't think, Ooh, the unicorn year where everything goes right. Okay. If everything went right, you wouldn't learn anything.

Okay, I'll just say it that way. So focus on what you can control. And I've had so many episodes on that and so many different ways of presenting that, but it is really this foundational piece of my framework is your energy teaches more than your lesson plans and the way you control your energy is focusing what?

You can control. Okay. Or if you wanna go with the way Mel Robbins says. Let them l, let people be them. Stop giving your power away and let you do what you need to do to focus your energy and your time on what matters most, right? You spent too long. Here's what she says on the back of her book.

You've spent too long chasing approval, managing other people's happiness, letting their opinions hold you back. Learn how to stop giving your power away and start creating a life where you come first. That sounds good. It's great. It's a very helpful tool. Okay, so there you go. That is the C. All right. Now, E, C, H, the H, or if we were in England, we would say H.

I know. Isn't that funny? H even sounds weird to me now after all these years. But H is happiness. Happiness can be synthesized. What does that mean? It means that you have a natural happiness set point. Okay, you inherited it, but that only. Really accounts for 50% of your happiness quotient, okay? Your circumstances, all those things that you can complain about.

You are broke, you are tired, you don't have the car you want, you don't have the spouse you want, you don't have the classroom. You want all those things. Your circumstances really only contribute 10% to your happiness quotient. Wait, what? Come on. That sounds crazy, right? I promise you that is true. I have read all the data, not all the data.

Come on. That's ridiculous thing to say. I've read a lot of the data, a lot of the books, a lot of the research coming out of Harvard, all the other places. This you go, fact, check me, go look at Dr. Laurie DeSantis from Harvard. Go look at Sean Ker. Go look at Dan Gilbert's. These are some of the big thought people right now.

Go read Jonathan Hates the Happiness Hypothesis. Okay? So that is a fact. Okay? So if you're doing the math, you got you your baseline happiness quotient, what you were born with. Either you were born, you know. Sparkly optimistic or you, you know, you come from a, a long line of of s in your family.

That's 50%. Life circumstances is 10%. That makes 60% what comprises the other 40% of your happiness. Those are intentional habits that you can cultivate, that you can learn, that you can control. These are habits that you learn. They are not things like, oh, that's just not me. I'm a born people pleaser. That's conditioning.

Okay. You can overcome your conditioning. And so that is actually where my writing started. I wrote a book called happy, the Happy Habit, and then after years of people kind of asking me about that and kind of saying, well, how does that apply to teaching? I wrote the book, positive Mindset Habits for Teachers.

It was basically taking those. 10 habits, the happy habits that I had researched and how would we put them? How do they show up? How can we practice them inside a classroom, in a school environment? Okay, so happiness can be synthesized despite your circumstances. Some people on your campus are having a better time than you.

Okay. They got the same resources or lack of resources, right? They got the same pay scale. They, you know, it's not that they just have to have a better class this year or whatever else. Maybe they have better habits than you, and that's why I. Always end the podcast with Create your own path. We'll talk about that in a second and bring your own sunshine.

Okay? Happiness can be synthesized. You can create it. Okay, so that is a fact. That is an essential part of the framework, right? We are, we are gonna recognize that our energy. Teaches more than our lesson plans. We are gonna recognize that we can create our own happiness, and we do that by controlling what we can control.

Okay, and then the last part of the framework, the O, is other people's experience is. Doesn't need to be our experience. Okay. The narrative in teaching, and yes, the reality, I'm not delusional, please. The narrative and the reality for many teachers is that teaching right now is difficult. Terrible. We don't get the support we need.

We, we don't get the respect we need or the things, okay. It. Trust me, I have been in a school where we only had one class per grade, which basically meant this. You ended up with the same kids, the same parents you know, whatever. The same administrator, the same school building, literally all the same components.

And yet my experience was very different from other people's. Experience, experience. There were teachers at that school really loving teaching, really making a difference. And there were teachers at that school really worn out, overwhelmed, lack of boundaries really demoralized going through the motions, burnt out and showing up anyway, which is not helpful for kids, right?

And just miserable, right? So you. Can create your own path. Other teacher's experience doesn't need to be your experience. Guess what? You are unique. You have your own life, your own way of seeing things, your own way of doing things. You became an educator 'cause you believed you could make a difference and also because you thought it would be a rewarding career for you.

Okay? There's nobody's like, oh, I'm gonna go self-sacrifice and be a martyr. I mean, many of us end up in that situation, but that wasn't your goal. With your new shiny credential, let me go be miserable, but you know, teach some kids some stuff. Anyway, all right, so take responsibility. Understand that, just because the narrative in teaching right now and the situation is difficult, you can still create your own path and you can still bring your own sunshine.

Okay? That is the foundation. Of everything I do. If you go back and look at all the episodes, you could play this fun game where you're like, well, where does this one fall? Sometimes an episode will fall into two categories 'cause they are all interlinked. It's, it was difficult to come up with a framework because people want a step 1, 2, 3, 4, and everything is kind of, you know intertwined.

It isn't quite that simple, but I think to the best that I can. Those four areas are what are important for you to feel empowered, for you to feel that you can make teaching, joyful, sustainable, meaningful, impactful, all those things that you want. Okay, so in the next four weeks in this back to school series.

I'm gonna go after four specific areas that you need to really pay attention to and really get dialed in at the beginning of the school year to set yourself up for success. Now, if you are listening to them, and it isn't the beginning of the year, don't be like, oh no, I have to wait till next year to do this.

No, you can change your operating terms and conditions. Anytime. That's what I always tell people when they say, well, no, but you know, I need to wait till next year to make any changes. No, you don't. You don't need to wait till five minutes from now. Anybody can change anything about their life right now.

It starts with a decision, so make a decision. This year's gonna be different. This year's gonna be better. You're gonna be open to learning new things, doing things differently, investing in. Personal development. Let's put the p the the personal back in pd because the things I teach you are not coming to a campus near you.

I know that because I've tried to have your administrators have me come to your campus and teach you these things. They don't want you. To, they would feel threatened for me to show up and say, here, here's how you say no to people. Here's how you set healthy boundaries. Right? There's, there's not a lot.

They would take a really enlightened administrator to be like, yeah, come on, grace. Come teach my people how to say no. Right? They want them to say yes to, to other things, but yes to you, right? So you gotta take responsibility and learn it for yourself. Okay? So I promise you the next four episodes.

Beginning of the year kind of reboot. Let's set things off on the same, on the right on the right foot. And some things we're gonna be talking about are gonna be com starting the year with a complete boundary plan. And how to self your relationships in the right way, relationships with coworkers.

Parents with students, all those things. Okay? So have a binge listen to the next four episodes. We will set you in your stead. If you still have a couple of weeks left of summer, hopefully please enjoy them. Enjoy them, enjoy them. Don't get teary-eyed in the back to school supplies aisle. If you can't afford all new classroom decor this year, who cares?

That's not what is gonna help kids learn. And anyway. That's it. All right. Until next time, create your own path, bring your own sunshine, and we will talk soon.