Ep. 40: "Sharpen Your Ax" : Spend time focusing on humans

Education is an exhausting profession. It is a service profession. And if we're not careful, it can get the best of us and steal our ability to give our best. In this episode, Kasey and Brian talk about how we can stay healthy, be mindful, and "sharpen our ax."

What dulls the ax?

1. Physical Exhaustion
2. Emotional Suppression
3. Social Demands
4. Mental Performance

How can we sharpen the ax?

1. Physical

   - Shut down the things that stimulate you (phones, grading, planning)

   - Go for a walk, find a workout partner for after school

1.  Emotional

   - Go easy on yourself

   - Let yourself feel your emotions

• Social

  - Find a positive social group, people who will refill your tank instead of drain it

  - Limit gossip to clarifying problems not magnifying problems

  - Find time to be alone

  Mental

  - Indulge in a few guilty pleasures

  - Celebrate

  - Adjust your pacing-have slow, fun day

• References:

• • “And into the words I go, to lose my mind and find my soul” - attributed to John Muir
  • "Your imagination
    Is in an awful place
    Don't believe in manifestation
    Your heart'll breakDon't you understand?
    Your mind is not your friend again
    It takes you by the hand
    And leaves you nowhere" - The National
  • Are You Human? TEDTalk
  • Giving Less than 100% is 100% okay
  • The Simpson’s Moaning Lisa
  • The Dash, a poem by Linda Ellis
  • Resume vs Eulogy Virtues from Road to Character by, David Brooks
  • “So consumed with whether or not we could we didn’t stop to think if we should” - Malcolm from Jurassic Park
    

Show Sponsors:

Schurtz and Ties is sponsored by PeerDrivenPD, a teacher training platform that brings "candid conversations from some of the best classroom educators in the country." You can "get your training directly from the teachers in the trenches as current classroom teachers guide your professional learning with authentic insights and practical strategies you can try immediately." Check out ⁠⁠⁠PeerDrivenPD.com⁠⁠⁠ for more information and mention Schurtz and Ties and get 10% off any purchase for one year!

⁠⁠TeachBetter.com⁠⁠: "The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in the field toward creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom."

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Thank you Karl DeCock for creating the cover art!