Teacher Appreciation Week: Teacher Self-Care

Each year, Teacher Appreciation Week rolls around with colorful cards, kind words, and heartfelt thank-yous. And rightly so. Teachers do far more than instruct — they guide, comfort, inspire, and support. Teachers show up day after day, even when the world feels heavy. But while we often focus on how much teachers give, we don’t talk enough about how they can sustain themselves while carrying so much.

This week is a moment to not only express gratitude but to reflect on how we can support teachers’ well-being in a meaningful, lasting way — starting with the way they care for themselves.

Teaching is an emotionally demanding profession. In recent years, the pressure has only grown. According to a 2022 report by the RAND Corporation, teachers are experiencing stress at rates double that of the general workforce (Steiner & Woo, 2022). And it’s not just the workload or student needs. Many educators are also navigating family demands, health concerns, financial worries, and the personal aftershocks of a world that’s constantly changing. In the face of so much, the call for self-care isn’t a soft suggestion — it’s a survival strategy.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from stress or setbacks. Teachers who actively build their resilience are more likely to sustain their energy, joy, and effectiveness in the classroom.

Here are a few practical strategies that can help:

1. Set Personal and Professional Goals

Having clear, realistic goals gives direction and purpose — especially during chaotic times.

• Set personal goals like prioritizing sleep, drinking more water, or reading for pleasure.

• Create professional goals that are meaningful but manageable, like trying one new teaching strategy per month.

• Make sure your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.Example: “I will leave work by 4:30 PM three days a week to spend time with family.”

2. Build an Accountability System

We all need support. Whether it’s a teaching partner, friend, coach, or online group — accountability helps you stick with your self-care intentions.

• Schedule regular check-ins with a trusted colleague or friend.

• Use a habit tracker or journal to monitor progress. (Use our NLM Habit Tracker)

• Share your goals and invite encouragement (not perfection!).

3. Practice Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is your ability to manage stress, emotions, and reactions in the moment. It’s a key skill for teachers — not only for your own health but also for modeling calm and control for students.

• Use breathing exercises, mindfulness, or movement breaks during the day.

• Regulate, Relate, and Reason:  (Perry & Winfrey, 2021). 

  • Regulate our nervous system through movement, breathing, or calming routines. 

  • Relate to form a connection with ourselves or others.

  • Reason which opens the door to reasoning and clear thinking.

• When triggered, pause. Ask: “What do I need right now?” Sometimes the answer is a walk, a snack, or a moment of silence.

Building these habits isn’t easy, and they may not fix everything overnight. But they do create the conditions for something powerful: resilience. Resilient teachers are not superheroes who never feel tired or discouraged. They are real people who know how to come back to center, who give themselves grace, and who find ways to keep showing up — not just for their students, but for themselves.

When teachers take care of their mental and emotional well-being, everyone benefits. Classrooms feel safer and calmer. Students receive more presence and patience. Families experience a more balanced parent or partner. And schools slowly, steadily, become places where health and humanity are valued as much as outcomes and achievement.

So this Teacher Appreciation Week, as we pass around coffee mugs and cupcakes, let’s also pass along a deeper message: that our teachers deserve more than praise. They deserve rest. They deserve support. And most of all, they deserve to thrive — not just in the classroom, but in their whole lives.

Perry, B. D., & Winfrey, O. (2021). What happened to you? Conversations on trauma, resilience, and healing. Flatiron Books.

Steiner, E. D., & Woo, A. (2022). Job-Related Stress Threatens the Teacher Supply: Key Findings from the 2021 State of the U.S. Teacher Survey. RAND Corporation.