🥊 Here’s the truth about teaching…
You can love your students to pieces and still want to crawl under your desk and never come out. The emotional load of this job is constant. The lesson plans, the endless meetings, the kids crying, the kids fighting, the kids asking, “Is this for a grade?” every 12 seconds. It’s a lot.
And here’s the kicker: the most important emotional regulation in your classroom isn’t theirs. It’s yours.
If you walk in already fried, running on caffeine or rage, and you’re tired as hell, your students feel it. Kids have built in radar for adult stress, and they’ll mirror it back with double intensity.
Because let’s be real an unregulated teacher in a room full of unregulated kids?
That’s not a classroom. That’s a cage match.
Source: LindseyAnnLearning
Stop Wearing Burnout Like a Badge 🔥
We’ve been sold this toxic narrative that the more exhausted you are, the better teacher you must be.
Like skipping lunch…
Grading at midnight…
Answering emails during dinner…
Does it mean you’re dedicated? No. But it might mean you’re wrecked.
🏃🏻♀️You don’t get sainthood for running yourself into the ground. You just get resentful and snappy. And your students get the version of you that’s one pencil request away from a meltdown.
Regulation Doesn’t Have to Be Fancy🌟
Sometimes it looks like shutting your door and blasting a song that lets you scream sing for ninety-seconds.
Sometimes it’s drinking actual water. Not your sixth iced coffee.
No one is judging. We have all been there.
Sometimes it’s texting your teacher bestie the perfect meme that captures your descent into madness.
These aren’t luxuries ✨ They’re survival strategies.
Let Them See You Be Human
🤖Your kids don’t need a Zen robot at the front of the room. They need to see what it looks like when an actual adult handles stress without combusting.
That might sound like:
“I’m feeling frustrated right now, so I’m taking a breath before I respond.”
or
“I need a second. Let’s all pause together.”
You’re not unloading on them you’re modeling regulation, which let’s be honest, might be more valuable than the day’s math lesson.
Source: PlymouthRockTeachers
Cut the Guilt 😳
This is where the teacher guilt monster always pipes up: ”But my kids need me!”
Yeah, they do. And they need you to be regulated. They need you to be hydrated, fed, and not silently planning your escape to leave the job.
Think oxygen masks on a plane. You put yours on first, so that you don’t pass out trying to help everyone else. If you’re gasping for air, you’re no good to anyone. Same goes for teaching.
The Bottom Line 👩🏻🏫
Regulating yourself first isn’t optional.
It’s not indulgent.
It’s the difference between guiding a classroom and spiraling with it.
So eat lunch. Take the break. Drink the damn water. Play the angry music. Whatever it takes to get you back in your body before stepping into that room.
Because the only thing scarier than 30 chaotic students is 30 chaotic students led by one chaotic teacher about to lose their shit.
And you? You deserve better than that.
