WIN: What I Need ~ Teachers!

Teachers! It’s that time of year.

You’ve been working diligently to collect all sorts of data on your students.

You’ve done the testing. You’ve listened to them read. You’ve watched them work. You’ve analyzed data with your team and your PLC. You’ve looked at the numbers, studied the results, identified strengths, noticed gaps, and determined what each student needs next.

And now…

It’s time to form WIN groups. “What I Need.”

You’re forming intervention groups to begin closing gaps and getting your students what they need to be successful. And you are so good at this! Congratulations on getting it done by your given deadlines and getting those small groups, those WIN groups… up and running.

That is a huge accomplishment!

Now everyone is on board, ready to roll out all the amazing extra learning and support that will help your students grow. You’ve done your job. You’ve collected the data. You’ve analyzed the data. You’ve identified the needs. You’ve made the plan.

But…

What about you?

How are you doing? How is your energy level? How is your attitude and spirit? How are you doing with your boundaries? How are you doing with the emails, the replies, the meetings, the interruptions, and all the tasks that keep getting added to your plate?

How are you eating? Hydrating? Are you getting some movement or workouts into your week? How is your joy? Your peace? Your patience? Your self-control? How are your relationships outside of school? How are you sleeping?

And perhaps the most important question…

How are you, really? Teachers, are you taking care of yourself with the same intentionality that you are taking care of your students?

Because here’s the thing. You are incredibly skilled at looking at a child and recognizing what they need. You notice. You assess. You analyze. You intervene. You create a plan. You find resources. You adjust. You try again. You don't give up on them. But why is it so hard for us to do the same thing for ourselves?

Why do we so easily recognize that a student needs rest, nourishment, encouragement, movement, connection, support, or a safe place to process, and yet somehow convince ourselves that we can keep going without those very same things?

Teachers, you cannot continually serve from an empty, burned-out tank. You need things, too.

So…

How about collecting some data on yourselves? Take a good, honest look at your day. Look at your needs. Look at your health. Look at your mind, body, soul, and spirit. Collect some data. Then analyze it.

Where are you strong?

Where are you empty?

What is healthy?

What is not?

Where are you flourishing?

Where are you simply surviving?

What needs attention?

What needs to change?

And then ask yourself:

What I Need: WIN.  

What do I need to be healthy?

What do I need to be joy-filled?

What do I need to be at peace?

What do I need to be restored?

What do I need to be rested?

What do I need to feel mentally together?

What do I need to be still?

What do I need to remain rooted?

And then…

Make a WIN plan. Yes, teachers. You need a WIN plan, too.

Maybe you do this alone. Maybe you do it with your teacher team. Maybe you do it with your spouse or family. Maybe you find a friend who will ask you the hard questions and lovingly hold you accountable. However you choose to do it, make a plan! Not another plan for your students. Not another plan for your classroom.

A plan for you.

Because you matter. Your health matters. Your joy matters. Your peace matters. Your relationships matter. Your rest matters. Your soul matters. And taking care of yourself isn't selfish. It isn't a weakness. It isn't something you earn after you've finished taking care of everyone else. It is part of how God designed us to live and function well.

Even Jesus withdrew. Even Jesus rested. Even Jesus made space to be alone with His Father. So perhaps this season of WIN groups can become a little reminder for you.

As you look at your students and ask, “What do they need?”

Pause long enough to ask yourself: “What do I need?”

And then don't just collect the data. Do something with it.

Make the plan. Honor the need. Take the step. Let someone help you. Let yourself rest. Let yourself receive. Let the Gardener tend the soil of your soul.

Teachers… What is your WIN plan? What I Need.

Maybe it's time to find out.

Happy data collecting, analyzing, identifying, and making YOUR plan!  ❤️❤️❤️