TEACHERS ARE FAT....
Sharpening your knives as you begin to read this I bet- another bully coming along to make fun of people who are overweight...
According to an article from Food and Nutrition Journal on April of 2018 the problem is serious.
As a principal that is now carrying my Quarantine 15 I am fat too... and over my years as a school leader I have noticed a body type that tends to appear- it is a teacher shape... not unlike the picture from Wally Above.
Here is an exerpt from the article I read:
Results indicated that 43.2% of the teachers had Grade I obesity, 20.4% had Grade II obesity and 6.6% had Grade III obesity thereby indicating obesity as a significant health problem among teachers. Factors such as age, waist circumference, intake of junk foods, physical inactivity and BMI were significantly associated with obesity.
Journal Website:www.foodandnutritionjournal.org
So do we sit back and notice but do nothing?
Teachers- on the front lines for our children... fighting for the future of our community. Their words ignite dreams and instill courage and grit. They are truly heroes... and this is not all their fault.
So here are some proactive things to consider...
IF YOU ARE A NEW TEACHER: You are important. YOU are important. Make time for your health. don't let the stresses of our tremendous work load take you away from investing time in your health. Our work is like a sponge... it will take all the time you give it. You can work until 10PM get up early and work all weekend... and never get it all done. Look around your building for a veteran- maybe ten years in or more... that still has a smile on their face. Usually they will have smile wrinkles... and make sure they are not using drugs to get that smile! For me- Mrs. Sharp and Mrs. Freihheit were the examples of joyful teaching when I was in my first year. I will give ou some of my tips too if you reach out... just know this... set a time when work shuts off. Then invest in a walk, job, aerobics class... you need to sweat and get your heart pumping every day.
IF YOU ARE An OVERWEIGHT TEACHER: Breath. Start small. If you can't jog- walk. YOU ARE WORTH IT- spend some time investing in yourself. I know you give all you can for your kids- spending your pennies on stuff for the classrooms and giving countless hours... I know babysitters make more than you per hour. I KNOW. But maybe the airlines have it right when they give us the preflight speech. In the case of a sudden loss of cabin pressure- put your mask on first. You are so important to the fabric of our nation. So here are some tips... get a solid mental health provider/counselor and for the first two months see them weekly. Often times food is a way we numb the pains we carry. Set up a class or a buddy to walk with daily. There are tricks to getting grades and such more efficiently so you can have more time for yourself. Set up your vacations early- so you can invest in your mental health. You are loved- believe that.
IF YOU ARE a DISTRICT or SCHOOL LEADER: Obese teachers have higher rates of heart disease and other bad things. You are charged with taking care of those who work for you- though I have found many leaders in my career to be heartless and only concern themselves with covering their own asses- you need to pay attention. The system is creating conditions that lead to burnout, teacher depression, and obesity. What can you do/ What can I do?
1. Sit down with a team and reflect. What have you done? What is next? If you see the teachers as your family... how would you look at this? Whatever it takes.
2. List resources. Perhaps you utilize your high school gyms better and offer staff a membership to work out there- with incentives for the times they come in.
3. Hire a district health advisor- programmer. In your benefits- provide nutrition and dietary experts that can build personalized meal plans.
4. Increase benefits for staff to include a membership to health clubs and adequate funds for staff to access counseling.
5. Create calendars with two week long Fall and Spring Breaks. shut emails down over weekends. Create margin and time to breathe.
6. Reduce pressure on state testing results and increase the focus on student learning... create leagues for staff to play volleyball, ride bikes, and softball.
7. Create staff trainings that include laughter- joy- and fun. Life is short.
8. Break up central office and house departments in buildings requiring everyone to spend time with teachers in classrooms- grounding them in the hardest work in the district.
9. Provide mentor training for all building administrators- get them HIGHLY skilled at caring for their teachers and staff. Create a structure for these interactions- push principals to build relationships of high quality.
10. Reduce evening events- provide child care- find a way to pay teachers for the stuff they buy out of pocket. As a school leader that means looking for ways to increase classroom budgets.
11. Increase recognition frequency and capacity. Why do teachers only gt to recognize one teacher of the year... Why can't we do better than this. The Oscars, Grammy's, Writer's Guild and even Nobel give more than one award per year.
It is certainly not an exhaustive list but the bottom line is how much do you love your teachers? They don't have any hesitation in giving their all for our children so I think they deserve for us to give our all for them.
As I drink my water, catch my breath from my latest walk/jog or Wog... and reflect on what I can do next... I am wishing you all the best and hope at least one person has inspiration to make a life change and get your heart healthy in more ways than one...
M
