Most books on teacher well-being are about what teachers need to dowhereas this book specifies what teachers need from their supporters and settings to heal from the harms of their profession and thrive.
What Teachers Need offers practical guidance to principals, district leaders, teacher educators, and professional development facilitatorsall who create the conditions for K12 teacher wellness.
Social emotional learning (SEL) is widely embraced for students, but the education community has yet to practice what it preaches for the adults. Each chapter in this timely book shares innovative approaches to infuse care and humanization into teacher preparation, professional learning, and school buildings, intentionally exploring non-dominant perspectives on SEL. By investing in the health and happiness of educators, we not only empower them to thrive, but also lay the foundation for positive ripple effects on students, schools, and the broader education system. This book is a must-read for educators and anyone who supports them.
Book Features:
Goes beyond traditional models of self-help with stories and scholarship that focus on personal and community healing. Offers an antidote to teachers disappointment regarding the next professional development fad thats out of touch with their lived realities. Describes relevant practices and processes for teachers, school leaders, and teacher preparation faculty that can be tailored to their unique education context. Examines how innovators and disruptors in SEL, critical studies in teacher education, coaching, and professional development are actively helping educators create equitable and nurturing classrooms.
Contents
Preface: The Embers of Change
vii
Amanda Moreno and Jeanette Banashak
Acknowledgments
xi
1. They Didnt Start the Fire: Why Its Time to Focus on the Grown-Ups
1
Amanda Moreno
Part I: Come Closer: Healing Teaching Through Acts of Radical Professional
Intimacy
2. Unconditional Positive Regard: Practicing a Different World
13
Alex Shevrin Venet
3. Unlocking HEART Potential: Nurturing Educators for a Joyful and
Purposeful Life 22
Lorea Martínez
4. Good Grief: A Case for Queering Teachers Gender- and Sexual
Diversity-Focused Professional Learning 32
Sara Staley
5. Dialogic Inquiry as Care: Healing Early Years Educators With
Professional Learning About Multicultural Education 43
Eseta Tualaulelei
Part II: Beyond Cultural Affinity: Healing Teaching by and for Teachers of
Color
6. Community Cultural Healing in Teaching and Teacher Education: Rooted
in Plática, Growing in Justice 57
Mariana Souto-Manning, Jessica Martell, and Benelly Álvarez
7. Black Educators Healing Together: The Power of Homeplace
68
Micia Mosely
8. Who Cares for the Carers? A Holistic Approach to Teacher Well-Being in
a Tribal Head Start Context 79
Hilary Gourneau, Teresa N. Brockie, and Deborah H. Wilson
9. Healing Teaching With the Power of Language and Cultural Connection:
Alzando Mi Voz, Cultivando Identidad 90
Ivette Marlenne Alvarez and Rebeca Itzkowich
Part III: Expansive SEL: Healing Leadership and Humanizing Systems
10. Preparing SEL Systems to Sustain (and Support!) Educators
103
Addison Duane, Ashley N. Metzger, Kamryn S. Morris, Mai Xi Lee, Brent
Malicote, and Valerie B. Shapiro
11. Caring for Educators by Addressing Their Psychological Needs:
Recommendations for Policies and Systems 111
Patricia A. Jennings and Tara Hofkens
12. The Role of the Superintendent in Systemic and Transformative SEL:
Toward Critical Well-Being 123
Mai Xi Lee and Roberto Rivera
13. Healing by Principals, Healing for Principals: A Conversation With
Maurice Swinney 134
Amanda Moreno and Maurice Swinney
Part IV: Healing Teaching Through Inner and Outer Harmony: Self, Others,
Earth
14. Peace Education as a Path to Healing in Crisis-Affected Regions
145
Dody Wibowo
15. Healing Teaching and the Earth Through Nature Companionship
155
Jeanette Banashak
16. Dismantling Toxic Professionalism to Liberate Schools and Ignite
Healing 166
Kamilah Drummond
17. Healing the Givers: Addressing the Link Between Emotional Labor and the
Feminization of the Teaching Profession 175
Alexander Enrique Parker
Conclusion: Healing Teaching, Healing Ourselves: A Conversation With
Amanda and Jeanette 186
Jeanette Banashak and Amanda Moreno
Index 195
About the Editors and Contributors 205
Amanda Moreno and Jeanette Banashak are faculty members at Erikson Institute. They co-developed and co-lead Eriksons degree, certificate, professional development, and research programs in social and emotional learning (SEL), with a focus on creating wellness and liberatory learning spaces from early childhood to higher education.
