WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE TEACHING?
Teaching may be the toughest job you'll ever love. This perhaps explain why the teacher turnover rate is at an all-time high nationally and why 1 in 6 Colorado teachers leaves the profession in the first five years. So if you're feeling burned out as a teacher, you're not alone.
Despite the challenges, CSUWP teachers still love teaching deep down. So for the past four years, communities of educators participating in the Institute for Sustainable Teaching have been researching how to stay in the profession. Together, we've developed a theory called "sustainable teaching."
Download a copy of the definition.
Despite the challenges, CSUWP teachers still love teaching deep down. So for the past four years, communities of educators participating in the Institute for Sustainable Teaching have been researching how to stay in the profession. Together, we've developed a theory called "sustainable teaching."
Download a copy of the definition.
Sustainable teaching is the process of fostering self-compassion and renewal in educators
who support the growth and development of students in turn.
Sustainable teaching puts educators first
with the goal of creating an inclusive, collaborative community.
Animated by a commitment to equity, advocacy, and hope,
sustainable teaching offers an integrated approach to education
where all participants can thrive.
who support the growth and development of students in turn.
Sustainable teaching puts educators first
with the goal of creating an inclusive, collaborative community.
Animated by a commitment to equity, advocacy, and hope,
sustainable teaching offers an integrated approach to education
where all participants can thrive.
Components of sustainable teaching include:
- Acknowledging and embracing our own vulnerability
- Recognizing limits and stressors, then setting boundaries so that we can attend to our bodies and maintain our emotional well-being
- Developing a repertoire of mindfulness practices and actually using them to build personal resilience and professional longevity
- Cultivating self-compassion and a gracious mindset toward others
- Creating and protecting space for self-care, play, and joy
- Creating and actively participating in a support system for personal and professional growth
- Uniting as advocates to promote equity and access for all educators and learners
- Building relationships with allies who will advocate on our behalf and help us locate and leverage resources to enable our professional longevity
- Modeling for all stakeholders, including our students, how to live and work sustainably
Interested in learning more about sustainable teaching?
- Attend the National Writing Project Rocky Mountain Regional Conference, "Mind, Body, and Soul: Sustainable Teaching, in (Post-) Pandemic Times" will be held June 11-13, 2021. Find out more about this virtual conference with an experiential twist at the conference website here. -- Registration deadline: Fri., May 28.
- Want some resources to sustain your own practice? Click here.
- Want to hear what teachers are saying about sustainable teaching? Check out these testimonials and brief video interviews.
- Want to read more about sustainable teaching in action? Take a look at these posts on the CSUWP blog.