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How do we cultivate resilience in an inequitable system?

By Sarah Young
Categories: Advocacy/policy, Reaching all students, Social & emotional learning, Teacher leadership
June 2023
As an instructional coach and leader, I would be wealthy if I had a dollar for each time I heard an educator describe physical and emotional exhaustion due to systemic breakdowns that have occurred since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Struggling with staffing shortages and intensified student needs, educators need resilience practices (Young, 2022). Yet what does it mean to ask people to be resilient in a dehumanizing and inequitable system that doesn’t provide them with adequate funding, resources, or respect? How do we balance self-care with demands for changes to the systems that cause the stress in the first place? Just as importantly, how do we ensure that the steps we take are equitable and honor the voices and perspectives of all educators,

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References

Aguilar, E. (2020). Coaching for equity: Conversations that change practice. John Wiley & Sons.

Edwards, T. [@tracyrenee70]. (2022, March 22). Sat through a webinar on teacher resilience & was asked to share my thoughts. [Tweet]. Twitter. twitter.com/tracyrenee70/status/1498812420239675392?s=20

Gorelik, K. (2022, March 4). YES. Teachers don’t need to be resilient; schools need to be more human. WeAreTeachers. www.weareteachers.com/teacher-resiliency-stop/

Psychology Today. (2022, March 30). Toxic positivity. Author.

Walters, Kimberly. (2022). Personal correspondence about BIPOC educators and SEL, October 20. Walters Educational Group LLC.


Sarah Young

Sarah Young ([email protected]) is a consultant and coach to schools, districts, and educator support programs.


Categories: Advocacy/policy, Reaching all students, Social & emotional learning, Teacher leadership

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