Mindfulness for teachers: managing expectations over the holidays

Amy Malloy
Amy Malloy
A teacher holding books in a classroom

Mindfulness and your routine

In the run-up to the holidays, it is common to feel like your routine has completely broken down, especially when you¡¯re not giving classes or working at school. The holidays also often bring with them lots of people, family, and excitement. That sometimes means we also experience fluctuating emotions, stress and the feeling that everything should be perfect.

On top of this, shops and social media are filled with advertising ¨C and there¡¯s definitely more ¡®stuff¡¯ to buy. In addition, we can see messages telling us we need to feel ¡®merry¡¯ and ¡®bright¡¯ wherever we look. Even the popular greeting, ¡®Merry Christmas¡¯, can sometimes feel less of a greeting and more of an instruction.

Sometimes it feels like the people around us expect us to always feel happy and joyful over the holiday season. This is fine if we do feel merry, but we will always have ups and downs. If you don¡¯t feel happy, for whatever reason, it can feel even harder than it might at times where there is less expectation all around us.

Overcoming the challenge

Finding a way to introduce mindfulness into the holiday season can be a wonderful way for us to understand our emotions at this time of year. It will help you think about your expectations and let you find a moment to pause to accept whatever the reality actually is.

Here are some quick and easy ways to find some ¡®you¡¯ time and keep checking in with how you¡¯re feeling. These are also tips you can try with children in the classroom and for yourself at home to keep yourself on track.

3-minute body scan

Find a quiet moment. This may be in the few minutes after you wake up or go to bed, during break time, or even at the start of a lesson.

  • Notice the contact of your feet with the floor. Notice the sounds around you in the room.
  • Take three deep breaths and notice how they feel.
  • Scan down the body in your mind from the top of your head all the way down to your toes. Observe what you notice about your body with an air of curiosity ¨C look for any tension, discomfort or comfort. Also, notice if there are any expectations you have of that day or moment. See if you can simply notice them and set them aside. This curiosity helps us stay detached from what we notice so we can just observe.
  • Take three more deep breaths, and carry on.

2-minute notebook

Writing something down can be a wonderfully mindful exercise. Have a stack of post-its or a little notebook on your desk or bedside table. You could encourage your students to do the same.

1. Pick a point in your day. It could be at the start of each day, the start of each lesson, or just before bed. Each day, at that time, take a moment to write down three:

  • good things that have happened in your day
  • things that felt challenging
  • things you feel grateful and thankful for.

2. Review your notes every now and again during the holiday period. This will give you a sense of your shifts of mood and energy that might have occurred.

Noticing something you feel grateful for has been shown to .

1-minute cupboard pause

When things feel over-stimulating, find a quiet space just for a minute. Even if it¡¯s in a cupboard!

STOP: notice the contact of your feet with the floor.
BREATHE: take ten deep breaths, breathing in for a count of four and out for a count of six.
WATCH: watch each breath coming and going from the nose or chest or belly. Observe what your thoughts and feelings are doing. Allow them to sit without needing to respond.

Then head back into the area you were in.

I hope these tips help you to navigate the festive season without expectation and with curiosity for what each moment holds along the way.

Remember that the holiday days you celebrate are really just normal days. It¡¯s simply that expectations have changed, and what¡¯s more, everyone¡¯s expectations will be different.

Simply taking time to notice this can make a massive difference to the pressure we put on ourselves. Releasing this pressure can even lead to more enjoyment overall ¨C so why don¡¯t you try it and see?

Read our posts 'Understanding and managing technostress' and 'How to reduce anxiety using to-do lists'.

Check out our GSE teaching resources

More blogs from ɫèAV

  • A teacher showing her students a globe, with her students looking at the globe, one with a magnifying glass in hand.

    What¡¯s it like to teach English in Turkey?

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Alice Pilkington qualified as a CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certified teacher in October 2009. She started working in Rome before moving to Istanbul, where she¡¯s spent the past three and a half years teaching English to ¡°everyone from 8-year-olds to company executives; students to bored housewives¡±. Having taught in two very different countries to a diverse range of English learners, Alice shares with us the five lessons she¡¯s learned:

    1. Don't take things personally when you're teaching English

    "I am probably not emotionally suited for this job. I take everything very personally and if a lesson goes wrong or an activity I have taken time and energy to plan doesn¡¯t work, I feel like a complete failure. It¡¯s a trial and error experience but when things go wrong, they can go very wrong, and it really makes you doubt your abilities as a teacher.

    Having said that, the lessons that do go well can make up for these negative feelings. I shouldn¡¯t take things personally; the majority of my colleagues don¡¯t and it saves them a lot of sleepless nights"

    2. Teaching English is incredibly rewarding

    "There are very few feelings that I¡¯ve experienced that compare to seeing a student use a word that you have taught them ¨C it makes you feel like a proud parent. Equally, seeing a student improve over a series of months is so joyful.?I have been teaching English university preparation students for the past year.

    In September, they could barely say what their name was and what they did over the weekend. Nine months on and they¡¯re capable of reading academic texts and speaking at length about marketing strategies and environmental problems. It¡¯s a wonderful thing to observe"

    3. Teach more than just English

    "Turkish students love hearing about how you appreciate their food and cultural traditions. Equally, they are genuinely interested in understanding how things operate in the UK and enjoy hearing personal anecdotes.?I tend to be very open with my students ¨C even about my personal life.?I think it is partly because I have striven from the very beginning of my career to be seen as their equal.

    Turkish students are used to having a huge respect for teachers, and there is a hierarchical system in schools here, which I can never go along with. In my first lesson with most students, I tell them that they must call me by my first name (usually you refer to teachers here as ¡®hocam¡¯ which means ¡®my teacher¡¯ and shows respect) and this can take a long while for them to get used to."

    4. Failure to prepare is to prepare for failure... or is it?

    "Lessons that you spend hours preparing for generally don¡¯t go as well as you had hoped. There were several times when I¡¯d spend hours cutting and sticking things on pieces of card and placing pictures all over the classroom, hoping it would get some vocabulary action going, only to start the class and receive no response from the students.

    Conversely, lessons where you don¡¯t feel very motivated or have no idea what you are going to do until you get into the classroom (which I call the ¡®flying by the seat of your pants¡¯ lessons) can turn out to be the best ones. I once had a lesson in which I was, admittedly, rather hungover. On the way to the lesson, I grabbed a book called ¡®Taboos and Issues¡¯, full of discussion topics, which I used as a basis for a rather impromptu lesson on addictions, which was very successful indeed."

    5. Teaching English isn't easy

    "Teaching English is a love/hate profession. There are weeks when you absolutely loathe it and want to quit, but then within the space of a lesson or two, you get inspired by something completely unexpected, rediscover your joy for it and love it again."

  • A woman stood outside in a square holding a map smiling

    3 traveling tips your English dictionary won¡¯t teach you

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Traveling to a new country is a wonderful way to practice your English skills, but sometimes speaking English in a foreign country can be a little daunting¡ªand an can only help so much. That¡¯s why we¡¯re sharing these three traveling tips: try them the next time you travel to an English-speaking country. They¡¯re sure to make communicating in English with others more interesting and fun.

    Learn how to ¡°break the ice¡±

    While you¡¯re exploring, you¡¯ll likely come across strangers you might want to ¡°break the ice¡± with or speak to. A simple ¡°hi¡± or ¡°hello¡± along with telling them where you¡¯re from is a great way to start a conversation.? Next, ask them for ¡°insider tips¡± about their city, like their favorite places to visit or not-to-be-missed restaurants.

    If they seem friendly and are willing to share more information, make sure you ask for their name and use it when asking more questions. Most people appreciate it when others call them by their names in conversation.

    Learn how to ask people for help

    It's normal to get lost during your trip, but don't worry. Most English-speaking countries will have tourist centers near popular destinations with trained staff who can help you with any questions.

    If you can¡¯t find a tourist center quickly enough, approach a friendly-looking person (students with backpacks are a pretty safe bet) and use the skills that you¡¯ve already learned about approaching new people. You can include additional questions like ¡°I¡¯m lost, could you help me?¡± or ¡°Do you know where I can find _________?¡± to let them know that you need their help. It¡¯s also not uncommon for strangers to come up to you, especially when you¡¯re carrying a map and look lost, to ask if you need help finding your way.

    Learn to express gratitude

    You will likely want to thank many people during your travels, like the new friends who just helped you when you were lost¡ªand there are many ways to express gratitude.

    Saying ¡°thanks¡± or ¡°thanks so much¡± is an informal form of ¡°thank you¡± in many English-speaking countries. You can also add the phrase ¡°I appreciate it¡± or say ¡°Thank you. I really appreciate your help¡± if the person you are thanking did something really special for you, like helping you out with directions.

    For some people, talking to someone you don¡¯t know can be a little scary, especially in a second language. But don¡¯t worry?¡ª most people will be pretty responsive to you. In fact, many people welcome visitors to their cities with open arms, just remember to be polite and have a smile on your face when approaching them.

  • A woman sat on a sofa smiling reading a book

    11 fascinating facts about English

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    English is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, but how much do you know about the language? Here are 11 facts about English?that you might not know.