How High School Teachers Can Incorporate Self-Care Lesson Plans into Their Curriculum

How High School Teachers Can Incorporate Self-Care Lesson Plans into Their Curriculum

As a high school teacher, your job isn’t just to teach academics. You’re also responsible for the well-being of students under your care. Overworking and stressing themselves out has become a common phenomenon among high school students.

Not only can it negatively affect students’ grades, but it can also affect their physical and mental health. It’s imperative that high school teachers incorporate self-care lesson plans into their curriculum to address this issue.

What is self-care, and why is it important?

Self-care is any activity that an individual does to take care of their physical, mental, and emotional health. It’s essential in maintaining a proper work-life balance, reducing stress and increasing happiness levels.

Teaching students how to take care of themselves is a crucial life skill that can help them succeed in various aspects of life, including academics, relationships, and their career.

Incorporating self-care lesson plans into the curriculum

Here are three ways teachers can incorporate self-care lesson plans into their curriculum:

1. Integrating self-care in lessons: Teachers can use topics relevant to self-care, such as stress management, mindfulness, healthy eating or sleeping habits in their lesson plans. It can be a 10-minute exercise or a full lesson depending on the subject matter.

Example: In a creative writing class, teachers can have students write a poem, song, or story that expresses how they manage stress.

2. Devote a school day to self-care: Teachers can take a day out of the school year to focus on self-care. It could be an individual or group activity that encourages students to reflect on and practice self-care.

Example: Schools, with institutional support and funds, could organize an art or music therapy workshop that can help students relax.

3. Provide resources: Teachers can have self-care resources readily available to students in the classroom or through the school’s website. This could include meditation apps, self-care blogs, podcasts or books that help manage stress.

Example: If a student is facing anxiety or depression, a teacher could provide them with a list of support resources, such as websites for counselling services and mental health helplines.

Conclusion

Incorporating self-care lesson plans into your curriculum can benefit both students and teachers. High school students need guidance on how to take care of themselves physically, mentally and emotionally to succeed academically and in life. By providing them with self-care resources and activities, teachers can create a healthy learning environment that promotes academic achievement and overall well-being.