Tend to the Tender

"If you want a child to be functioning well, tend to the person who's tending the child." I recently read this quote by Suniya Luthar, PhD, in the September 2017 issue of Monitor on Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological Association. I think it's a great quote to start off the academic year with.

I have written about this before (in fact, twice before: here and here). But it bears repeating: Caring for people is exhausting, demanding work. It requires a whole list of skills.

• self-control

• empathy

• patience

• selflessness

• presence

• awareness

• intelligence

• discipline

• understanding

• curiosity

• grit

Utilizing these "soft skills" day after day can take a hard toll on caregivers. Because "soft skills" tend to be taken for granted, especially in caregivers, especially in female caregivers, there often is very little recognition of this hard toll. But it's there, and neglect of it can easily lead to burnout.

Teachers are caregivers. They are tenders (and many of them are also tender). They are crucial developmental partners to precious growing human beings. Their job as developmental partner demands the above soft skills (and more), and the above soft skills demand support. I wish all of you teachers reading this the wherewithal to get that support for yourself. Get tended to!

If you need ideas about how, look here and — get ready — here.