What Teachers Need

Most books on teacher well-being are about what teachers need to do—whereas this book specifies what teachers need from their supporters and settings to heal from the harms of their profession and thrive.

What Teachers Need offers practical guidance to principals, district leaders, teacher educators, and professional development facilitators—all who create the conditions for K–12 teacher wellness.

Social emotional learning (SEL) is widely embraced for students, but the education community has yet to practice what it preaches for the adults. Each chapter in this timely book shares innovative approaches to infuse care and humanization into teacher preparation, professional learning, and school buildings, intentionally exploring non-dominant perspectives on SEL. By investing in the health and happiness of educators, we not only empower them to thrive, but also lay the foundation for positive ripple effects on students, schools, and the broader education system. This book is a must-read for educators and anyone who supports them.

Book Features:

• Goes beyond traditional models of self-help with stories and scholarship that focus on personal and community healing.
• Offers an antidote to teachers’ disappointment regarding the next professional development fad that’s out of touch with their lived realities.
• Describes relevant practices and processes for teachers, school leaders, and teacher preparation faculty that can be tailored to their unique education context.
• Examines how innovators and disruptors in SEL, critical studies in teacher education, coaching, and professional development are actively helping educators create equitable and nurturing classrooms.

Amanda Moreno and Jeanette Banashak are faculty members at Erikson Institute. They co-developed and co-lead Erikson’s degree, certificate, professional development, and research programs in social and emotional learning (SEL), with a focus on creating wellness and liberatory learning spaces from early childhood to higher education.

“In What Teachers Need, Moreno and Banashak bring attention to the critical importance of teacher well-being in shaping outcomes for students, schools, families, and communities. This insightfully edited volume offers a rich collection of perspectives and innovative models for nurturing the well-being and quality of teachers everywhere. This book serves as a timely and essential resource for anyone invested in the future of education.”
—Mark T. Greenberg, emeritus professor, human development and family studies, founding director, Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Penn State University

“In a profoundly challenging time for educators, this collection is a critical reminder that healing the profession begins with honoring the humanity of those who teach as we work towards sustainable systemic change. Every chapter of this book felt like a gift I wanted to lift out and send to my friends and my own kids' teachers!"
—Kate Zinsser, professor of psychology, University of Illinois Chicago, and author of No Longer Welcome: The Epidemic of Expulsion from Early Childhood Education

“What a relief! What Teachers Need centers the systems and conditions that influence educators’ capacity to be well, fully human, and to do good work in schools. This edited book reflects a ‘professional learning community’ by honoring and representing a range of educational leaders with different vantage points, approaches, and perspectives—all exploring how we might heal and transform the profession and, ultimately, the communities we serve.”
—Amy L. Eva, associate education director, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley

“What Teachers Need delivers an urgent and compassionate reminder that our nation’s teachers serve as first responders to the ripple effects of society’s collective traumas—without sufficient time, resources, or support. With a rich blend of insight and hope, this book offers powerful visions for the future of the profession and will inspire readers to join in envisioning a path forward.”
—Shannon Wanless, associate professor and director of the University Center for Social and Urban Research, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh

Contents

Preface: The Embers of Change vii

Amanda Moreno and Jeanette Banashak

Acknowledgments xi

1. They Didn’t Start the Fire: Why It’s Time to Focus on the Grown-Ups 1

Amanda Moreno

Part I: Come Closer: Healing Teaching Through Acts of Radical Professional Intimacy

2. Unconditional Positive Regard: Practicing a Different World 13

Alex Shevrin Venet

3. Unlocking HEART Potential: Nurturing Educators for a Joyful and Purposeful Life 22

Lorea Martínez

4. Good Grief: A Case for Queering Teachers’ Gender- and Sexual Diversity-Focused Professional Learning 32

Sara Staley

5. Dialogic Inquiry as Care: Healing Early Years Educators With Professional Learning About Multicultural Education 43

Eseta Tualaulelei

Part II: Beyond Cultural Affinity: Healing Teaching by and for Teachers of Color

6. Community Cultural Healing in Teaching and Teacher Education: Rooted in Plática, Growing in Justice 57

Mariana Souto-Manning, Jessica Martell, and Benelly Álvarez

7. Black Educators Healing Together: The Power of Homeplace 68

Micia Mosely

8. Who Cares for the Carers? A Holistic Approach to Teacher Well-Being in a Tribal Head Start Context 79

Hilary Gourneau, Teresa N. Brockie, and Deborah H. Wilson

9. Healing Teaching With the Power of Language and Cultural Connection: Alzando Mi Voz, Cultivando Identidad 90

Ivette Marlenne Alvarez and Rebeca Itzkowich

Part III: Expansive SEL: Healing Leadership and Humanizing Systems

10. Preparing SEL Systems to Sustain (and Support!) Educators 103

Addison Duane, Ashley N. Metzger, Kamryn S. Morris, Mai Xi Lee, Brent Malicote, and Valerie B. Shapiro

11. Caring for Educators by Addressing Their Psychological Needs: Recommendations for Policies and Systems 111

Patricia A. Jennings and Tara Hofkens

12. The Role of the Superintendent in Systemic and Transformative SEL: Toward Critical Well-Being 123

Mai Xi Lee and Roberto Rivera

13. Healing by Principals, Healing for Principals: A Conversation With Maurice Swinney 134

Amanda Moreno and Maurice Swinney

Part IV: Healing Teaching Through Inner and Outer Harmony: Self, Others, Earth

14. Peace Education as a Path to Healing in Crisis-Affected Regions 145

Dody Wibowo

15. Healing Teaching and the Earth Through Nature Companionship 155

Jeanette Banashak

16. Dismantling Toxic “Professionalism” to Liberate Schools and Ignite Healing 166

Kamilah Drummond

17. Healing the Givers: Addressing the Link Between Emotional Labor and the Feminization of the Teaching Profession 175

Alexander Enrique Parker

Conclusion: Healing Teaching, Healing Ourselves: A Conversation With Amanda and Jeanette 186

Jeanette Banashak and Amanda Moreno

Index 195