11
Dcthe washington post
.
thursday, march19
,
2020Wellness
BY HELEN CAREFOOTTe aching young children in-
volves a lot of patience, kindness
— and energy. Grace Slobodzian,
30, has been teaching for six years
at KIPP DC Connect Academy, a
charter school in the District: two
in pre-K and now four in kinder-
garten. She decided to make
teaching her career after complet-
ing AmeriCorps’ City Year pro-
gram, which places recent college
graduates in schools in high-need
communities. “ I had a really great
mentor while I was there, and
watching her every day inspired
me to get into teaching, especially
at the early-childhood level,” she
said. Here’s how she takes care of
herself so she can be a model for
her students in class and out.
Q: How do you apply your
concept of wellness to your job?
A: So much of my day is
interacting with students and
being a model for how to take
care of yourself. We work a lot on
their social-emotional skills and
developing their ability to handle
strong emotions. I try to live in a
way so I’m my best in front of my
students in terms of teaching,
and then outside of that, I’m
trying to live with integrity and
be able to stand by the choices
that I make.
Q: Kindergartners have big
emotions. How do you deal with
that?
A: I always try to keep in mind
that I’m the adult in the room.
I’m in control of my emotions
and how I respond to students. I
can’t control how a student
responds, but I can respond in a
way that’s going to make them
feel valued and like they belong,
so when they do make mistakes
or need to calm down, they still
feel loved and welcome. I view
my role as a coach; I’m coaching
them through how to manage
when they’re angry or upset in a
way that’s appropriate and
productive.
Q: What’s your school-day
routine?
A: I wake up around 4:30 or
5 a.m. and go for a run around my
neighborhood for about
30 minutes or an hour. I get
ready for school and look
through the day’s lesson plans. I
get to school a little before 7 a.m.,
about 30 or 40 minutes before
the school day starts, so I can set
up my classroom. The kids come
around 7:45 a.m., and a lot of
them will eat the breakfast that
we provide here. I bring a little
container of cereal or a sandwich
on an English muffin to eat
alongside them. Then we’re in
the classroom pretty much all
day. T he kids go outside for
recess every morning, and I love
to run around with them and
play tag or basketball and watch
them do the monkey bars.
During their nap, I eat my lunch
or do prep work or meetings. The
kids are picked up by 4:15 p.m.
Some days, I volunteer with the
school’s soccer and basketball
clubs. I played sports growing up,
and this is a way to see the kids
outside of the school day and
start them on a journey of
working on a team and modeling
a healthy, active lifestyle. Other
days, I have meetings after school
and prep work, and then I
usually go to a fitness class
around 6 or 7 p.m. with some
colleagues and friends. I try to go
twice during the week and twice
on weekends, and I take a variety
of classes, such as barre and spin.
I eat dinner and get home and
watch some TV or read.Q: What do you like to eat?
A: For lunches, it’s some sort of
grain with vegetables and a
protein, such as chicken or tofu.
For dinners, I usually make a
salad with a bunch of add-ins,
such as roasted vegetables, fish,
eggs or cheeses. About twice a
month, I make pasta from
scratch. I started when I movedto Washington because I find it
very calming. I usually make
spaghetti or fettuccine, but I play
around with the sauce. I don’t
really snack, but on the way to
my fitness class, I’ll have a
peanut butter and jelly sandwich
or a granola bar.Q: What do you do to unwind?
A: I love watching professional
basketball, and I’m always
rooting for the Washington
Wizards, so if there’s a good game
on, I’ll watch. I wanted to be
more intentional about reading
outside of prep, so I spend about
an hour reading three different
things: a scholarly article or
professional text related to
teaching; articles in the paper
that aren’t daily news; and fun
reading, such as a good book. I
found myself falling into a place
where I was only reading for
school, and I was banking
reading for school breaks. I
wanted to do it more throughout
the year. I want to keep being a
student myself.Q: How do you deal with the
physical challenges of being a
kindergarten teacher?
A: I spend my day on chairs
designed for 3-, 4- and 5-year-
olds. Stretching is an important
part of making sure my back
doesn’t hurt, especially fromrunning. At school, we do a lot of
movement breaks throughout
the day; as a class, we’ll do a yoga
video together or a stretching
routine. I use a foam roller closer
to bed to relax my muscles. I feel
like I feed off my kids’ energy
throughout the day; with this age
group, you’re doing something
different every 10 minutes, so
you’re moving the whole day. I’m
able to reset myself and get my
energy up in the middle of the
day during breaks.Q: How do you talk to your
students about current e vents,
some of which can be quite
stressful?
A: It’s not necessarily my place to
say, “Here’s e verything you need
to know about this,” but we’re
there to hear them and clarify or
have a conversation with the
parents and open up
communication. Rather than
explaining things to them, I see
my role more as listening to their
concerns and responding to them
and making sure they feel valued.Q: How do you avoid getting
sick? Has your routine changed
at all because of the coronavirus?
A: We’re always wiping down our
classroom and always making
sure our students are using soap
and hand sanitizer. [A school
spokesperson said that studentsare learning remotely.] I think in
the first year of teaching you’re
trying to figure out how best to
take care of yourself, and you’re
maybe putting in more hours, so
I think people get sick a lot more.
I haven’t missed a day in the past
two years. Having a set exercise
routine and prepping healthy
meals helps me make sure I’m
getting everything I need.
I can be pretty responsive to
my needs, because I have those
consistent routines; I’ve already
set up all my routines during the
day to make sure my work is
done, so if I need to leave right
after school or if I know
something is going around, I can
get more rest. Every month, we
have a health and wellness day;
it’s a half-day for students, and
the teachers use the second half
to do what they have to do, such
as make a doctor’s appointment
or get some extra rest.Q: Te acher burnout is common.
What are you doing to prevent
that?
A: Any kind of caring profession
is tricky, because there’s so much
emotional investment. Being
more familiar with the content
helps me streamline some of my
[teaching] systems, so I’m not
reinventing the wheel every day,
which I did feel like I was when I
switched to a new grade level. I
also try to check in with why I’m
in this job in the first place.
When there is a long or
frustrating day, I try to think
about the big picture. Keeping
the students at the center of it is
useful. I genuinely believe my
students deserve the very best, so
I need to be my best for them.Q: How do you deal with tough
days?
A: This isn’t a job where you can
leave everything at the office,
because things do weigh on your
mind. To make this a sustainable
job, it’s important to have outlets.
I can go to my colleagues, and
they’re there to listen and help
out. Exercising consistently also
really does help. I enjoy seeing
my progress in those classes over
time.Q: How do you treat yourself?
A: I eat out a lot around
Washington. I love going to the
movies. I have family and friends
in different places, so I try to plan
trips so there’s always something
to look forward to over breaks.
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delivered every wednesday.TAKINg CARe
Kindergarten teacher runs, stretches and reads to feel her best
BIAncA cHloe Brown
Grace Slobodzian teaches in her kindergarten class at KIPP DC Connect Academy. “I genuinely believe
my students deserve the very best, so I need to be my best for them,” she said.