Last fall, in anticipation of a dark, screen-filled winter ahead with a side of holiday loneliness, I built myself a Playlist. Not of songs, but a literal PLAY List: things to turn to when I needed a joy boost. Sidenote: Elena and I even talked about it on her podcast!
More recently, one of our favorite Together Friends and Fans, MaryKate, a teacher in Fairfax Public Schools in Virginia, used this idea to build a professional development session for her teachers. As she told us, “Basically I got really curious about how resilience is built – like what happens between bad stuff happening and that same bad stuff actually making you both softer and stronger?”
The basic framework of the PD was:
- Defining resilience
- Learning and practicing a strategy for cultivating individual resilience: The Playlist
- Learning and practicing a strategy for cultivating collaborative resilience
MaryKate adapted our Playlist using this resource from CNVC. She offered the following framework:
“When I feel ____________, I need a boost of ________________.”
From there, she used our list as a jumping off point for her own brainstorming about what hard feelings she tends to struggle with most, and what actually helps her meet those needs: “I used to think when I felt overwhelmed I needed a boost of productivity…but that is NOT what I need. When I am overwhelmed, I need comfort. I can feel the strength and softness I have been seeking.”
Below is a modified version of MaryKate’s PD template, and we’ve also made you a downloadable Playlist template of your very own here. Looking for more? Try our Teacher Self-Care Menu.
MaryKate had fifth-grade students give this a try as well: “They loved naming how they wanted to feel and planning actions to create that positive feeling. They put little stickies on their desks with notes like: ‘Confident: raise my hand, help a friend, share a success.’ We would check in at the end of the day to see if it worked, and continue practicing and tweaking.”
MaryKate generously shared a few slides she used to lead the staff PD.
![](https://thetogethergro.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Processive-Resilience.png)
Articulating the Process
![](https://thetogethergro.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Lets-Practice.png)
Resilience PD Agenda
How about you? How are you building resilience for yourself, your staff, and your students during this challenging time? Do you need to create a Playlist? I would love to see! You can share with me over here!