Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/even-superheroes-need-support-emotional-intelligence-for-early-childhood-educators/5026373/
Early childhood educators have always been superheroes, tasked with the single most important role, aside from parents, in a child’s early development and education: introducing the rules of the road for life. Your work is one of the most rewarding in education, one that you cherish most days, but one that also brings great stress. There is a lot of pressure squarely on your shoulders. The impact that stress and anxiety have on you takes a toll, not only on your mental health and well-being but also on your ability to teach—and your students’ ability to learn.
We have all been through a great deal in these past two years. Yet long before this challenging time, early childhood educators were already stretched to their limits, in many instances to the point of burnout. The work of early childhood educators has rarely been given the respect, comprehensive training, and ongoing support that is so needed and deserved. The experiences of this unprecedented time have not only compounded the stressors, but have also caused many early childhood professionals to question their role, driving many from the profession they love, as we also saw rates of anxiety and depression for early childhood educators increase by ...