How Educators Can Help Nudge Students to Practice Work-Life Harmony

work-life balance

We don’t always worry about kids when it comes to the “work-life balance” conversation. Many parents have looked at their child’s carefree existence with perhaps the slightest twinge of envy and nostalgia.

Yes, MOST kids have fewer responsibilities than MOST adults. No, that doesn’t mean they don’t need help dealing with stress.

Many schools are already working on encouraging students to be mindful of their feelings and talk about difficult emotions. Educators can further help reduce stress by actively emphasizing the value of work-life harmony.

In this article, we take a look at what educators can do and how it will help.

It Starts From the Top Down

For mental health and work/life balance to be taken seriously, it needs to be implemented from the top down. Administrators should emphasize these practices and find ways to support teachers in implementing them.

Sometimes, this will involve financial support—nothing is free, and most schools don’t have wiggle room in their budgets. More often, it will simply involve modeling healthy practices and providing support. Ultimately, emphasizing work/life balance in schools is a cultural change.

Less Homework?

This is a controversial concept among educators and parents. Does homework help teach students how to work hard independently? Will kids fall behind without it? Or, is it an unnecessary redundancy that does not align with the realities of modern life?

The actual answer? Probably a little bit of all of the above. Yes, an extra 5-10 hours of school work a week could be beneficial. No, it is not necessarily realistic.

There are kids who learn easily and have healthy support systems at home. For them, it will be relatively easy to incorporate homework into their schedules while still living a balanced life.

There are also students who have very complicated at-home dynamics. Maybe their parents work evenings. Maybe they take care of younger siblings or cousins. Maybe the school considers it a huge win if this student shows up on time.

Ask any public school teacher which type of student they encounter the most.

In an ideal world, students would have the opportunity to learn independently at home through homework. That’s not necessarily most people’s situation.

Many schools are already reducing their emphasis on homework for these reasons. They might also offer advanced placement courses for students who are doing well and could benefit from extra work.

Wellness Tools

Schools can also help students achieve balance by emphasizing healthy habits, mindfulness, good health, and social/emotional awareness. Many schools already incorporate wellness activities into their daily schedules. For example, modern students might be asked to label their feelings the moment they walk through the door.

It may sound intrusive, but it can be a validating way for the child to begin their day. Simply by saying something like, “I feel cloudy,” or “I feel sunny,” the student is given the opportunity to:

  • Think about their feelings, and
  • Identify them in a safe space.

Not only does this have the potential to help them deal with negative feelings, but it also normalizes talking about mental health.

Schools can provide further assistance by regularly connecting students with social workers and psychologists. Most districts employ several of each. Occasionally, when students have downtime, they can stop in classrooms to talk with mental health professionals, which will make them more comfortable with them.

Regular Check-ins

Teachers, guidance counselors, and other educators can also help by checking in with their students more. While kids can’t directly shape school policy, regular check-ins could inform school choices.

If many students report similar problems, it may be a good indication that changes are needed. To continue with the homework example, school administrators might decide to create a homework period, either during school hours or for a set period after school concludes.

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that schools aren’t just working with kids; they are also working with the adults they will one day become. So many people reach adulthood with no notion of how to take care of their mental or emotional health.

Work-life balance is difficult to attain because the world has not been built to support it.

Teaching school age students the value of prioritizing mental health is a great way to ensure that they will grow up to be well-rounded adults.

2 thoughts on “How Educators Can Help Nudge Students to Practice Work-Life Harmony”

  1. Your blog is a testament to your dedication to your craft. Your commitment to excellence is evident in every aspect of your writing. Thank you for being such a positive influence in the online community..

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