Are you missing the key to teacher wellbeing? (Misty's YOU Newsletter)
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Dear Reader, Thank you for inviting me into your inbox to spark a dialogue about educating for agency, artistry, and understanding.:) If you are new here: Welcome! In this fourth quarter YOU News edition of 2025, I'm continuing to offer my scholarship into teacher wellbeing + retention, aimed towards reducing the root causes of teacher dissatisfaction. Why? Because we need well teachers if we want well children. Read on to learn critical aspects of teacher wellbeing and what we can do to help. Unsustainable working conditions are a root cause of teacher attrition, according to a recent report conducted by the The United Nations High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession (2024). I learned more about these causes, and what leaders can do to help, in my PhD research. My study drew nine inspiring teachers from across B.C., Canada. Together, we explored creative ways to process the complexities of teaching today— and what emerged was both surprising and deeply hopeful. I'm thrilled to report that I successfully defended my dissertation (with flying colours)! In fact, the examiners were moved to tears. See the "Y" and "O" sections to read one touching passage. May we continue to work together to create conditions needed for teachers and their students to flourish! Guide to your YOU NewsletterYouth inspire Schultz American School, IB World School, Alexandria EgyptOffering that ignites: What Brought Misty's Defence Committee To Tears I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my defence committee for their incredible support to make my dream of a successful PhD defence come true. I'm sharing an excerpt from my dissertation that moved my examiners to tears AND inspired my internal examiner to bring a "pop-up" reception with real glassware to my defence! Source: Paterson, M.(2025). Making Care Matter Through Co-Inquiry: The HeART of Well-Becoming (p. 71-72)
What material surprised teachers the most (during our research weeklong data collection) and why? Nine teachers joined my study, which included five two-hour creative conversations for a week in July 2024. Midway through research week, we welcomed an unexpected gift: huge bouquets of fresh flowers! I had picked them up from my local florist, who sometimes donates her discarded blooms to me for educational purposes. While I anticipated a modest gathering of wilted stems and browning greens, I received a glorious combination of sunflowers and red roses. Fully open in their gloriousness, the presence of these lush, fragrant arrangements disrupted a common expectation we teachers hold: That we are meant to “make do” on scraps and are not worthy of fresh, luxurious supplies. So what can we do to help teachers feel more valued via materials? If you are teacher leader: As you design and attend to teacher-used spaces (like staff rooms and washrooms) be conscious of what the materials and spaces message to teachers. I recently heard of an inspiring principal who spruces up the staffroom every break, just like the teachers spruce up their classrooms. Other leaders stock "extra" toiletries like hand lotion or room spray or a special coffee or tea, and ensure that these are replenished. I'm hearing (and feeling when I'm in schools) that these "nice" touches go a long way in setting a tone of care. If you are teacher feeling compromised: Firstly, know that it's not just you. Canadian education leaders, including the EdCan Network (Lane & Djurkovic, 2025), join me in calling for a shift from individual wellness to collective well-being. This transformation requires insight, creativity, and courageous collaboration. Your chosen Professional Learning Network is so critical nowadays- find people who care for and with you. In both cases, an important response is to create spaces where teachers feel cared for. This is exactly the work I do. How I can support you? I co-create and hold spaces of creative inquiry so educators can attune to what matters most right now: to them, to their students, and to their larger community context. Together, we engage agency-building exercises to bring that significance to life through practical and practice-based evidence (a deliberate inversion of the familiar term evidence-based practice coined by researchers Bryk et. al 2010). We don't just TALK ABOUT what matters, we "pop-it-up" to make it experiential. Looking to find renewed purpose, creative grounding, and joyful momentum in the profession you love? Let's work together!
Uplifting quote + song that illuminates: Read and listen to this quote and song to find those inspirational, energizing places of inspiration: "What matters is the witness who perceives and receives us within this moment of encounter, who attends with care, with integrity, with compassion, with respect, with patience, awaiting the moment of our coming awake to ourselves and to each other (Fels, 2010, p.6).—Dr Lynn Fels Uplifting song: "Synchronicity" by Rising Appalachia​ Favourite Lyrics: And we are all bright And we can all soar Far past boundary ... The mechanics of power are pulsing in your cells
Here's to caring with and for you Reader 🌸, |
​Hi! I'm Dr. Misty :)
YOU News is a monthly note grounded in a simple belief: wellbeing grows from meaning. 👉 You'll get clear answers about teacher wellbeing, practical ways to deepen collaboration with colleagues, and hands-on moves for meaningful inquiry with students. Together, we'll support learning that sustains both educators and learners. Delivered straight to your inbox. 💛