Living Your Best Teacher Life

By Nelcia Roehm

Living Your Best Teacher Life is a fresh approach to health and wellness specifically for teachers. It’s all about transforming non productive habits, and replacing those by building new ones that can create positive lasting changes and improve the quality of YOUR life. It’s about how teachers can become their very best while doing one of the most challenging jobs on the planet; teach.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nelcia Roehm
• Release date: Jul 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780648813873

Nelcia Roehm

Nelcia Roehm is an Elementary Educator. She has been in the field of education for the last 18 years both in her country of origin; Saint Lucia and in the United States. Nelcia loves education, but also has a passion for health and wellness. She is a highly motivated individual who loves to read about family life, health and wellness, and spirituality. She is passionately pursuing her goal of becoming a certified health and wellness coach (at the time of this publication she enrolled in a certification program with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition). She also desires to speak to audiences on the subject of healthy lifestyles for Teachers, and aspires to inspire others to live their best lives. Her greatest aspiration is to become a health and wellness coach for teachers, to help them find that balance between self-care and being an amazing teacher.

Book preview

Living_Your_Best_Teacher_Life_COVER.jpg

A Teacher’s Guide to Health, Wellness, and Wholeness

NELCIA A. ROEHM

Published by Change Empire Books

www.changeempire.com

All rights reserved

Printed on demand in Australia, United States and United Kingdom

Edited & designed by Change Empire Books. Edited by Gina Salamon Casto.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorised electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assume any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Furthermore, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

EBOOK ISBN: 978-0-6488138-7-3

PRINT ISBN: 978-0-6488138-8-0

Dedicated to the loving memory of my dear friend, Tricia Lloyd.

One of the best teachers

I have ever known.

R.I.P.

Contents

Foreward

Author’s Preface

Introduction

Cleansing the Mind

The Definition of You

You Are More Than Enough

Comparison Will Steal Your Joy

Healing the Body

Stop Dieting, Start Living!

Healthy Habits to Heal Your Body

How to Look and Feel Younger

Nourishing the Spirit

The Spiritual You

Love is the Answer

Finding Peace and Purpose in Teaching

Live the Life YOU Will Love

Bonus Chapter

References

Resources That Can Help with Your Transformation

Seven Day Clean Eating Meal Plan

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Foreward

Teaching is hard work. I remember coming to this realization during my first days as an educator. It was ten o’clock at night, and I was still at school preparing for the next day. As I carefully cut out color-coded strips of paper for the team building activity I was going to do, it hit me that I was exhausted, had not eaten dinner, and still had two more lessons to prepare for. This was not the teaching life I had imagined for myself. In that first year, I had to say goodbye to perfectionism, check my pride at the door, and learn to thrive while teaching twenty-five young minds.

Now, as a school administrator, I have not forgotten the hard lessons of being a classroom teacher. In fact, I have Theodore Roosevelt’s The Man in the Arena quote hanging above my desk:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming . . . - Theodore Roosevelt

For me, this quote is a reminder of the importance of doing the work through both failures and successes. To be an effective educator, you have to jump in, try things out, be responsive to the moment, and ready to bounce back when something does not go quite right.

Nelcia is definitely the woman in the arena. She is not just another person from the outside looking in, telling teachers what to do. She is the real deal, living her best teacher life every day.

I wish everyone could spend a day with Nelcia. You would see her arriving at school, literally hopping out of her pickup truck in a perfectly pressed dress, ready to take on the day. At Clifton Elementary, where I worked with her as an instructional coach, Nelcia was given the honor of leading our morning meeting when our music teacher was absent. We all loved seeing Nelcia lead over four hundred students in You are my Sunshine and The Rattlin’ Bog. Her energy was contagious as she danced across the gym floor in her stiletto heels. Nelcia’s high energy spills over into her classroom. When you walked into her room, it was clear that Nelcia not only had high expectations of herself, but she had equally high expectations for her students. Nelcia fostered an environment where she learned alongside her students and encouraged them to engage with each other in meaningful ways.

Nelcia has weathered some of life’s hardest challenges with dignity and grace. She has developed the tools and strategies to not only move on but do so with kindness and gratitude that impacts every person that meets her. She has modeled how taking care of yourself and following your dreams opens you up to better relationships and new opportunities. That is why I am not surprised she has taken on the challenge of writing a book about how teachers, like herself, can overcome challenges and feel great about the work they do.

To be able to write the foreword for this book is a privilege. As a school administrator, I know that fostering teacher health and wellness is an essential component of providing our students with an excellent education, and I cannot think of a person who better exemplifies a high level of self-awareness, strength, and excellence than Nelcia Roehm.

Tanya Nees

Administrator

Elementary School

Author’s Preface

Teachers do great work; they sow seeds that can grow for an eternity.

I’ve known since completing high school that I wanted to do something special, something which made sense and made a difference in people’s lives; I just didn’t know what.

Like everyone else, I had a vision of being healthy, happy, and prosperous. Born and raised on the small Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, my goals and dreams weren’t lofty; they were practical and simple—finish high school, get a job, get married, have children, and just live a good life until I die. I didn’t even think much about college. I thought I could never afford it, and I had no one in my life who inspired me to dream this big. Living on a 238 square mile island didn’t offer much promise for a glamorous future.

I am thankful things didn’t work out that way or in that order.

After graduating high school, my first stint in the workforce was as a receptionist at a print shop. This was an ideal job for me at the time because I am a people person; I enjoy talking to and interacting with people. I take pleasure in making people feel happy, comfortable, and good about themselves. For almost a year, that was okay, but I quickly found it didn’t meet my needs for personal satisfaction and fulfillment.

It was a normal Sunday afternoon on the island of Saint Lucia. Slow, quiet, and calm, with a warm, soft sun, glistening on the sky-blue ocean, trees gently swaying in a light humid breeze. A perfect day for making life decisions. I made my way to my usual ‘think and reflect’ spot under a palm tree overlooking parts of the city. With the harbor in distant sight, I began to think and wrestle with this idea that had been gnawing at me, the idea of becoming a preschool teacher. I had seen an ad in the newspaper for openings, and earlier that week, I had also called the Early Childhood Education Office to inquire about various open positions. The more I pondered, the more inspired I became about pursuing this transition from receptionist to teacher. There was no sophisticated method to my decision, I simply made a choice and pursued it.

With a mixture of conviction and excitement, I announced to my family, I’m going to be a teacher!

I applied for the open position at Sure Start Preschool and somehow landed the gig with little effort. In Saint Lucia, you don’t need to hold a degree or other credentials to teach preschool, which was good news, as I did not need to pursue higher education before applying. A high school diploma, a kind heart, and a positive attitude were all the qualifications needed. Some experience working with children was also a great asset; I had all of the above. This is where my journey began.

Teaching preschoolers was so much more than I had ever imagined. There was never a dull moment. Every day I was greeted by children who were bubbly, cheerful, and happy to be at school.

They smiled big, laughed often, and said things like

Ms. Charles (my maiden name), I like your pretty dress.

Miss, I know all my colors, and then would proceed to tell me the color of everything around the room.

I can count to twenty; one, two three, four, five, seven . . .

They gave hugs for no reason and were the most honest people on the planet.

Our days were filled with making letters in the sandbox, singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm with the music in the background, and learning primary colors as we painted beautiful pictures. It inspired me and created a thrill and excitement, unlike anything else I’d known.

As I write, I close my eyes and see my administrator’s face beaming with pride and joy as she watched me teach all those prerequisite skills to our promising young children. You are a blessing to us all, Ms. Charles, she said almost daily. You’re doing a great job, and we value you so much.

I went home feeling appreciated every day, and my memories of teaching at that preschool remain some of my fondest.

As my passion and joy for teaching grew, I connected with families and built a reputation that preceded me. But after spending eleven years in preschool, I had this epiphany.

I enjoy working with children, helping them learn and grow. I’m ready to make this a ‘true’ career path. I’m ready to do the hard work and become a certified educator.

It was acceptable to teach preschool without formal qualifications, however to teach in the public school system, I had to acquire my teaching credentials. I made the decision and enrolled in the only teacher education program in Saint Lucia to become certified. It’s the work of a four-year degree slammed into two. It was intense and rigorous, but I completed it successfully and felt adequately prepared for the next challenge in my teaching career. So, after two years of blood sweat and tears, I traded working with Play-Doh and building blocks for basal readers and content standards. I moved into elementary education.

My first elementary experience was teaching first grade and, subsequently, kindergarten at a private Christian school. I spent six wonderful years there, and the knowledge and experience I gained have been invaluable.

I knew it was just the beginning of a beautiful career, but I hungered for more. I wanted to deepen my knowledge and understanding, especially in the area of literacy, so I pursued a bachelor’s degree with one of our top universities in the Caribbean, the University of the West Indies (UWI), majoring in literacy studies.

Shortly after accomplishing this goal, I migrated to the United States, where my teaching career and journey was about to undergo a total transformation, reminding me that education is truly dynamic, and you never stop learning or growing.

I got back into the classroom a year after settling into my new environment and have been there ever since. What a ride it has been!

For as long as I can remember, I have had an interest in the area of health and wellness. In secondary school (high school), we took a subject called ‘Food and Nutrition,’ also affectionately known as Home Economics. It was my best class and the only class I truly excelled in. I struggled with academics, but I did find pleasure in the subject of cooking and wellness, so it only made sense that someday I would align myself with the health and wellness industry.

It would only be a few years later, through my affiliation with a religious organization, that my passion for health and wellness grew by leaps and bounds. Some of their founding principles were all about healthy living, and my knowledge and interest deepened as I studied, attended health seminars, read, and engaged in many health and wellness activities that were held.

Living in the United States, I realized I had only touched the tip of the iceberg in health and wellness. There was so much that was unfamiliar, new things to learn, to try, to eat, to change. There were opportunities to heal my life, my body, my mind. It was just a matter of time before I became hooked on the idea of making healthy choices, exercising regularly, and developing positive health habits.

I must confess this didn’t happen in an instant. I engaged in many guilty pleasures before arriving at the decision that would change my life.

You see, shortly after becoming comfortable in my new environment, I began to eat a lot more than I did in Saint Lucia. I became fascinated with the many desserts and yummy treats that were always readily available, quite often for free. Everywhere I went, school, church, the store, the bank, there always seemed to be treats within reach for every and any occasion. I indulged with no reservations or thought of what the outcome would eventually be until I felt it in my clothing.

My favorite skirt started feeling a bit snug. As for my wedding dress, which I often use as my benchmark size, the zipper could no longer go all the way up! A beautiful dress that I had worn for as long as I can remember became too tight around the waist. Suddenly it hit me, I was gaining weight.

I had gained fifteen pounds in no time and knew I had to make some changes. I know to you, this may not be a whole lot, but for a girl who is only five-foot two-inches tall, and has always weighed between one hundred to one hundred fifteen pounds, my increase was certainly becoming noticeable.

I wasted no time and began educating myself using health and wellness books, I learned more about healthy eating, meal prep, and other healthy habits. I joined a gym and went inconsistently until I saw the value of exercise for my health. It was a slow start, but my interest and passion grew. I spent years building healthy habits, studying health and wellness programs, and immersing myself in my newfound passion. The more I learned, the deeper my interest became.

That is where the birth of this book started. After a total transformation of my life with regards to my health and wellness, and the many realizations I came to, the empowered life I lived, and the amazing results I have seen in my life, I wanted to share this with you.

Everything in this book is shared out of personal experience, gained knowledge, and research. All the recommendations, suggestions, and ideas I have implemented in my own life, had success with, and shared with others over the years.

I hope you will join me on this transforming journey to living your best life.

Introduction

If you are reading this book, it must mean you are a teacher, administrator, or someone affiliated with the field of education. At the same time, you’re probably curious about what it means to be living your best teacher life. Perhaps you are looking to transform your health and make some lifestyle changes; you want to be healthier, eat better, exercise more, and feel better than you ever have, but don’t know how to get started or make it work.

You’ve made the right decision—this book is for you!

Teaching is one of the most challenging and complex professions there is. It can be extremely taxing physically, emotionally, and mentally. It can be exhausting and drain the life out of you quickly. Its challenges and complexities can create stressful situations and cause you to question your career choice – to lose the joy and motivation for teaching.

If you don’t feel that determination, that passion deep in your soul which says you are there for a purpose and you cannot quit – you can’t stop—then there is not much holding you in this profession when the challenges become unbearable.

We see evidence of this in the many who quit prematurely, sometimes after their first few weeks, mid-year, or after one or two years.

I am confident in saying that teachers are some of the hardest working professionals in the world. In addition to working hard physically, we also take on the emotional labor our students bring to us. We are inundated with information daily. We’re planning lessons, making decisions, creating individualized plans, and engaging in all other kinds of activities that demand our time