Diversity Resources

MORTON'S MENTIONS

Thanks to Tricia Hersey, the "Nap Bishop," I have been thinking a lot about rest. What would happen if we took a rest day or even a rest hour? How would our moods change? How about our young learners’ moods? How would the noise level, empty movements, and conflicts decrease? We are all doing our best to keep pace. Perhaps we do something counterintuitive, slowing down or resting. Recovery and rest are essential for brain function, muscle growth, and preventing burnout.

Remember rest is not simply sleep, there are seven types of rest. In her book, Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, Dr. Sandra Dalton-Smith presents the idea that we all need seven different types of rest to feel fully alive and fully ourselves. And that the antidote to burnout isn’t just a vacation—it’s identifying the types of rest you need most and adopting small daily strategies to replenish them. 


And what about our young learners? Lexi Walters Wright states, "Too much stress can lead to kids feeling overloaded, exhausted, and burned out. Having a negative or indifferent attitude can be a sign of burnout. Burnout can keep a child from staying motivated to work on challenges." If you want to learn more about the signs of burnout in children, I suggest this article that goes into more detail and offers a tool with support strategies. 


What moments can you identify for yourself and/or a young learner to practice rest? How can a rested individual cultivate well - being in our community and the natural world?


Read/watch/listen to what you need, read/watch/listen to what you can.