Building Resilience

The Importance of Having a "Thick Skin" as a Teacher

• The author had a mentor teacher in Helsinki who suggested that they were too accommodating with parents.
• The mentor teacher suggested that the author should communicate that they are the expert at school and the parents are the expert at home.
• The mentor teacher encouraged the author to have a thicker skin and be more resilient in the face of challenges.
• Having a tough skin is different from being obstinate; it means being confident in your expertise as a teacher.
• Resilient teachers are able to bounce back quickly from mistakes and deal with conflicts effectively.
• The Finnish word "sisu" means "guts" or "bravery in the face of adversity" and is reflected in the mentor teacher's advice to be a professional.
• The author developed more sisu while teaching in Helsinki, which helped them handle sharp feedback and make useful changes to their work.
• Having a tough skin means taking a deep breath before responding to upset parents, not getting crushed by lack of recognition, and not taking student curses personally.
• Journaling about professional challenges before going to bed can alleviate stress and help put sources of anxiety into perspective.
• The author emphasizes the importance of developing resilience as a teacher to protect the joy of teaching.
• Resilient teachers are able to keep their classrooms joyful and maintain confidence in their expertise.
• Developing resilience as a teacher is an important but often overlooked aspect of education.

Discover the importance of having a "thick skin" as a teacher with this quiz! Learn about the benefits of resilience in the face of professional challenges and how it can protect the joy of teaching. Find out how to bounce back quickly from mistakes and deal with conflicts effectively. Take this quiz to enhance your understanding of the importance of developing resilience as a teacher.