Teaching with Boundaries: Why Wellness Matters More Than Ever in Today’s Classrooms

Teaching Minds, Guarding Sanity (Mine and Theirs)

Teaching is an incredible job. We get to shape young minds, make a lasting impact, and yes—we get summers off. What could be better, right? But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows like some might think, especially for teachers who are also moms.

Spending all day teaching other people’s kids—staying patient, present, and kind—and then coming home to try and do the same with your own children? That takes a special kind of energy. I truly love my job, but I also love my sanity. Protecting it with intentional wellness practices has become crucial to me showing up as the best teacher and mom I can be.

I firmly believe that we should focus on academic growth. Of course, that matters the most. But I also believe we don’t talk enough about teacher wellness—or the wellness of our students. Because arguably, that also matters the most. Too many teachers (and students) are burned out, overwhelmed, exhausted, and under-supported. Teachers are asked to do so much, often for far less pay than we deserve. Students are also asked to do so much, often without the developmental readiness, emotional support, or stability they need to succeed.

That being said, I’ve been slowly prioritizing wellness—both mine and my students’—since I started teaching. But this year, I’m going all in.

Here are a few (possibly unpopular) opinions I stand by and implement—that I truly believe make education more effective for everyone involved. These might not be for everyone, and I know every teacher is wildly different. We should honor those differences instead of forcing everyone into the same mold. Let teachers lead their classrooms in the way that works best for them—so they can show up every day as the best version of themselves.

Here’s my take. (For context, keep in mind I teach 2nd grade and I’m speaking mostly about the primary grades here)

1. Contract Hours Are To Be Taken Seriously

I’m a firm believer that once the contract day ends, so should my workday. Teaching already drains plenty of mental and emotional fuel—whatever’s left belongs to my own wellness and my family. Sure, those first few weeks of school are a flurry of late nights while we find our rhythm, but by week four I’m hustling to be out the door (laptop-free!) by 4:15 p.m.

I also flex my schedule when it serves me. I usually roll in around 6:50 a.m.—even though contract time doesn’t start until 7:15—so on days when a pre-daycare workout is calling my name, I’ll head out at 3:50. Prioritizing my wellness keeps me sharp for my students and my own kids.

What I’ve learned is this: whatever doesn’t get done? It somehow always works itself out. It’s never the end of the world. As teachers, we’re constantly pulled in a hundred directions, and there’s always something else waiting on the to-do list. It takes practice to quiet the mind and let go of the need to finish everything, but honoring your time is one of the most important skills you can develop. Trust that it will all get done—or that it wasn’t that urgent to begin with.

Honestly, some of my best lessons have happened when I had to completely wing it (more times than I am willing to admit). There’s a certain creative freedom in letting go of the plan and leaning into the moment, and that’s often when the magic happens. It’s not something I fear anymore—it’s something I welcome.

2. Short and Sweet Lesson Plans

A detailed plan can be invaluable when you’re new, experimenting with a brand-new strategy, or mentoring a colleague. But typing multiple pages for every reading or math lesson just isn’t necessary—especially for seasoned teachers who already carry that knowledge in their heads.

My compromise is a bullet-point road map, sometimes in a planner, sometimes on a sticky note:

• learning target clearly defined
  
• key questions or prompts
  
• hands-on materials and accommodations
  
• Type of quick assessment
  

That short and sweet outline keeps me aligned with standards while leaving evenings open for giving attention to my own children. If full scripts make another teacher shine, wonderful—I love that for you. But offering flexibility here could keep many excellent educators in the field longer. I am so thankful my current administration doesn’t require us to submit lesson plans. 

3. Homework Can Be More Harm Than Good

This one is contentious. And of course, every child is different, and some might thrive with homework. My own daughter hasn’t even started Kindergarten yet, and she told me she’s SO excited for homework. Here’s my take:

Our school day runs from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and then most kids head straight to sports practices, recreation activities, rehearsals, or after-school care. When they get home, they need dinner, some downtime, and some family connection before hopefully going to bed at a reasonable hour. There’s just no time for homework in a realistic world with this schedule. It adds too much stress for both the child and the parent. And I would bet in many households, the parents are the ones doing a lot of the work, trying to get their kids through their homework. Just what they need after a long day at work. Research finds little academic benefit to traditional homework in the early grades, while stress and equity concerns increase. Instead of requiring homework, I encourage:

• Optional Homework– or just the option of finishing work that was not completed at school that day/week.
• Choice reading—let your child pick something that interests them, or read to them before bed.
• Family talk prompts– Something like, “Tell us two new facts you learned in Science today.”
• Unstructured play– for motor and social-emotional growth. Kids continually learn through play. Let’s never forget that.
  

Parents from studies who do not do homework report calmer evenings, and children who arrive refreshed and ready to learn, not exhausted the next day. 

4. Not Everything Needs a Grade — Especially Before Third Grade

From the start of my career, I’ve thought formal grading, especially in K–2 is… well, pretty pointless. At those ages, classwork is meant for practice, exploration, and building confidence—not for tallying points. And teachers rarely have time during the day to grade. I still scan assignments, note who’s getting it and who needs reteaching (sometimes in my head, sometimes on a sticky note), but I don’t grade many classwork assignments. I’m mostly checking that students made an effort and did some or most of the work (depending on my individual expectations for them).

Informal records? Absolutely—quick check-ins, anecdotal notes, running records of overall understanding. Formal grades? Only when they genuinely add value (think end-of-unit assessments or progress reports). My energy and time is saved for verbal feedback that moves learning forward and to reteaching where it counts. The rest? I let it go… into the recycle bin or home, so parents can see what their kids are working on.

5. Play, Movement, and Connection As Academic Catalysts

My solid stance: more recess, more time outside, more SEL time. 

A short extra recess, snack chats, and frequent brain breaks aren’t “lost minutes”; they’re investments in regulation and focus. When students practice negotiation over a soccer ball or learn to breathe through frustration during a board game, they return to literacy instruction far more ready to persevere through tricky phonics concepts. 

SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and content aren’t competing—one fuels the other. I truly believe we are so desperate for more counselors in schools because we are not allowing students in the younger grades enough time in their day to practice SEL. 

Yes, it is definitely more work for me when I have to help kids work through disagreements at our extra recess or during an extended snack time, but that extra exposure gives them practice in the most important life skills of working well with others and communicating effectively. It’s really hard to teach academic skills before kids have mastered the social ones. 

If you are interested in more information about studies done on additional recess time and its positive effects on instruction, here are a few great articles:

US News And World Report: How Much Recess Should Kids Get?

Stanford Report: School Recess Offers Benefits To Students Well-Being

6. The Answer Isn’t Longer Lessons—It’s Smarter Ones

Every year, the same worries surface: test scores, students reading below grade level, data charts climbing into the red. The knee-jerk fix often sounds like “add more”—more whole-group lessons, more pull-outs, even proposals to trim Music, PE, or Art so we can squeeze in extra academics. Yet piling on minutes rarely moves the needle; making better use of the minutes we already have might, though.

Our schedule actually holds plenty of instructional time. The challenge is using it efficiently:

• Targeted small WINN groups (What I Need Now). When students get exactly what they need, growth accelerates.
  
• Adaptive, AI-guided practice. A short, personalized online block lets some kids work ahead while others reinforce foundational skills, freeing me to do targeted individualized instruction.
  
• Frequent movement and brain breaks. Five minutes to reset now can save twenty dealing with off-task behavior later.
  

WINN groups are a challenge with large class sizes and the number of staff available, so this is not a fix that is as easy as it seems, but it’s worth keeping in the conversation. These tweaks can preserve the classes kids love and protect the well-rounded education they deserve, all while keeping academic goals front and center.

7. Modeling Wellness for Students

This last one is (hopefully) not controversial, but just crucially important in my opinion. 

Kids don’t just learn by listening—they learn by watching. That’s why the way I care for myself in the classroom is just as important as the way I care for them. When I take a sip of water, participate in a quick brain break with them, or step into the hallway for a moment to reset (after making sure the class is safe and supervised), I’m modeling real, practical strategies for self-regulation. These aren’t just teacher moves—they’re life skills.

One thing I do often is narrate what I’m doing and why, so students begin to connect the dots between emotions, body cues, and healthy responses. I might say something like,

“I’m feeling really overstimulated right now and I’m having a hard time teaching, so I’m going to give everyone a short break—including me—to reset and take some deep breaths. I’ll call you back over when I feel ready.”

It’s simple, honest, and incredibly effective. Over time, my students not only pick up on these strategies, but they also begin using the language themselves. They’re learning that it’s okay to pause, reset, and communicate when things feel too big.

I take the same approach with boundaries outside of the classroom. When I take a sick or personal day, I don’t feel guilty—I feel responsible. Resting when I’m unwell shows my students that health and community care matter. It’s a quiet reminder that we don’t always need to “push through”—sometimes the best way to show up is to step back.

These little moments—hydrating, stretching, verbalizing emotional regulation, staying home when I’m sick—might not show up on a lesson plan, but they teach just as much as any academic subject. They plant seeds of resilience, self-awareness, and balance. And in a world that pushes kids (and adults) to go, go, go, I think that’s one of the most valuable lessons we can offer.

Final Thoughts

I’m not sharing these ideas to stir controversy or step on anyone’s toes. My goal is simple: to remind every stakeholder—teachers, parents, administrators, and students—that wellness isn’t a luxury add-on; it’s the foundation of a thriving school community. Burnout is real on both sides of the desk, and when we’re exhausted, nobody wins.

So let’s pause, zoom out, and refocus on what matters most: the health, happiness, and long-term growth of the children in our care—and of the adults guiding them. When we protect our own well-being, we model balance for kids and create classrooms where learning and joy can flourish, side by side. That’s a mission (I hope) we can all rally around.

Let’s not lose our minds together,

Tori