Education can be a lonely profession, whether we are teachers, administrators, or other staff members. Trying to “go it alone” can be an expensive option for our emotional, mental, and physical health. During trying times, we need others to whom we can turn, those people who understand and who have something useful to offer.
Because the nature and scope of the challenges and experiences we encounter vary, we may need various types of support. When we leave support-building efforts to chance or default to simply who is close to us, we risk not having the robust assistance we need. We must also build our support system before we find ourselves in need of it.
So, how might we think about the components of a personal and professional support system? A useful way to approach the task is to consider support as concentric circles. The circles closest to us might be more personal and naturally occurring, while the outer circles are more professionally focused and intentionally built. Or we might start with the circles we feel we most immediately need and focus on other areas as time allows and as we are ready. The key is to start now, not wait until we are most in need of support.
Here are six common forms of circles we might consider. Each circle serves a specific purpose and plays a unique role in our constellation of support. Some circles may have members in common with other circles—or they may even only contain one member. We may also find that we engage more than one support circle to address a unique need. The key is to decide what type of support we need, build it if it is not in place, and then, when needed, draw on that support without hesitation or guilt.
Our Personal Support Circle
This inner circle supports our emotional well-being. It includes our spouses, partners, family members, closest friends, and others who care about us first as people and then as educators. They help us to maintain our perspective, balance our emotions, and protect our mental health. People in this group might even nudge us to think and talk about more than work. They can share our victories, listen to our frustrations, and support us through difficult times.
Our Colleague Circle
Our colleagues understand our professional world, often sharing our experiences, frustrations, and celebrations. They may be sources of ideas, resources, and solutions to real-time challenges. Colleagues can offer emotional understanding and timely support. Their experiences often make them good sounding boards for our ideas, struggles, and musings. Equally important, members of our colleague circle can provide daily support and help us to feel less isolated, especially during difficult times.
Our Mentor Circle
Mentors are important resources regardless of where we are on our professional journey. They can be rich sources of wisdom and offer insightful guidance when we need it. Mentors can help us navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid common mistakes. They can help us to shorten learning curves and develop stable professional judgment. Multiple mentors often provide a diversity of thought and advice that surfaces a range of options and alternatives from which we can choose. However, we need to engage them early before crises fully develop or we might find ourselves backtracking on positions and decisions.
Our Professional Learning Circle
Not surprisingly, this circle includes professional learning communities, learning networks, professional organizations, book study groups, and others. Members of this circle help us remain current in our craft, avoid professional stagnation, consider the future of our profession and education, and look beyond immediate concerns and distractions. However, we need to move beyond discussion and debate about ideas to shift our practice and build our skills to gain maximum advantage from our professional learning circle.
Our Challenge Circle
This circle features people who have our best interests at heart and are also willing to challenge us to grow. They give us honest feedback and tell us what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. Members of this circle may challenge our assumptions and beliefs. They nudge us to go beyond our comfort zone to try new approaches and ideas, even when we may initially stumble.
Our Renewal Circle
People in our renewal circle may share our hobbies, participate in our volunteer activities, be members of our exercise group, or support the causes we support. They may not be associated with our profession, and they may not directly contribute to improving our practice. Nevertheless, they help us to remain healthy, curious, and energized. They can also remind us that spending time away from work is important and not something to feel guilty about. However, we need to be fully present for them and for the activities we engage in if we hope to reap maximum benefits.
What is the state of your support system? Which circles of support do you have in place? What is missing? Where do you need to give attention and invest your efforts now? Summer is a great time to reflect on the support system around you and begin building it where it may need strengthening. Of course, we also need to regularly renew our existing circles of support to keep them healthy, vibrant, and ready to access when we need them.
