The “Sustainable Me” program was born out of my struggles with work-life balance teaching music in K-12 and intensified in the workaholic environment of a top-level university. In K-12 teaching, the day-to-day challenges of running a classroom, combined with the countless hours for evening events, often left me drained of energy. I loved the work and I loved teaching, but after several of my own serious health challenges, I thought:
THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY!
In academe, I attempted to blend the personal lived experiences of teachers with sociological and cultural research perspectives. I sought to deepen my understanding of why these challenges were so profound and to create perspectives and courses to help. I am deeply grateful to the countless students and mentors who openly shared their personal journeys with me. Their honesty helped me to clarify my thinking and further inspire my passion for teacher self-care. I left the university in the middle of a successful tenure run, when I realized that my heart was no longer aligned with the research expectations. Nor it was aligned with workaholism prevalent in academic institutions. And, after a few years spent at home with our daughter, I went back to my first love: Teaching music.
