Thursday, July 03, 2025
Teacher Professional Development (that actually helps!)
One of the best ways for teachers to improve their craft is to increase their emotional capacity!
Looking for some professional development classes to sharpen your teachings skills this summer? This might be the most important course you ever take!
When we were in our teacher training programs, our professors and teachers taught us many things: pedagogy, teaching strategies, the science of reading, classroom management skills.
Teacher trainings don't teach us THE most important skill!
All the teaching strategies in the world will not save us if we do not know how to be emotionally well. "Emotional Sustainability" was not a part of our majors! However, it is the most important skill teachers need in order to be successful!
Read on to Learn:
- Why most teacher professional development falls short.
- Why emotional resilience is the most important professional development for any teacher.
- How to develop the emotional skills and tools needed to thrive as a teacher!
Summer is often seen as a well-earned break for educators. But for many teachers, the next school year quietly lingers in the background—nudging us to think about what we want to do differently, better, or more sustainably next time around.
When it comes to teacher professional development, most of the buzz centers around curriculum updates, tech integration, or new classroom strategies. But what if the most impactful PD you could do this summer had nothing to do with any of that?
Emotional Capacity: The Missing Piece in Teacher PD
As a life coach and former teacher, I’ve worked with educators who feel exhausted—not because they’re lacking strategies, but because they’re running on empty emotionally.
Increasing your emotional resilience means:
- Managing stress before it leads to burnout
- Responding calmly in heated classroom moments
- Having the capacity to hold space for students, even when you're running low yourself
- Regulating your nervous system so you’re not teaching from a place of survival
The Mayo Clinic defines resilience as the ability to adapt to adversity—and that’s something every teacher needs.
Why This Type of Teacher Development Matters
You can have the best classroom management system in the world, but if you're emotionally depleted, implementation will always fall short. Emotional capacity is the internal infrastructure that supports everything else we try to do as educators.
**Want to feel more in control?
**Want to stop snapping at students (or yourself)?
**Want to finally enjoy your teaching again?
This summer, instead of adding more strategies to your toolbox, consider strengthening the tool wielder—you.
Don’t just survive this summer. Use it to rise to the Next Level.
Because when you rise, your classroom rises with you.
How to Get Started
Here are two ways you can start building emotional capacity right now:
1. Self-paced course: Calm in the Classroom – Learn emotional regulation, resilience, and nervous system tools on your own time.
2. 1:1 Coaching: Get personalized support in managing emotions, reducing stress, and reconnecting with the teacher you want to be. (Pssst...Your first session is totally free! Click HERE!)
Whether or not you choose to work with me, I encourage you to make space for this kind of growth.
Because when you grow your emotional capacity, everything else gets easier.
🎓 Ready to build emotional resilience that lasts all year long? Check out my course: Calm in the Classroom. ✨ Learn more at about the brand-new Calm in the Classroom course HERE!
Learn THE Most Important
Teacher Skills HERE!
They didn't teach us this
in Teacher Training!
Teacher, it's not YOU.
It's your BRAIN!
You’re staring at a mountain of ungraded papers, "that" parent just emailed again, and your lunch is still sitting untouched.
You wonder, “Why can’t I handle this better? What’s wrong with me?”
The truth?
Nothing.
Your brain is doing exactly what it’s wired to do—protect you by scanning for danger, anticipating problems, and staying on high alert. In other words, it’s trying to help... but it’s efforts often work against you becoming the calm, confident teacher you want to be.
That’s where I come in. I help teachers understand their brain’s survival patterns—and train them to work with those patterns instead of fighting them.
Want to learn how to reset your mental autopilot and feel better?
Let’s talk. Grab a FREE 30-minute coaching session and take the first step toward a calmer, more in-control classroom (and life).
Hi, I'm Brenna Nelson, a long-time educator turned Certified Life Coach.
I help teachers, just like you, learn how to process emotions, regulate their hyperactivated nervous systems, manage their brains, and create a life they love!
Ready to feel better in the classroom? Click for more help!
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Brenna Nelson
Long-time Educator turned Certified Life Coach
Welcome to The Strength of Teachers Blog! Here we share real-life skills and practical applications that you can implement in your teacher life today!
Teachers Did Not Learn this in College!
Come learn what our college professors failed to teach us in college:
How to manage the emotional toll of life in the classroom!
