ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an example bioecological systems model for a Chicago Public Schools Head Start teacher. It presents a generalized model with systems many teachers encounter. The bioecological systems model is usually drawn as a series of concentric circles with an individual in the center circle. Each larger circle represents a system impacting the development and well-being of the individual at the center. Proactively, teachers can integrate self-care practices into their daily routines including eating well, exercising, and practicing mindfulness and meditation. Even the most physically fit and mindful teachers will sometimes find themselves struggling to manage relationships in their microsystems, especially because teachers maintain large professional microsystems. A strengths-based mindset is helpful when engaging with exosystem-level influences as well as in the micro- and mesosystems. Learning standards, packaged curricula, and required assessment practices are meant to be tools to help teachers use best practices in education.
