I knew I wanted to teach when I was six years old. I would line my dolls up in my room and teach them for hours! (Funny, I didn’t have a single behavior problem!) Half a century later, I am still teaching and never regretting a day of my initial decision.

Teaching is a more challenging profession today than it was over 50 years ago when I began and, following the pandemic, the fire that many teachers possessed was becoming extinguished!  Many ultimately left the profession.

I wrote a book during the pandemic in an effort to restore the passion that many teachers were no longer feeling, to increase their professional and personal optimism, and to support their health and wellbeing. The book has the same title as the pre-conference session I will be presenting at the Learning Forward Annual Conference. It delineates 12 principles, based on the work of medical professionals as well as what we are gleaning from brain research. Medical practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Harvard Men’s and Women’s Health Watch as well as clinical neuroscientists and molecular biologists such as Daniel Amen and John Medina are all reflected in the pages of this book. Consultants such as Eric Jensen and David Sousa, who make practical application of the brain to education, are also referenced.

Marcia Tate is facilitating session PC04 | Healthy Teachers, Happy Classrooms at the Learning Forward 2025 Annual Conference on December 7, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Eastern. Preconference sessions include a midday break. Session selection is open online.

This blog will delineate a few of these crucial principles as they apply to a healthy teacher and a happy classroom. The 12 principles are divided into four categories: soothing environment; healthy physiology; positive emotions, and; meaningful existence. The specific principles falling under each category appear in bold.

Soothing environment

People who live healthier lives tend to surround themselves with a calming environment. They consider the colors, music, lighting, and aromas which enable them to experience tranquility. The colors of nature (i.e. blue of the ocean, green of the trees, brown of the earth) will always be the most calming for the brain. The music with beats between 40 to 60 per minute (i.e. classical, smooth jazz, new age, slow Celtic, Native American, and nature sounds) have a tendency to relax both brain and body. Natural, as opposed to fluorescent, lighting can calm a hyperactive child or minimize migraine headaches.  Aromas, such as lavender, vanilla, eucalyptus, and chamomile facilitate serenity.

In a happy classroom, teachers incorporate these four elements to their advantage. They use screen savers on their smart board with scenes that calm. They play calming music as students assemble for the day and let the natural light in the windows. If there are no windows, then fluorescent lights are kept to a minimum, if possible. The use of aromatherapy should be considered while simultaneously realizing that some students may have allergies that could be aggravated.

Healthy physiology

By the time an average adult dies, they will have consumed 70 tons of food, which is equal to four mid-sized cars. When it comes to nutrition, it is important to a healthy body that the food consumed be what is known as living foods–those that can be harvested, plucked and peeled. In other words, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It is also advised that people avoid dead foods–foods with preservatives, additives, or bleaching agents since the liver of the body does not know how to deal with these foreign substances.

In times past, when people were not eating right, they were working the food off in manual labor jobs. Now, many of us are sitting in front of televisions, computers, Ipads, and cell phones and movement is at a premium. However, even the simple act of walking reduces the risk of dying of a cardiac event by 32% in both men and women (Harvard Men’s Health Watch, 2020).

In a happy classroom, movement is the order of the day, where students are actively engaged in games, role plays, and  project-based learning to name only a few brain-compatible strategies. After all, anything the brain learns while moving stands a better chance of ending up in long-term memory. This is the reason that people seldom forget how to drive a car, ride a bicycle, or play the piano.

Positive emotions

Three 60-minute laughter therapy sessions are sufficient to improve the mood and self-esteem of patients undergoing radiation (Cancer Treatment Centers of America, 2019). This reflects the beneficial effects of humor on both brain and body. Could this be the reason that many comedians (i.e Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke, and Betty White) have lived into their nineties? The brain may not even recognize the difference between real laughter and forced laughter. In India, there are over 1,600 laughing clubs.

People who see the glass half full tend to live longer than those who see the glass half empty. People who possess optimism believe that they have the skills and abilities to overcome even the most challenging of situations.

In a happy classroom, a positive environment exists. Teachers are greeting students at the door with a smile. If old enough, students can become class clowns and bring in riddles and jokes to be shared with the class, since, he who laughs most, learns best. Healthy teachers believe that all students are capable of having a successful year and they teach accordingly!

Meaningful existence

We are not here on this earth accidentally!  We are here for a purpose!  Those who wake up every morning with a specific reason for their existence in mind tend to be healthier and live longer. When people lose that reason, they often shorten their lives. This may be the reason that Debbie Reynolds died one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, died and why some couples who have been together for a very long time die within a few years of one another. When there is a passion for that purpose, longevity increases. Another principle, close personal relationships, is so important that in one study of over 300,000 people, the lack of strong relationships increased by 50% the chance of dying early – regardless of the cause (Amen, 2018).

In a happy classroom, teachers have a passion for their subject matter! They establish a purpose for what students are expected to know and be able to do and they form relationships with every student they teach. After all, rules without those relationships equals rebellion.

In the preconference session, participants not only experience all 12 principles, but they leave with multiple research studies behind why the principles should be practiced and specific action plans for implementing them in their personal and professional lives. Educators have told me that this is a life-changing session!