Can be
specifically designed to be especially appropriate for teachers, administrators,
and other education personnel.
People who work in the education profession aren't just dealing with educating students.
They must deal with parents, the political system, education bureaucracy, each other and a host
of other challenges. The burnout rate for people in education is very high and burned out
education people who are still working can do a lot of damage to the rest of the staff if the staff
is not careful. For many teachers the hours are long, the responsibilities are many, the
work load is monumental, the pay is not close to what it could be, and appreciation for the effort
involved is often lacking. On top of all that is the sad fact that educators are sometimes not very
good at taking care of themselves. Dr. Sheperd has worked with different types of schools, from
public to private, from independent to parochial, and to groups of parents who home school. He has worked
with teachers in special education and gifted programs, as well as mainline teachers in elementary, middle
school and high school. He has done extensive work with administrators, to help them maximize their impact
on the school. Above all, Dr. Sheperd appreciates the pressures they face. Dr. Sheperd explores
what being a "good teacher" or "good administrator" or "good support staff person" is and is not.
He helps the participants look at their own thought process on what helping is, and then has them
examine if that thinking process is hindering them. He reminds helpers that it is critical that
they are there for each other.
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