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Akansha, founder and CEO of yourdailyreset.com, shares her journey from political journalism to championing teacher well-being in the UAE, drawing inspiration from growing up with educator parents and experiencing burnout firsthand in her media career.
• Growing up with educator parents who encouraged critical thinking and supported her early interest in journalism
• Pursuing journalism through education in Canada and the US before joining CNN and Vice News
• Experiencing severe burnout after working on over 100 documentaries in three years
• Founding Reset after recognising the high cost and limited accessibility of therapy in Dubai
• Creating partnerships with UAE schools to provide science-based well-being workshops for teachers
• Offering free teacher well-being assessments to help school leaders identify specific areas of concern
• Signs of teacher burnout: decreased engagement, emails after hours, increased sick days, dipping morale
• Practical strategies for teachers: communicate with supervisors, practice self-compassion, incorporate micro-habits
• Aligning teacher well-being initiatives with the UAE National Well-Being Strategy 2031
Bio: Aakanksha Tangri is the founder of Re:Set which empowers educational institutions to attract and retain their best talent by reducing employee burnout, stress and disengagement. Re:Set works with schools to improve their teacher retention, productivity and happiness through our data-driven, science-backed and tailor-made solutions and programs. She has been named on the Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 list for her work with Re:Set.
Aakanksha is a member of the Young Leaders Circle at The Milken Institute and a Visiting Fellow at Observer Research Foundation Middle East.
She is the host of 'Why This Now? By Re:Set,' an award-winning mental health podcast that has received accolades such as Best Produced and Best Interview at the India Audio Awards and consistently ranks among the top in various countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and more.
Aakanksha has also been the Workplace Wellness Advisor to the Middle East Public Relations Association and a Mental Health Ambassador for VICE Media x Telus’ national well-being initiative in Canada. She has spoken on panels hosted by world governments including the UAE, India, Armenia and Rwanda.
A former VICE News and CNN journalist, Aakanksha has worked on notable stories including with former U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, and soccer star David Beckham.
Teach Middle East Magazine is the premier platform for educators and the entire education sector in the Middle East and beyond. Our vision is to equip educators with the materials and tools they need, to function optimally in and out of the classroom. We provide a space for educators to connect and find inspiration, resources, and forums to enhance their teaching techniques, methodologies, and personal development. We connect education suppliers and service providers to the people who make the buying decisions in schools.
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a household of educators.
(01:01):
Her dad, whose name I will notreveal to you unless she wants
to, has been one of the morehigh-profile principals in Dubai
for several decades, and so Ithink it's understandable why
she would want to solve for ateacher well-being, and I think
(01:21):
it's actually commendable andthat's why I wanted to have her
on the pod.
So welcome to the podcast,akansha.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Thank you so much,
lisa, for having me, and I think
you're absolutely right.
Out of all the things I coulddo, I chose to do teacher
well-being because it'ssomething I'm really passionate
about, having seen it firsthand,growing up in a home, you know,
with educators.
Both my parents are educators,and I always like to joke.
(01:51):
I used to be a journalistbefore this, before I became an
entrepreneur, so I just love tosay that I'm a sufferer for
punishment, going from politicaljournalism to starting
something of my own and goingthrough the high lows of that.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
What was it like
growing up with parents who were
educators?
How did that feel?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I think there was a
lot of emphasis on education for
us, but it also helped thatboth my parents were in the
industry, on the administrativeside, so they knew how to raise
us in a home where we were givenspace to explore what we wanted
(02:32):
to in our careers and it wasn'tthe typical.
You know engineering, law,medicine, whatever it is.
You can choose and pursue yourpassion.
So since I was in grade one, Iknew I wanted to be a journalist
and in grade one I in factconvinced my dad to call up
(02:52):
someone at the Kalish Times and,just, you know, speak to them
and be like okay, my daughterwants to shadow you and learn
everything.
So, and she's only in grade one, but she's so persistent and is
this something you can do?
Into their credit, they did,you know they.
I spent, I think, two or threeweeks just embedded in their
newsroom to learn what it wasand sort of have the space to
(03:14):
make mistakes.
They knew how to handle that.
But also we were, you know,taught to like if it was like
(03:35):
journalism, okay, great, thenyou have to show us that this is
something you actually want todo.
So it was an initiative I tookon my own then that every summer
I interned at a newspublication or a magazine, time
magazine, cnn, whatever it wasto build my own career, so I'm
really grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
That's interesting
because you knew what you wanted
to do from grade one, which isvery unusual.
I mean, people buy listen.
When I was in grade one, Iprobably wanted to be a news
reporter or a lawyer I had somany possibilities or an
engineer or a doctor.
(04:16):
Like every time I would watchsomething, I would decide that's
what I want to be and thatwould change.
So it's fascinating to knowthat you've stuck with it.
Talk to me a little bit aboutyour career in journalism.
Where did it take you?
How did that work?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
So, in fact, one
upside of having parents who are
educators is that at the diningtable they would always discuss
the world news and encourage usto have opinions because they
were so informed about what wasgoing on.
And I think one of my fondestmemories growing up is watching
BBC with my dad and you know himasking my opinion like what do
(04:55):
you think about what's happeninghere?
And then I would write my ownnews scripts and, you know,
present it to my parents and belike, look, you know, I, based
on what's happening in the world, I wrote something of my own.
So I moved to Canada when I wasin grade six the grade six to
grade two undergrad.
I was at the university, I wasin Toronto and then I did my
bachelor's in journalism fromthe University of Toronto and
(05:18):
then moved to New York for mymaster's in international
affairs and South Asian studiesat Columbia.
And when I was graduating Ijoined CNN, so part of Fareed
Zakaria's team at CNN, which wasa dream come true because it's
something I really wanted to do.
And then from there there was acompany, a new age media
(05:41):
company, vice that was launchinga news division.
So I was part of the launchteam for Vice News, which was an
incredible experience because Igot to work across multimedia,
whether it was on documentaries,in front of the camera, writing
political stories.
We had full journalisticfreedom and editorial freedom to
(06:02):
actually go out and report.
And then from there I moved onto Vice's daily show, which I
worked on, where we wereproducing three to four stories.
So I worked over 100documentaries during my three to
four years at Vice and I endedup reaching burnout very quickly
Because if you're a journalist,you're, you know.
(06:22):
We were constantly, especially,I think, in you know, 2014,
2016,.
It was the peak of electionsCanada was having a momentous
election, india, the UnitedStates with President Trump.
So we were constantly on theroad, we were working around the
clock.
I had no time to actually lookafter myself.
(06:42):
I was eating whatever I couldfind without even thinking about
, you know, like my diet.
I was eating at odd hours andthat took a toll on my body and
I reached burnout.
I got sick.
It had physical manifestationsand that's when I, you know, I
moved back to the why I quitbias.
(07:04):
I moved back to the why notvice.
I moved back to Dubai, but I'mjust going to take this time to
just focus on my well-being,bring myself back to who I am
and then decide what I want todo.
So when I moved back, in fact,it was my dad who recognized I
needed to go to therapy becauseI was so burnt out and I was not
(07:24):
doing well.
And when I went to therapy,here is when I realized a how
expensive it is, you know, eventhough my parents were like
we'll pay for it, don't worry,just go get the help you need.
But then I started thinkinglike the average cost of therapy
as of recently in the UAE.
It's around 1,200 thermos,which is very expensive.
(07:48):
You are, you know, culturallysensitive.
Therapy is limited when you'relooking at the cultural context
as well, and therapy is often alast resort.
So it's a reactive approach towell-being and that's how the
(08:08):
idea of reset came to be.
So that's how my journalismcareer brought me to where I am
today.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, and why did you
choose education and teachers
in particular?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
I think we were
looking at industries where
there is a lack of well-beingsupport or at attrition is a
critical concern in the industryand there's a lot of pressure
(08:51):
that teachers are under a lot ofstakeholder expectations and
pressure.
And for us at Reset, we're on amission to help make the UAE
the number one country in theworld when it comes to citizen
well-being and with that mandate, for us addressing teacher
well-being is an important partof it Because if teachers don't
(09:13):
have the well-being support,you're going to see the
trickle-down effect across theschool, across the students and
in society.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, I actually
agree with you, but I wonder how
such a big, audacious issue canbe tackled by maybe a private
entity.
How do you hope to do that?
What are you doing?
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I think, for us, if
one thing that being a
journalist has taught me ispersistence and never giving up,
so for us, we, you know, in thetime that we've been working on
teacher well-being at Reset,we've developed incredible
partnerships with educationalinstitutions to focus on teacher
(10:01):
well-being.
In fact, teacher AppreciationWeek is coming up and we've
partnered with just as ofyesterday we've partnered with
one school in Dubai I cannotname the school yet because it's
a surprise for the teachers, soI don't want to reveal it yet
but we've partnered for TeacherAppreciation Week to be able to
have wellness, you know, daysfor teachers to take time out,
(10:24):
to focus on their well-being, tode-stress, to work through any
pent-up emotions.
But for us, you know, it's evenif we start small and make an
impact in one school.
I think that's a success for usbecause that then has an effect
across different stakeholdersin society.
We recently you know, I thinkthree weeks ago completed two
(10:49):
wonderful days at GEMS ModernAcademy where we led, you know,
teacher well-being warnings fortheir entire staff, and it was
science-packed workshops andwell-being experiences to allow
them to equip themselves withthe practical tools and
micro-hab habits to look aftertheir well-being.
And the other thing that we'venoticed when we work with
(11:12):
schools is a lot of timeswell-being falls under the
purview of pastoral care or itfalls under the purview of the
school counselor, and when wetalk to those people, they tell
us that we don't have thebandwidth, we don't have the
capacity and that is where westep in at Reset to be able to
(11:32):
support them in their mandateand to be able to provide
teachers with well-being supportacross the school.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah, I got a quick
question for you.
So a lot of school leaderslisten to the Teach Middle East
podcast and they might bethinking how do I recognize that
my staff might need a reset ormight need reset?
You know, playing on that worda little bit.
What are they looking for?
What are the signs?
Burnout what do we mean byburnout?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
So, with that, keep
an eye out for how your staff is
showing up in staff meetings.
Do you see that they're not asengaged?
Is their morale dipping?
Are they sending emails afterwork hours?
Have you seen an increase insick days, in teacher
absenteeism?
Have you seen a drop inacademic outcomes as well?
(12:30):
Talk to your students.
One of the things that we'vedone at Reset is actually speak
to students and understandwhether it's something that they
notice if their teachers arenot doing okay.
And every single student, fromgrade one onwards till grade 12,
has told us I know when myteacher is having a bad day, I
know when my teacher is notdoing okay, and we've also had,
(12:53):
you know, kids say it makes mesad, it makes me anxious, it
makes me stressed out.
You know I walk on eggshellsaround my teacher and I think
the easiest way that you can dothis and because we're so
passionate about teacherwell-being at Reset, we've
created a free teacherwell-being assessment for
schools.
So it costs you nothing, it'sanonymous.
(13:14):
All you have to do is just sendit out to your staff and you're
going to get the data that'llallow you real-time data that'll
allow you to gauge what thewell-being assessment is in your
school what the areas ofconcern are where actually they
need support, like specificareas where they need support.
So you don't have to do theguesswork.
(13:35):
You can just focus on actuallybridging that gap and providing
full use.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
So how much of it is
the responsibility?
Because there's such a balanceand I'm thinking about I'm
putting my former school leaderhat on and I'm going how much of
the teacher's well-being is myresponsibility and how much of
it is theirs?
Because I can't, as a schoolleader, really within reason, be
completely responsible foreveryone's well-being all the
(14:06):
time.
So where's?
Speaker 3 (14:09):
That's fair.
That's absolutely fair.
But school leader has torecognize that if they because
as a leader, you have to takethe initiative and step forward
so if your teacher's well-beinglevels are dipping, it's going
to have a direct impact on yourschool reputation, parent
feedback, your you know eveninspection ratings.
(14:30):
At some point it, you know it'sgoing to other teachers in the
teacher community are going totalk.
It's going to have whether youlike it or not, whether you do
something about it or not, it'sgoing to have an impact on your
school and your legacy as aleader.
So I would recommend that youknow, at some point leaders
should take the initiative andstep up.
(14:51):
But the other thing, what wealso recognize, is that teachers
, or anybody, needs to be anactive stakeholder in their own
well-being, which is why ourprograms are focused on being
more proactive, so that, beforea challenge snowballs into a
crisis, teachers have the toolsand the micro habits they need
to focus on their well-being.
(15:12):
And we're not coming into aschool and saying we're taking
away all stress.
That's not possible and that'snot realistic.
What we're coming in and sayingare that we are able to equip
your teachers with psychologicaltools, with the, you know,
we're able to set thefoundations of psychological
safety in your school, we'reable to provide your teachers
(15:32):
with science-led tools to lookafter their own well-being in
moments of crisis, to embed itinto their daily lives, and for
you to be able to embedwell-being into the fabric of
your school culture, whether theteacher has been there for 30
years or whether you'reonboarding new teachers.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
I get it and I know
that.
I know it's a bigresponsibility to carry for for
school leaders, so I want to godown a little bit more practical
route.
What are some of the thingsthat you recommend that teachers
do in order to ensure theirwell-being isn't compromised,
(16:11):
that they don't head directly toburnout?
What can they do?
So pretend you're advising meand I'm on the brink of burnout.
Potentially I am.
I do a lot, so what would youtell me to help me stay on top
of my well-being?
Speaker 3 (16:38):
of my well-being.
I would first of all commendyou as a teacher for recognizing
that you need additionalsupport, because it's not easy
to speak up and say that, hey,I'm not doing okay and this is
something I know firsthand.
I waited until things wentreally wrong to be able to get
support and I don't want anyoneto be in that position.
So I think the first thing isrecognizing and also accepting
(17:00):
that it's going to be a bit of alonger journey for you to reset
and feel okay, but that it ispossible and you can start small
.
I think one thing that peopleyou know get about well-being
wrong is that it's overwhelming.
But even the you know smallsteps can make a difference and
(17:22):
have a domino effect on yourwell-being.
Have a chat with your eitherschool principal or your
supervisor head of departmentwhoever that you have that
relationship with and let themknow that you're feeling that
way.
I think it's important to beable to communicate to someone
(17:44):
that you report to so that eventhey can come up with a plan on,
maybe, how to manage yourworkload or to if you're in
charge of extracurricularactivities.
You can get additional supportthere or that can be taken off
your plate Anything to be ableto manage your workload.
That is, I think, a key step tobegin with.
(18:05):
The other thing is to be kindto yourself.
Maybe there will be some daysyou won't be able to meet all
deadlines or get everything offyour plate, and that's okay.
One of my favorite sayings isthat if you have 40 to give
today and you've given 40,you've given 100, and I think
that's something that teachersneed to recognize.
(18:27):
Is that not all days you willbe able to show up fully and
that that's okay.
That's okay.
You're doing a lot.
The other aspect I would say islook for resources, free
resources, or, if your schoolhas any resources, feel free to
reach out to us.
We have a lot of free resourcesas well that you can access to
(18:50):
look after your well-being,whether it is learning box
breathing to work through thoseanxious moments, or any other
tools or, you know, any somaticmovement experiences to release
pent-up emotion and stress.
Anything small that can helpyou just reset in the moment, I
(19:10):
think, and that you can even dowhile driving to school or, you
know, between lunch break oreven before a class, getting box
breathing.
Anything else that will justtake five minutes out of your
day to get you through.
I think the focus has try to gowork out.
I know that it's been said timeand again, but try and just
(19:40):
find at least a half hour.
Maybe summer is coming up.
Go walk in the mall, go to ayoga class, anything where you
feel that you're reconnectingwith yourself, anything where
you feel that you'rereconnecting with yourself, even
if it's just grabbing a cup ofcoffee by yourself.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Any time you can take
out for yourself will also help
you reset and recalibrate and Ithink finally is to seek
(20:18):
well-being support and, you know, actually get targeted
intervention and help forburnout.
And so, to bring the podcast tokind of wrap it all up, what
are your hopes Like?
Where do you see Daily Resetgoing and what are your hopes
for teacher well-beingnationwide and how do you even
see that happening?
Speaker 3 (20:43):
I think for us at
Reset we're almost five months
into the year and how do youeven see that happening?
Lot of momentum in the educationspace when it comes to teacher
well-being, when it comes tostaff well-being, and we're
really excited with what theyear is going to bring,
particularly because of theconversations we're having with
school principals, who arerecognizing the need for teacher
(21:07):
well-being, support andprograms.
You know, and I think for us atReset it's something that we're
so passionate about and it'ssomething that you know it's not
going to be easy, but we'redoubling down on it because it's
something we really believe in,it's a mission and passion that
we really believe in, and weknow that change is possible and
(21:31):
change can be made.
And for us, our aim is to beable to contribute to the vision
of the leadership of thecountry, and well-being is a key
pillar of that.
The National Well-BeingStrategy 2031 that's a key
pillar and teacher well-being isa metric that will contribute
to that as well.
So we really hope that schoolsin the UAE emerge as a
(21:56):
lighthouse in the country, totake the lead on wellbeing and
to build it into the fabric,into the culture of their school
.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
That's a really lofty
but worthwhile goal.
Thank you so much, akansha, forbeing on the podcast with me
today.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Thank you so much,
Akansha, for being on the
podcast with me today.
Thank you so much, Lisa, forhaving me.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Thank you for
listening to the Teach Middle
East podcast.
Visit our websiteteachmiddleeastcom and follow us
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The links are in the show notes.