TL;DR:
- Being a great teacher doesn’t mean you have to completely lose yourself in the process.
- We can sort through what things aren’t serving us and curate a meaningful workplace for ourselves.
- Learn 9 quick tips for how to be a great teacher without losing yourself.
For some reason, the idea of “good” teaching seems to equal a run-down, tired, exhausted person who is 110% dedicated to their jobs and students and has nothing left for any other part of their lives. If you’re not depleted you’re not doing it right. Right? No!
Being a great teacher doesn’t mean you have to completely lose yourself in the process.
It’s time for some real talk.
Have you found yourself asking any of these questions as a teacher?
- How can I get my life back?
- How can I be a good teacher, but leave work at work?
- What can I do to simplify my teaching life?
- How can I avoid burnout and keep my spark?
- How can I get out of this rut?
Wouldn’t it be nice to go to work, enjoy your day, then leave work behind (mentally and physically) and go home?
Can you be a good teacher while also staying within your contract time? Do you have to be obligated to say “yes” to everything that is asked of you? Do you have to be perfect at everything?
That depends on who you ask. There are those who feel that our worth is measured by the amount of extra time that’s put in and, well, the rest of us.
If you do a Google search on teacher self-care, countless articles come up that have to do with the mass exodus of teachers and the reasons behind it, not how we can make things better. The “tips” that are given are things like choosing one or two days a week to stay late so you can catch up.
What?! Adding MORE time to our work week and MORE things to our plates isn’t the answer.
Chances are, you got into teaching because you love something about it and you love helping people turn that lightbulb on. You shouldn’t have to completely deplete yourself to do it. There are things that can help you enjoy teaching while still having time for all the other things in your life, especially yourself.
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Here’s the deal…
- It’s OK to work within your contract hours…don’t LIVE at school!
- Unplug from work after you leave.
- Stop bringing home the Guilt Bag(s).
- Embrace and accept the fact that things just aren’t going to be perfect.
- Figure out who you are doing things for.
- Find your people.
- Have a plan for your conference period.
- Eat, drink, and sleep.
- Enjoy yourself while at work and remember your WHY.
The goal is to share ideas and create a community of people who love to teach and who are not depleting themselves in order to live up to unreasonable or outdated standards. We can sort through what things aren’t serving us and curate a meaningful workplace for ourselves. We can learn how to put our own oxygen mask on first before doing things.
How do YOU feel about this topic? Should we have to completely deplete ourselves in order to be seen as a “good” teacher? Is it ok to say no? To rest? Let’s start some good conversations. Join me as we do some good work to help ourselves be the best we can without totally depleting ourselves!
About Holly Black
Holly Black is an elementary school teacher in Texas. In terms of professions, she was put on this earth to teach and is working on finding the best ways to do that without experiencing burnout. She loves sharing ideas about how we can all be the best teachers we can without losing who we are along the way. She is working on cultivating an online space to share ideas and in the meantime she can be found at teajournalrestrepeat@gmail.com.