TL;DR:

• The abundance of work and lack of breaks can cause fall blues.
• Planning ahead and using educational resources can help with lessons.
• Find ways to practice self-care.
• Make sure you are having fun. If you aren’t enjoying the classroom, neither are your students.

Talking to a colleague the other day, I was shaking my head and doing what one does this time of year. “These kids,” I said. He was notably in agreement but made a comment that resonated with me. “I get the fall blues,” he said.  I stopped. Do I get the fall blues? 

I thought of things I did prior to teaching. Every year in late September, I would inevitably change jobs or grow lackluster in what I was doing. I came to teaching later than some, but somehow I guess I was expecting to be a little different. I always loved October as a child and have fond memories of Halloween specials on TV, trick-or-treating, and even band competitions in high school. Though we are still pandemic teaching, why do so many feelings and pressures remain the same? 

Rest in the idea that the kids will be better if you are. Click To Tweet

Fall Blues

I am writing this in late October from Texas where it is 80ish degrees outside. It does not feel like fall. Is the lack of sweater weather my issue? Are the children acting in ways that we think a much younger child would be acting? How much of this has to do with the phenomenon I have come to know as “DEVOLSON?”

A blogger known as Love Teach says all the way back in  2012 that it is “an acronym [she] invented that stands for the Dark, Evil Vortex of Late September, October, and November.” The reasoning being there are a lot of expected outcomes and no significant breaks. Certainly, since then schools have added fall breaks or in the US, a break for a week for the Thanksgiving holiday. However, with the pandemic, we find the pressure to catch up and return to normalcy insurmountable. What can we do to feel better about this time of year? 

Planning

I don’t know about you, but I always laughingly thank July me for thinking of October/November me for planning. Still, I spend a lot of time in July planning for the first week rather than the 10th week, an infinitely more difficult time. Planning can be hard. I’m generally a creative person, but I am always thankful for a lesson or two on a blog I follow, Instagram, Teachers Pay Teachers, and the number of EdTech subscription services (EMC2learning.com, Shakeuplearning.com, Thedrive.online) that are popping up. Even the most planned curriculum needs new life at times. 

Self-Care

Yeah yeah…I know. Take care of yourself. With a substitute shortage everywhere telling teachers to take their time off is fruitless, almost more stressful. There are still things you can do to take care of yourself. Assign something easy, let the kids talk, and sit down. Take walks, journal, or even a bubble bath. File 13 those papers (that’s the trash can for newbies). This is the time of year that you need to take a night off, and you should do it. Rest in the idea that the kids will be better if you are. 

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Have Fun

The last month, I noticed that I was not having fun, and thus my students weren’t either. My allergies turned into a non-COVID infection.  Physically, I could be at school, but man was it irritating! I was not excited to read the readings. I didn’t want to grade or provide feedback. Ultimately, I was not having fun. Personally, if I don’t want to look at it, why would I assign it? Undoubtedly,  I had to take the time to engage my brain. If that means I take their independent reading time and enjoy a book, or I make time to play games or design an escape room, I had to engage myself more to be there for my students. 

Mentors in my initial teaching years warned that you wouldn’t feel great again until really (U.S.) Thanksgiving break. Then you can prepare again for February when this is likely to start over again. While that doesn’t sound enticing, with a little help, you can make it through the fall blues and come out with celebration in mind. 

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About Meghan Wells

Meghan Wells is a high school teacher in the DFW area. After spending almost a decade in retail management and the financial services industry, Meghan has enjoyed education for the last 14 years putting a tech spin on all secondary levels of Language Arts.

Inspired by her 10-year-old son, she has coached First Lego League, high school Esports, and continues to cultivate the (non-ELA) interests of her young engineer. When she is not geeking out on edu or ed tech, you can find her reading a book, watching hours of home improvement shows, listening to true crime podcasts, or what she likes to call “serial crafting”.