TL;DR:
- The article challenges the notion that teachers should work long hours and prioritize their job above all else.
- It is important to set boundaries and respect contract hours.
- This post provides guidance on optimizing time and avoiding burnout in the education field.
This post is a follow-up to my first, How to Be a Great Teacher Without Losing Yourself.
Some of you have already stopped reading after seeing that title. I already lost you because that very concept seems impossible. We are teachers! We are supposed to be the first ones in the parking lot, getting home late, up all night grading, and the first ones back in the parking lot the next morning…right?
It’s very likely that you view your contract time as more of a suggestion than a boundary. It’s also highly likely that you or others around you see that time as a measure of who is working more or less than you. The math here doesn’t quite work out. More hours don’t equal doing a better job. Piling on even more hours ultimately just depletes us.
If you go home a couple of hours late, though, there are still consequences. They just originate from a different place: your life outside those four walls. - Holly B. Click To TweetIt’s time for some real talk: Your contract is a boundary. A healthy boundary.
Think about this: If you were to just show up in your classroom a couple of hours late, it would NOT be ok. You’d be in a world of trouble. There would be consequences! If you go home a couple of hours late, though, there are still consequences. They just originate from a different place: your life outside those four walls.
The perception is: Teachers have the kind of job with the flexibility to bring home things to catch up on or work on rather than staying at school for several hours after their contract time if they need to.
The reality is: Teachers [have the kind of job with the flexibility to] bring home things to catch up on or work on [rather than staying at school] for several hours after their contract time [if they need to].
We’ve got to reframe our thinking.
Yes, there are different seasons of the school year, and those seasons are always crammed full of stuff, stuff, and MORE stuff. Sure, we will be tempted to stay later to get more stuff done, but be mindful of your precious time outside of contract hours.
Those are YOUR hours and you need to be acutely aware of how many of them you are giving away.
Let that sink in. It may take some getting used to, but it truly is ok to arrive and leave within the parameters of your contract time.
I read something profound recently from author Shauna Niequist where she talks about “…less cramming 36, or 56, or 106 hours into a day that has only ever held 24.” That really resonated with me.
There is a set number of hours in our days, just as there are a set number of hours in our contract. You shouldn’t feel like you are less than anyone else if you stay within those boundaries. Conversely, no one should feel like they are better than anyone because they are working more than their contract specifies.
I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of graphics, memes, shirts, and the like out there with phrases that draw attention to how tired teachers are, how ragged we look at the end of the year, etc. For a long time, it’s become the norm to be run ragged as a teacher. Phrases like this (and there are many out there) glamorize the grind. They make it socially acceptable to run yourself straight into the ground all in the name of education.
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By working yourself straight into the ground you will eventually have nothing left to give.
Not to your people, not to yourself, not to anyone or anything.
Will situations come up where you have to work late, come in early, or stay up late sometimes? Of course. Will every day go according to plan? Of course not. But living within the boundary of your contract should be the norm rather than the exception. It takes work and practice.
It can be hard, but enforcing that boundary is necessary. I hope my blogs help you figure out how to do that in the way that’s best for you and are beneficial to you, no matter what your role in education is. Future articles will focus on how to weed out the unnecessary and optimize your time so you don’t have to be depleted. Next up: Unplugging From Work After You Leave.
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.
