And so it begins…a new school year. It will be my 26th year as a special education teacher. I had a much needed break over summer and feel refreshed to start thinking about work again. In the last 5 or so years, I have to say the end of summer feels more overwhelming and dreadful. It makes me sad because I really love my job.
Education is so heavy now as compared to when I started teaching and I am sick of my job taking over my life. The amount of energy and all consuming teaching has become is out of control. Everyone feels it, talks about it, and is overwhelmed by it. Whether it’s teacher shortages, administration restraints, budget cuts, multiple challenging behaviors in the classroom, lack of support, the list goes on and on. We all feel it.
I’ve decided this year has to be different. I will not allow my job to steal all my energy this year. I have made the decision to shrink the amount of time and energy that goes into my work and balance it with all the rest of my life (i.e. my family, friends, hobbies). This does not mean that my work will suffer. Let’s be honest, teachers are the most loyal, hard working, dedicated, compassionate human beings and are some of my favorite people in the world. I will continue to put all of my efforts into my students and their learning. I will NOT obsess over the things I cannot control, the things that are none of my business, and won’t participate in the daily complaining that often occurs in schools (it’s nobody’s fault, there is a lot to complain about).
In order to keep myself on track this year, I will do something that I do in my personal life which is to write about a joyful moment during the day. I got the idea from Ross Gay who wrote The Book of Delights. I take pictures and write about random moments of joy that occur in my daily life. This school year, I will find a daily delight during the school day and write about it each day. It will help hold me accountable and allow my mind to focus on joyful moments, instead of all the negative. Don’t get me wrong, I am no saint and am sure I will have the occasional rant sessions with my teacher BFFs, but I have to find more joyful times in my work. I have to shrink the amount of energy I spend on issues that I have no control over.
Another goal I have is to blog about my school year weekly, which I haven’t done as life has become busy and complicated in this stage of life. Caring for my children, while also caring for a parent. I will add my moments of joy to the blog to help remind me why we do this amazing work. We can lift each other up and find more fun in what we do. I know it’s hard, it is the most challenging work out there and that is why we need to find the JOY!
Joyful moments from the summer…let’s keep it going.
