Hey, New Teacher!

Hey, New Teacher!

It’s the first break of the school year. You are faced with a choice:

Do you take home that mountain of work that has been piling up, or do you kick back and relax and recharge?

Obviously, there are benefits to both. There’s so much you could knock out, you could get caught up (finally) and be ready to face the next week with everything ready to go… Or, you could just leave the work at work, and use the long weekend to sleep in, maybe see your friends you’ve been missing, and clean the apartment.

Okay, hear me out.

There are downsides to both as well. Get all the work done, yes, but also, you’ll feel like you never got out of the machine. Leave the work at work, but spend the whole weekend thinking about what you have to do when you get back.

The thing about teaching is … you’re never done. You’re never caught up. Make peace with that. We all spent our first year getting there early and staying late, like every day, the whole year. You’re probably gonna be no different this whole year.

That’s why you should take this break and enjoy it. Plan something nice for you, like baking with your sister or drinks with your husband. Destress and decompress. If you’re really super duper worried, take home the ONE thing you know you just have to get done. The thing that would keep you up at night if it was waiting for you unfinished when you came back. You’ll feel better, you’ll relax better, and the rest you can handle when work returns.

Moderation is key here. Know when you can leave something and when you HAVE to do it. Taking care of you is the most important thing you can do. When you’re rested and thinking clearly, you can make that brilliant lesson plan, run that life-changing rehearsal, and say the witty thing that turns the corner with you and a student. The work will ALWAYS be there, but if you burn out doing too much, it won’t get done at the level you want.

Personal and Sick Days

They give you these days for a reason. Use them.

If you’re feeling icky, just make the worksheets, write a sub note, and stay home. Go see the doctor if you need to. You can’t fit all the appointments you need this year into Christmas and spring break, so allow yourself to let go for a day and take care of yourself.

Mental health days exist, too. The grind is so real, and so is burnout. For several years, I took a day off in September because an update for my favorite video game would drop. It’s something I enjoyed, and it was good for my psyche.

If you know you’re gonna be gone, have your kids practice your expectations. Have them walk into the room, grab a practice assignment, watch a practice video, do a practice activity, whatever. Correct behaviors and enforce your expectations. They’ll do better if you show them what you want when you’re gone.

Yes, sub plans suck. Yes, you’ll worry about your students’ behavior the whole time you’re gone. Yes, you’ll probably have to do some triage when you return, but having your kids make apology cards is a totally valid way to review how to write a paragraph using complete sentences.

But you can’t do your daily best if you’re sick or worn down.

We’re all rooting for you!