Is it June yet?

Teacher friends…how are you doing?

I know your students are off the chain and the parents are even worse. The talking back, the gaslighting, the non stop “bruh” this and “bruh” that…sound familiar?

I don’t know if it’s a post covid effect or if we just have a different breed of humans but the students and their parents are on another level this year.

So, what do we do? We can’t all just up and quit. We have bills, families, co-pays, etc. but DANG…. early retirement DOES sound pretty sweet right about now.

There’s really no ONE RIGHT answer.

HOWEVER

I do have some ideas on how we CAN start hacking how we approach work to better meet OUR needs and (hopefully) keep us from quitting 😬

1. Email boundaries...

Delete the outlook app (or whatever your county uses) from your phone. You’re not getting paid or appreciated for checking and responding to emails outside of contract hours.

2. Speaking of contract hours...

Don’t schedule parent teacher conferences super early or late in the afternoon. Think of your classroom like a doctor's office. You can only make an appointment during business hours. Period.

3. Say ‘No’...

The before school program, the after school club, the tutoring, that committee you joined, you get the picture. I’m sure you’re really good at it, but unless you truly NEED to do it….say no and cut down on the extras.

4. Mental Health Days...

Take a look at your school calendar and find a few weeks where you don’t have any days off. Choose a day (or two) that works with your personal life.

Put in your time, and request a sub now.

Maybe you sleep late and do nothing.

Maybe you spend the whole day doing fun stuff with your kid. Either way, YOU decide what you need to do and then DO IT.

Now, you might be rolling your eyes at this advice but these four things are truly making a difference in how I approach my job this year.

Do you need to do ALL four things at once?

No, not necessarily. AND if any of this sounds like something you couldn’t possibly do, then I suggest you take a small bite at a time.

Choose 1 idea and just DO it.

Don’t talk yourself out of it and don’t let anyone guilt you about any of it.

If you want to talk any of it through, send me an email or DM me. If you DO any of them, please tell me so I can cheer you on!

Thanks for staying in the game with me.

If you connected to anything I said, please like and share this blog with a teacher friend!

Love, Sam