other ways to cope

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Home : 2003 : January : 4

other ways to cope
By sj

-time: the more time you spend at teaching, the more time you spend at teaching....until it can possess you. So, first, set some time limits.
-accept help: the biggest mistake made by especially first-year teachers
(but most of us who are either turned a bit independent or perfectionistic) is that we don't accept all of the help that is offered. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Follow, if you have mentor teachers or other teachers in your level who will let you be a copy-cat. You can invent it a better way next year or even the year after that.
-stick to the tried and true: even if it's

not exciting or creative, that old basal textbook will get you through. And you'll actually learn a lot from most of them. I know the basals get a bad rap, but the first year you teach any subject or grade, they can ease your stress and your workload considerably because they are already laid out for you. Be creative later.
-outside interests: do things that have nothing to do with school. This is the hardest, because teaching is like housework: never done. So, you just have to leave it sometimes and do things to get away from it. I like to read and garden and sew and do crafts. The gardening is the best for me because it's more physical and totally removed.
-friends: don't limit yourself to just teacher-pals--or if you do, do unschool things with them.
-rest: get plenty of it. Go to bed early, sleep late on weekends. I'm one of those that functions best on 10 hours of sleep, so I really have to work at this one.
-don't bring it home: for years I stored school stuff at home and drug work back and forth. Now I try to bring nothing home unless it's a set of papers or something I'm going to do on my home computer so that I can leave work earlier. Having it out of your house really sets a solid boundary between work and home.
How did I learn?--Two years in a row I was out sick from most of January through March or April. I was forced to totally disconnect from school, let my coworkers handle everything, and do next to nothing when I did get to go back to work. It was then that I realized that I could still do a good job without selling my soul to the school. Example: this winter break, nearly every teacher friend I know has been back up at the school working for at least one day during the time off. I haven't. I'll not go back to a spick and span clean room; I'll have to clean off my desk when I get there Monday morning; I'll stay until 5 Monday getting the new scanner hooked up; but my time off is mine....and I'm enjoying every minute of it! Other than coming to this board, I haven't touched school since Dec. 20! Next week, I'll stay until 5:00 every day and give it 200% while I'm there. But when I leave, my life is mine!
Hope this helps.