It's easy to see the negatives....

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2003 : October : 19

It's easy to see the negatives....
By Cathy-Dee

When we feel swamped and there's so much to do it is easy to see the negatives and not remember the positives.

1. We are allowed to be creative.

2. For the most part we are our own bosses in our classroom - unlike many
other jobs where we are under many supervisors.
3. We get summers off (not totally but better than many people) along with all the major holidays)
4. We can play with toys, paint and colour from time to time.
5. We do make a difference in the lives of our students.
6. We may not always get paid for work after hours - but there are many jobs that do the same. I worked for

10 years in a job where I put in at least an hour extra time every day and did not get paid for it.

7. Depending on where you teach - our wages are not that bad. At least here in Alberta where I teach they are quite good.

8. We get to spend time learning ourselves (in fact we are often encouraged to do this)

9. If we are lucky we get to work with other wonderful teachers and colleagues.

10. We get to feel great when we know we've done a lesson well.

11. We get to enjoy the wonder of children and how they perceive the world. In fact we often see and hear more from our students than their own parents will during their school years.

It's easy to get bogged down and disillusioned with any job. You need to make priorities - make sure you have at least two evenings off per week - no marking, no planning, etc., so that you can just enjoy life. Don't take home mounds of work on the weekends. You are right, there will always be paperwork - the more we do, the more that will be added. So.... do what you need to for marks for report cards and your own general assessment of your students and don't worry about all the rest. And always remember we are simply human, we do not have super powers or magical powers (that so many believe we have) so we have to learn to do what we can and to be happy with that.