Take Time for YOU!

Something is bugging me.

There's a question circulating among teachers lately:


What do you do to care for yourself outside the classroom?

There are educators writing, on Twitter, in academic journals, on Facebook, etc,  "I read pedagogical studies" or "I create fantastic new lesson plans" or  "I share my wonderful classroom with the world on Instagram or Pinterest" or "I curate portfolios for my kiddos" or "I plan all summer for my classroom" or...

Great. Good for you. You're a teacher.

But what do you do that's NOT associated with teaching?

All those ideas means you've never left the classroom.

You're immersing yourself in education to the point of consuming your every moment. You're bringing your students home with you. They're a part of you and who you are. This is not healthy.

While it's important to give your all whilst teaching, it's equally important to do things that are important, necessary, and special to you...independent of the classroom. You can always bring in your experiences beyond the classroom into your teaching, but doing everything FOR your classroom can be a dangerous threat to your mindset.

Write. Bake. Crochet. Paint. Dance. Take a course in falconry. Go rock climbing. Exercise. Binge watch Netflix. Hike. Pick apples. Read something that takes you away from the everyday. Watch a baseball game. Play trivia. Board Game night. Train to be a sommelier.

Whatever your passion, do it.
Whatever you do for you, never feel guilty for doing it!
Take care of you..

External of the classroom.
Beyond the walls of the school.
Outside the realm of education.

Do something for you.

The other day, I mentioned to a colleague that I ran into a couple of my students at the movie theatre on the weekend. She replied, "On the weekends, I sometimes hope to run into one of my kiddies so I can tell their parents how wonderful their children are!" I laughed. She got upset...I thought she was joking...she wasn't.

If you're hoping to see your students on your day off, you've lost sight of who you are and what's important to you beyond the classroom.

For the educators out there finding it difficult to think of something they do to care for themselves...that says something about you...and it's something, perhaps, to take time to consider.

Try something new...you may not like the first few things you try....but try something...without the thought of "how can I use this in my classroom" or "I could try this with my students".

One of the most important lessons I learned, in my first year of teaching, was that teaching is a job. When I take all my work (marking, lessons, planning) home, then I'm bringing the stresses and challenges and all 27 children into my home. I don't want them in my house! I need time to focus on my family and their needs and what needs to be done beyond the classroom.

My fear is that teachers, when immersing themselves in only their classroom and job, become too consumed and, sadly, burn out faster than expected. My vision of teaching is, simply, a slov burning candle.

First year of teaching? A wealth of ideas in your head, wanting, hoping to accomplish them all.

End of the first year? You realize you couldn't do everything you wanted to do. You get frustrated, feel you let your students down, feel you failed or you're not doing something right. You take the summer to figure out what went wrong, perhaps overplanning, perhaps getting sucked into the vortex of planning for next year every day of your holiday.

Second year? You come in prepared for action, ready to accomplish your list of amazing things you've planned...

End of second year? Once more, you didn't do everything you wanted...and, once again, you spend a lot of time reflecting on your choices.

I went through this. I experienced it. After my first year, I escaped to Europe, backpacking through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales on my own for 8 weeks. I needed to replenish my empty vessel. I needed my time. So I took it.

The reality is this: YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING. Take your time. Spread out your amazing lessons. If you're overwhelming yourself, think how overwhelmed your students might feel.

My simple request, to all teachers, wherever you are, whatever you teach, however experienced, take time for you. Make time for you. It may just save your life.