Sunday, November 25, 2018

on becoming a lifer.


Five spoonfuls of nutella was my dinner last Wednesday.  Target runs are now strategically planned events and I recently went eight months without a haircut.  I bribe my two year old with ice cream so that she stays quiet during my five month old’s nap. This is my life.


Mushy brain makes blog posts that don’t make sense.  And since sleep is most sacred in our household, personal reflection and educator epiphanies have either been suckled out in the form of breast milk, or traded in for a cozy state of fog.  


This brief blogging hiatus, though, has provided clarity on teacher sustainability more than ever before.     


How many “lifer” teachers or school-based educators do you know?  I have more former educator friends than I do current ones and once I hit 30, colleagues viewed me as the experienced one.  

In addition, having kids is an obvious game changer, especially when both parent and teacher roles directly impact the human experience.  


Working in a charter world, I get that burnout is high and lifers are pretty much nonexistent. Traditional public school teachers ask the same question, though.  Can I really do this forever? Will I become that cranky old educator that actually says what we’re all thinking at a staff meeting? Naww- hell no. We want to be wiser one day, not cynical.  


I love teaching.  If these recent months of comfortable chaos have taught me anything, it’s that we have to uphold our own code of conduct to maintain our love of the profession.
So this is my latest (and unapologetic) teacher code of conduct:
  1. Teach content and projects that  excite you.  Standards-based teaching and learning is only fair to students, but with that comes freedom to create learning experiences and share knowledge that interests you.  Yeah, you, the teacher, the one the kids trust to educate them with the important stuff in life.  If you love it, the kids will love it.  And if you love it and the kids love it, you can look forward to work each day.  
  2. Keep weekends and break time free and clear of school work. Our salary reflects the thirteen weeks of vacation time, so why not utilize it for what it’s designed for...whatever you want it to be.  Committing to this essential rule is the hardest part.  But stick to it.
  3. Accept that you won’t be teacher of the year- every year of your career.  There are seasons that allow us to dive deep into the sea of knowledge and Teacher-Tron mode, and seasons where we just can’t.  For me, I had a solid six years of throwing myself at the mercy of the classroom. Students, staff and school events had a hold on me that just wouldn’t let go-until I had to slowly peel myself away, Expo-marker-coated finger by finger.  Trying to be the best and letting the teacher guilt run you, just might eventually kill you.  Or at least kill your love for it all.
  4. Lean on colleagues and let them lean on you.  In just one look, teachers can read each other’s minds.  We are united through and through, and building relationships with fellow coworkers creates cultures of trust and interdependence when it’s needed most.  For me, time is the best gift from a friend. With a squishy faced toddler and a scrumptious little baby waiting for me at home sweet home, it’s no surprise that I bolt for the nearest dismissal door at 3:45 daily.  My co-teacher watches over my class if I’m running late from yet another timely baby poop explosion. Volunteering for additional teacher roles is non-existent, and knowing my teacher friends pull overtime for my time-sensitive breast-pumping schedule is something I have to swallow.  This isn’t my time to give time, but doing my best to support colleagues emotionally or however I can allows for me to be happy in this circus show that is my life these days.
  5. Find something you love in every kid.  Why does the wild child always have perfect attendance? Maybe it’s one child’s taste in sneakers, or another’s talent for sharpening pencils without shedding shavings on the floor.  Perhaps one’s a talented storyteller. Drawing out the best in your students is a gift, but recognizing what makes them special is necessary. I think if we look forward to seeing our students every day (or at least most days) we are more likely to stay in the game for awhile.  
  6. Remember they are your students-not your children.  Yes, we love our students as if they were our own, but they, in fact, are not our own.  Parents need to take responsibility too, and if the parents are absent, then our love and support should be met with care from grandmothers, uncles, pastors and dance coaches.  We are not superheroes and have the right to a life of our own.
  7. Educate yourself-Popping over on our preps to observe colleagues, joining free virtual PD’s or applying for funding to attend national professional development seminars can keep us innovative and inspired to keep things spicy.  
  8. Find a school that has a curriculum framework. Curriculum framework with freedom is the key.  (Refer back to reason number one above). Ain’t nobody got time to reinvent the wheel, or effectively write a standards aligned curriculum, but we DO want our freedom to teach engaging content in innovative settings.
  9. Ignore the test prep mania..  Test prep is a snooze-fest for everyone.  I’ve taught and lead in schools that breathe the word, “data” into every conversation.  Good test scores mean dollars, so understandably, the obsession is real. But since drill and kill methods and teaching to the test don’t actually work, there’s no point in falling prey to the insanity.  Real-world skills practice can be sticky enough to take kids through any testing scenario in life. Your self worth is not determined by your data.
  10. Make your kids feel good about themselves. Make them want to go to school.    If not, then why are we doing this?


Creating your own teacher code of conduct can prevent potential burnout and the chance of either going crazy, hating your job or quitting this one-of-a-kind, magical profession.  


Setting boundaries has allowed me to be more creative in planning, inspirational with instruction and, though away from my own family each day.  I’m truly happy to be with my students each day.


Fifteen years in the game and who knows if I’ll be a lifer...but I sure would like to try.

 Power to the teacher!


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