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Work/Life Balance

Being a teacher, friends and family see my schedule and think I am one lucky person to have such an amazing schedule. Who wouldn't want every major holiday off, one week off for thanksgiving, two weeks of for winter break, one week off for spring break, and two months off for the summer? I cannot say that I don't appreciate and feel blessed by having those days off. I cannot say that it is not a nice benefit of being a teacher, but it is not why I am a teacher. People may also think that the schedule of teacher may be the best there is, but what people do not realize is how much teachers actually work. Only the ones that live it, or the ones that live with teachers, understand what it truly takes to be a teacher.

Granted, there are those that work only between the doors going in and going out of the school building. There are teachers that do the bare minimum and get by just fine. On the other hand, there are those teachers who are truly passionate, want to be better, and grow, who love growing professionally to be the type of teacher students, administrators, and other teachers buzz about. Some of my best friends are teachers, and whether by choice or by chance, I have surrounded myself with some amazing education professionals.

I cannot speak for all teachers, but my job, is not an 8am-3pm job like most people may imagine. I spend my summers preparing lesson plans, themes, thinking of how I can make my class different and engaging, I spend some of my weekends grading, I attend sports games,  plays, parent nights, graduations, etc. I spend weekends at conferences, reading articles and books about teaching. I spend time out of work preparing for lessons, getting involved in professional development presentations, going shopping for materials I need for my next lab, and scouring the web for a new technique or idea to implement in the classroom. I respond to student emails at all hours of the evening, and on my drive home I talk to coworkers about work. My conversations at home entails describing the funny things students say, how a student struggling weighs heavily on me, and all the ideas I have to make my class worthwhile. For the first three months of every school year, my husband knows that I am all teacher, and minimal wife. I am enthralled in setting standards, routines, and open communication for students. On top of all the everyday activities, to include meetings, training, tutorials, getting to know a whole new group of students and having them get to know you can be very tiring. It's not all bad though.

After the first few treacherous months, there seems to be a calm before another storm. A point where I realize that my life is not all about work, but about family, friends, self-care, and sanity. There comes a point where my ambitions tend to waver, where I am doing my best, and that is all there is to it. What I realized this year, is that, the students know that we are only human. They don't need us all the time, they don't need their grades back the next day (although that is best practice), they don't need a response to an email at 1 in the morning (although if I happen to be awake I will respond), and that we are a team in their education. I came to the realization that when you do your best to empower them to do their best is really the bottom line. This year I had a student let me know that by me pushing to always work harder than she ever thought possible is what helped her get into college. To have students be so excited to tell me how they won a sports game, did well in another class, or to shine brighter than I have ever seen when they finally do good on one of my tests, or have students tell you that they hated science before taking your class, and now they love it.. that truly puts things into perspective. Life is not about work. I choose to delve fully into my career to make a difference in these kids lives. But if for whatever reason, it gets to be too much, and I need to take a step back, the world will not crumble, life goes on, and focusing on relationships is all that matters.  That is my work/life balance.

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