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Teacher self-care – especially before Spring Break!

At the ripe old age of 8 years in the classroom, I’ve figured out that no one is truly happy in late February or early March: the sun isn’t out early enough, the weather isn’t cold enough, a real rest isn’t near enough, and all of us are thisclose to losing our tempers 99% of the time. (Like earlier posts this week have shown, we’ve been going through a lot of tissues and chocolate in room 244.)

A teacher Facebook group that I’m a part of posted a great resource: a going-home checklist. Initially created for what looked like an emergency room, it was reposted by the Manitoba Veterinary Technicians Association (hi, Canada), and the magic of social media means that several teachers in that group adapted it for their own schools. My version is linked above, though I sadly don’t know the original source and can’t attribute back farther than the MVTA Facebook post.

So, to take my own advice:

  1. I’m going to let go of the snippy comment a coworker made, and chalk it up to stress they were under today. With an unannounced shelter-in-place drill, multiple drop-ins by higher administration, several high-stress meetings, and the general wildness of the weeks before Spring Break, I can forgive it.
  2. I’m going to go ahead and be happy about how well classes went today: we talked Salem witch trials in advance of the Crucible, and played the “Red Scare” game enjoyed by teachers the world over. I have hilarious memories of kids pointing at each other, deadly serious, and announcing “SUCH-AND-SUCH IS A DOT. YOU CANNOT BE IN OUR GROUP.” Much shrieking ensued, and the fact that we settled down afterwards to talk Puritans, hallucinogenic crops, and groupthink is pretty phenomenal.
  3. I’m also going to be grateful for my two colleagues who checked in on me and let me complain on their shoulders; my debate colleagues, who were also mercifully running late to events tonight and cheerfully helped pack in food for approximately thirty hours of competition this weekend; and for a very good husband, who had pizza ready when I walked in the door.

Whew. Resting, recharging, and catching some zzz’s is definitely next on my to-do list.

 

Published inWriting Challenges

2 Comments

  1. Tracy Brosch

    Thanks, thanks, thanks for sharing. Need the positive and the laugh.

  2. Fatemeh

    Salem is flagged for me, because Amanda is writing a companion novel for the Crucible. So I was excited to understand a reference here đŸ™‚ Thanks Amanda!

    Self-care list! Love it, need it, want it.
    I actually like your process for item #1. Great reminder for me to forgive and let go.

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