It's the first weekend of the first school term, and I have two whole days to myself.
Ever since I can remember, I've been aware of myself operating on two planes - doing, and observing. Because we live and work within communities, our smooth functioning is closely linked to the people within those communities. I can honestly say that all the structure and smooth functioning that I experienced at school this week was a result of the efficiency of others there. I am deeply grateful to be teaching at a school with such a high level of structure. I firmly believe that, in any context, the leadership sets the tone for others to follow. I noticed this last year, already - the level of preparation of senior management had a knock-on effect on the rest of the staff. Similarly, I believe that, in the classroom, the teacher sets the tone for what happens there and how it happens. Yes, we're dealing with about 35 different personalities in every class we teach, but we, as teachers, determine the atmosphere in our classes.
Last year, I was so aware of myself as new at the school, learning as I went along, that I wasn't as on top of things as I prefer to be. It was a year of intense learning. I feel a lot more settled, after teaching there for a full school year, and I have a better grasp of how much of myself I can put into my job. I think last year also taught me how little time there was to get through the syllabus. It comes right back to what I wrote in a previous post - I learnt to pace myself. And I will continue to learn. The day I stop learning is the day life stops being interesting.
I'm teaching two subjects, across four grades. I have supportive colleagues, so I have no doubt it's going to be a good year. This time of the year, our school does athletics, so from next week that will form part of every day. It's a short burst for most of us, because, from February, we're no longer involved. That's when our sports specialists train the top athletes for the inter-school event and beyond.
I love having my own classroom! After just three days of teaching, I can feel the distinct advantages. The walking around, last year, entailed a layer of stress I no longer have. Now, between classes, I just put one file, one textbook and set of notes away, and take out the next. I clean the board, wait IN MY ROOM for the children to arrive, let them in, and teach. I love it! And I have a beautiful view from my upstairs classroom, so when I do have a few minutes, I can simply take in the view. These are blessings for which I am grateful.
As I settle in to the academic year, I'm also excited about decorating my classroom with a combination of things. Yes, it's still exciting, even 41 years after I started my teaching career. I've got some nice ideas I'll start implementing next week.
With Week 1 of 11 behind me, I am aware that, in a job like mine, even my weekends need structure, as a lot of schoolwork is done in one's private time. In fact, I think it's time to start accepting that the concept of private time is more linked to corporate-sector work, and that teachers get very little of it during term time. Ooh, why does that feel so wrong for me?! It's a challenge I will keep working on. Balance is very important, so I need to find a way to make sure my weekends have both school prep time, as well as relaxation and personal fulfilment. It gets tricky when I have social commitments over weekends. What really stresses me is having commitments on both days of a weekend. Anyway.... this is just me writing as I think things through. In the end, I always come up with a plan, and I somehow manage to get everything done. One thing I need to guard against is getting into a pattern of having too little sleep, doing schoolwork till well after midnight. Been there, done that. It's neither healthy nor sustainable. And life's too short.
All things considered, Week 1 was a great start. Now for the next ten. :-)
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