Hey, Teacher!

Sohkor Solanke

Hey, Teacher!

Give yourself a break! The first few weeks of school are like a tsunami- a tidal wave of information to absorb and things to do slamming into you all at once. Take it one step at a time lest you drown.

Perhaps you’re an English teacher and you also have baseline essays to grade- one for each student- and maybe even summer reading assignments that were assigned the previous year.

Perhaps the room they assigned you is not as it should be, or perhaps you’re floating and getting used to the stress of maintaining a mobile classroom. Maybe they switched your room at the last minute, and now you have to add moving to your list of pre-planning chores.

Perhaps you were told you were teaching “A” and spent the entire summer prepping to teach “A” only to return to school and find out, “Surprise! You’re teaching ‘B.’” Perhaps you’ve never taught “B” before, and now you’re scrambling to come up with lessons. Ugh!

Perhaps you worked really hard last year, but your scores came in over the summer and they’re not that great. Now your confidence is shaken and you’re doubting your ability as an effective teacher, despite previous years of success.

In the era of Covid, perhaps you’re now forced to teach online or hybrid like a pro without any kind of training (severely stress-inducing!). Or maybe you’re teaching face to face and struggling with wearing a mask all day or cajoling kids into keeping theirs on. Perhaps you feel anxious about the fact that your school district hasn’t mandated the students to wear masks, and you feel that no one cares about your well-being.

Perhaps you started the year at one school, but there were cuts, so now you have to start all over again at a new school with brand new students and colleagues.

Perhaps you have some students who are trying to challenge your authority (already!), and you’re spending hours trying to come up with classroom management strategies. Perhaps you feel abandoned by school leaders who haven’t given you the necessary support to meet these challenges.

Perhaps you feel overwhelmed trying to figure out who’s who in your class- who is an English language learner, who has an IEP, 504, or other special needs.

Perhaps you sponsor a club or coach a sport, and now you’re starting to juggle that commitment in addition to your teaching workload.

Perhaps your heart is broken because you lost a loved-one over the summer, and you’re trudging through each day because you can’t afford to take a leave of absence.

Perhaps you’re dealing with sickness in your own body, and it takes everything within you to show up each day and do your job.

Perhaps you’re still parenting your own children or taking care of aging parents, and you feel conflicted because once you get home from school, you have so little left to give to the ones who need you the most.

Perhaps you’re counting down the days until Labor day, Veterans’ Day, or Thanksgiving Break so you can pause and breathe for a moment.

Listen, Teacher: Breathe!

Do the best you can each day, and then go home. You’re a human being, not a machine.

Take care of yourself, and treat yourself well (self-care).

Take care of your health- If anything happens to you, you’ll be replaced within a week, but your family will suffer without you.

If you find yourself lesson-planning on a Sunday evening, create a routine of doing it on a weekday night instead. Save your weekends for your rest, recuperation, and work-free time with family and friends.

Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself. Yes, your chosen field is based upon the needs and best interests of the kids; but your life and your needs matter too.

You can do this, but take it one day at a time, and don’t forget to reach out for help from trusted friends and colleagues. If you are a person of faith, press into your spiritual beliefs and allow God to lead and strengthen you each day.

You’ve got this.

You can do this.

Have a great school year!