The Teacher Diaries

As we celebrate the new year, there are several things that educators should strive for to make their lives less stressful, more productive, and overall enjoyable. These resolutions should be adopted by new and seasoned teachers alike. Many of these resolutions can be also be used in other professions so share the knowledge. 1. Pick up a hobby or interest outside of work.  It’s important to take time for yourself. As teachers, many times we are so consumed with work and, for those who it applies to, families. We work during the school day, pick up the kids after school, complete household duties, plan lessons and grade papers, and then go to sleep. This causes us to feel like the days are running together with no break. When we do take time to treat ourselves, the occasions are few and far between. By dedicating an hour or two each weekend or an entire weekend each month to doing a hobby or interest, it will help relieve some of the tension and stress from work. When I say treat y

When I was in college I maintained the belief that marriage was just a piece of paper and children were burdens. After meeting the love of my life, marriage became more enticing and having a child didn’t make me cringe any longer. Now, having been a teacher for the past 13 years, I am beginning to second guess having a child. I don’t have a whole lot of time to make a decision, but social media, the news, the young people in the neighborhood and at the mall, and the students who sit in front of me and pass me in the halls everyday contribute to my growing uncertainty. I am fearful of what my child may experience outside of my home. I feel like I would be the most obsessive helicopter mom attempting to shield my child from the terrors of the world. I hear my students call each other out of their names and make vulgar jokes about each other. I see the young men lusting after and commenting on the girls while changing classes. I’ve smelled weed on my students as they enter class. I’v

Sometime back in October, I had a simple yet memorable experience. While walking to my classroom during the lunch period, I passed one of my students who was walking with two of his friends. Let me preface this by saying that this young man is a little rough around the edges. And if you caught that, then you will understand me when I say that his friends are more than tattered. These are the kids that you see hanging out on the corner. The ones who little old ladies clutch their purses and cross the street for. Well on this day, when I greeted the young men, my student (I’ll call him Kevin) asked me “Where do you see me in five years?” I responded with, “I actually see you graduating from college.” Both he and his friends appeared shocked that I’d responded that way. Kevin asked, “Really?” “Absolutely!” I reassured him. “Your grades are excellent and you don’t get caught up in the nonsense of your peers. You are focused and goal-oriented. Those are key skills needed to be succes

I am socially awkward and after taking several online personality quizzes and doing some additional research, I have concluded that I am an introvert. I appreciate my time alone. I prefer to hang out with one to two friends instead of being at large social events. I do not typically call people, but always welcome phone calls. I prefer texting and getting to the point, yet despise lengthy text exchanges. I am even quiet around my family when there is no third-person-buffer to fill in the conversation that I don’t provide. How does this translate to teaching? Teaching is a major social and energy-draining job. I am expected to collaborate with my colleagues, present lessons in front of 20 plus students,  contribute in meetings, and even  turnkey information to peers. The easiest of these tasks, socially speaking, is teaching my students. This is possibly because their judgements aren’t as significant to me as my peers' and superiors'. Attempting to participate in small tal

It was one of the most embarrassing experiences in my entire teaching career. We were preparing to go on a field trip for the day. There were about 40 students and six faculty members gathered in the library waiting for the bus to arrive and take us to our destination.  This would be the day that my period begins. I’d taken my preemptive aspirin to ward off any cramps that may have wanted to sneak up on me. I needed to be in good spirit and strength because this trip required a lot of walking and attentiveness.  “The bus is five minutes away.” The announcement was made and the students were getting more excited, because any time out of the classroom is great even if they’re still learning. As we did one final roll call and made last minute changes to the students assigned to each chaperone I felt it happening. Suddenly. Now even though it was an issue all through high school and college, it hadn’t been a problem in over ten years. Yet, somehow it was happening right that very mo

It was about three years ago when I realized that the difficulty that I experienced as a teacher was much more than teacher burn-out. There were mornings when I would shower, get dressed, get in the car and then just sit there unable to move. On other days I would have dizzy spells in the middle of a lesson or while working during my preparation periods. There were days when I would be so overwhelmed that I would cry myself to the point of having a stress headache. On more extreme occasions, I would feel like I was paralyzed by stress and unable to even get out of bed. A later symptom was nausea and vomiting. After speaking to a psychiatrist and therapist, I learned that it wasn’t laziness or irresponsibility. I was experiencing G.A.D. (generalized anxiety disorder). And you know what? I was told that many teachers suffer from this as well. Our job isn’t easy. There are many demands placed on us and we are responsible for educating children who, many times, have the weight of the w

I’m suffocating. I can’t breathe. Miss! Miss? Miss . . . Miss to my left on my side behind me I can’t. I’m only one person. Ding! Urgent! I need this by the end of the day. Miss? Miss! Miss!?! Hey! How are you? I wanted to ask you . . . I’m short of breath. block 1, block 2, block 3, block 4 Oh yeah, block 3 is free. But not really Prep . . . teach . . . grade . . . repeat But did you breathe? Tests, diagnostics, interims, quarterlies grade them and your own and plan and grade that too But, did you breathe? And at home, I shut down Can’t work, but think. Always thinking But, did you breathe? But, I’m home. Breathing? Thinking, sleeping But not breathing? I think But not. How? Just breathe. Inhale . . . lesson plans Hold it . . . Prepping specific lessons Exhale . . . Grading papers Slowly . . . Disciplinary issues: fights, cursing, sleeping, Throwing, walking out I can’t, I can’t breathe! Why can’t I breathe? Stop and just breathe.

I feel sorry for my students. They have been tested so much already and it’s only October. The students have taken the school diagnostic for each course, the A.C.T., a diagnostic for the district, the PSAT, and quarterly exams in about another three weeks. All of this is being done within the first ten weeks of school. When do they get a break? With so many tests, they become frustrated and do not perform their best due to fatigue and the inability and unwillingness to discern which tests are more important than others, while we, as the educators, need to emphasize the importance of them all due their impact on our evaluations.   It’s additionally tough for the teachers because our instruction is disrupted as a result of the constant testing and we have to be sensitive of the fact that our students won’t be very willing to complete normal school work after having tested for hours at a time. It’s tough on everyone and is quite pointless to me. A test in the beginning of the ye

I am embarrassed by my students. And not just my students, but the entire student body. Today, I took three of my classes to the library to take a test on the computers. The good thing about that was that all of the computers worked. The bad thing was that there were other teachers there to observe my students when they misbehaved. They weren’t terrible, but they weren’t working as if they were taking a test. Last week there was an afternoon assembly. There were guest speakers presenting to encourage the students to perfect their musical and poetic talents. It was organized to engage the students, but they would not stop yelling and arguing in the audience long enough to allow the guests to speak. Even with the teachers, including myself, working tirelessly to calm them down. Side note: only six teachers showed up to the assembly, while the others were no-shows, so we were clearly outnumbered. I was so embarrassed. These people did not expect to speak to an auditorium full o

I couldn’t. I mean, I can’t. I am writing in real time just after I’ve completed the process of requesting a sick day from work on the eight day of school. I do feel a little bad, but I am experiencing anxiety and it’s as if I physically can’t go to work. I know. I know. I was all excited to begin the school year, but something happened between “Welcome students!” and “I didn’t sign up for this.” I am teaching seniors, which in the past I’ve always preferred because of their analytical thinking skills, ability to have discourse, and their self-control. Well that was not what greeted me on the very first day. I was still optimistic. I considered that the students may have been overwhelmed because all of their classes are 80 minutes, but I accounted for that and broke up the lesson into mini activities. I even made exceptions about the room being so hot due to the end of summer heat wave that sent temperatures soaring past 90 degrees. I even understood that seniors are excited to b

“In the afternoon when school was out and the last one had left with his little dirty  snuffling nose, instead of going home I would go down the hill to the spring where I  could be quiet and hate them.” - Addie Bundren of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.  Wow! That was heavy. Addie did her job, yet she hated her students. How many times have you had that one student who’d mastered the art of getting on your nerves? Well, it appears that Addie either had a class full of these students or she just hated her job altogether.              What do you do when you are called to teach that student? I refer to it as a calling  because that student’s enrollment in your class wasn’t by chance. Although that child may possess very unlikable characteristics or behaviors, there is something about them that is special. That is what should be focused on. I have experienced that student annually and many times have had multiples of them not only during the same year, but in the same class.

Ah, homework. That tedious task that reinforces the knowledge acquired and prepares you for the next day’s lesson. Most teachers assign it, but there has been a movement to discontinue it. The logic behind this concept varies between schools, but either way, students are very familiar with it from pre-k on through university. This leads me to the notion of teacher homework. For a week during the middle of my  summer vacation, I participated in workshops to prepare me for the upcoming school year. I thoroughly enjoyed the activities and techniques that I learned. It is always great when I receive professional development that actually develops me as a teacher. However, we were given homework. Initially I was all pumped to go home and do my work  after being in a workshop that lasted from 8:30-4:30 -- mind you that my normal school day ends at 2:50 -- but my brain and body had other plans when I got home. I was tired. After a full month of summer vacation, I needed to psych myself

At my school, I have developed the reputation of being the go-to person for any and everything that you may need. Band aide, got it. Lotion, I’ve got ya. Aspirin (for colleagues), always. Air freshener, whiteboard cleaner, and multi-purpose cleaner, come to me. I have it all. As the summer winds down, I am thinking about what I will keep in my personal stash to help make my classroom my home away from home. So far, I’ve decided on the following toiletries and treats:                     Scented hand sanitizer                     Hand cream                     Liquid soap, (because the soap in the bathroom smells weird)                     Toilet paper                     Contact solution                     Floss picks                     Air freshener                     Clorox wipes                     Face wipes                     Lip balm                    Bathroom wipes                    Trail mix                    Granola bars                    Chips

Being an effective teacher can be both a blessing and a curse. While you get great evaluations, you are also expected to do it all. You can handle the easily excitable student and lead workshops. Well, I know that while I give off the appearance that I can do it all, I need a break. About a month before summer vacation began, my supervisor texted me the following: Hey. Are you interested in working summer school?  I politely replied with "No thank you :-) . Thanks for asking." I haven’t worked during the summer in almost ten years. I put in so much energy during the school year that I need the rest. During the last week of school, one of the school psychologists approached me informing me that someone recommended me to him to teach the incoming special needs students for a new program. While I was again flattered, I politely declined. Much of the special needs population that attends our school have severe behavioral and emotional needs that I was not willing to sacrif

Early in my teaching career, I worked at a high school that made people gasp when I told them that I worked there. It was no big deal to me. I did not encounter many disciplinary issues at all. However, the majority of the students that I taught were not motivated to learn. Each one had their own story and I understood, but on this one occasion I was a bit fed up. I had been teaching them the structure of a persuasive essay for a few days and wanted them to write with a bit more command. I was teaching the counterargument. What I thought would be one lesson took several. With that said, on one particular night I was confused and frustrated about why my students were struggling so much to address the counterargument in their essay. At that point a light bulb went off. I decided to write a model for them to analyze (I found that the exemplars that I wrote for them helped a bit more than the exemplars found on the web because I wrote about topics that they could relate to, so that'