A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR TAKING A DAY OFF FROM WORK


It is extremely rare that you find a teacher who has perfect attendance. There are so many unpredictable events in life and we work in a profession that understands that and provides both sick and personal days that accrue each year. But because we are teachers, we are expected to be perfect and ignore the things that occur in life that may prevent us from performing our best in the classroom. Even though these days are provided for us, we aren’t expected to actually use them. This guide is for the teacher who is hesitant to use those days. Here are the steps for taking a day off from work.

1. Gauge your mood. Are you tired, hungover, anxious, depressed, stressed, sick, backed up on paper work, PMSing, had a bad break up, stubbed your big toe, have a pimple, ran out of contacts, having a bad hair day, or just detached? If you are experiencing anything that may negatively impact your performance in the classroom or distract you, it is likely that you may need to take a day.

2. Consider how many. Prior to calling off from work you may want to consider how many days you’ve already taken and prioritize the necessity of the day.

3. Consider when. Many times you know that you don’t feel up to going to work the night before. That is fine. You can call off the night before. At other times you may be hopeful that you’ll feel better in the morning only to wake up feeling exactly the same. If that is the case, then call off the morning of the day that you want to take off. Make sure that you leave enough time for a substitute to be procured to cover for you.

4. Ignore apprehensions. Teachers are often made to feel guilty when they miss a day of work. This can be because upon returning there are colleagues, students, and administrators asking why you were absent. Don’t worry about that. Your days are yours. That’s why they are available to you. If the school district didn’t want you to take them, they wouldn’t have given you so many. You can deal with that after you’ve taken your day.

5. Make the call. In most larger school districts, you can take a day without ever speaking to anyone via phone or the internet. This makes performing the perfect cough, sniffle, and sneeze unnecessary. But if you must speak to someone, they will most likely only ask what type of day you are taking and process it without asking a lot of questions.

6. Breathe. Now that you have completed the process you can relax. You will notice that any anxiety that you experienced prior to calling off decreases significantly. The next seven hours are all yours, so make them count. There’s nothing worse than taking a day and wasting it on things that will only exacerbate your current state.

7. Be honest. When you do return to work and are bombarded with questions, just say “I was sick.” That’s it. No additional explanation is needed. It’s not a lie. You were either actually sick physically, mentally, or just sick and tired of the kids, unrealistic expectations from administrators, or the climate of the building.

8. Don’t get fired. Use the steps in this guide at your own discretion and at your own risk. Remember that you need money. Hence, you need a job.

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