Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. --Charles M. Schulz
This quote has really got me thinking... Returning to full-time teaching this year has been a real challenge. I am absolutely loving the time in class, learning, growing, challenging, seeking and discovering with the learners. The real challenge is everything else... The endless meetings, the paperwork, the compliance, the feeling that there is just never enough of me to go around...
Am I stuck in the wrong gear??? Am I trying to do the impossible? Did I really get in the right gear for a full-on term? Reflection is an amazing tool. Looking back on the term, I see deep shades of grey! Week three and four I was very unwell, maybe I lost some of my immunity last year... Then I lost my sister-in-law and my Aunty. Then we had ERO. I wonder now if I really got back into the right gear for the journey? Teaching has a way of consuming you and overwhelming you. Did I really take time to bounce back from illness and grieving. The answer is NO - I really didn't. I carried on in the vortex of term 1.
I clearly remember listening to a presenter telling us to get off the teaching roller-coaster everyday - don't wait for the holidays... Although I heard these words and remember them clearly, I have not practiced them. I have worked through the holidays catching up on readings, reflection and my inquiry for NAPP.
Today I head to Auckland for two MAGIC days at Ignition , a MAGIC play day on Wednesday with two dear friends, and two days at the NAPP hui. A full-on time ahead, but a MAGIC learning adventure I am really looking forward to! This afternoon I am catching the ferry from Devonport and biking along the waterfront with a friend.
Just as I will make sure I am in the right gear to bike around to St Heliers this afternoon, I will reflect on being in the right gear for term 2. I know that there will be some challenging times, but if I want to enjoy the 'ride' I must get in the right gear, use all my gears, and get off and enjoy a balance in my life...
I would really appreciate any ideas of how to maintain speed, keep in the right gear and have a balance in life...
Hi Anne
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post it is the reality of our passion unfortuntely. I am always looking for ways to balance the whole shebang and still feel like I haven't lost myself in it all.
One of the things I have to remind myself to do, constantly, is relax, breathe, smile and enjoy the moment and live in it. I also walk everyday and in bed by 9.30pm nearly every night. It is hard to keep up but if I don't do those things I feel less able to cope with the load and the feeling of never finishing. Seriously, the only time I ever feel finished in a school year, is at the end. That is hard to get used to.
I don't have the answer to maintaining the speed I am always in search of that but I find if I look after myself, it helps. I don't get it all done but it helps keep me sane.
Anyway thanks for the post I look forward to reading others ideas on this dilemma.
Mel