How do you balance work and home life?

Balancing work and home life can certainly be complicated as a teacher. Teaching offers one a almost limitless set of opportunities for extra-curricular involvement, but there is always the scarcity of one’s time to consider.

The Demands of Teaching

Currently, I teach five classes of 12th grade Economics and United States Government. I also teach one period of Boys Soccer. I have been elected the last six years as one of our union representatives, which requires attending and holding of meetings, attending and preparing for political actions, as well as helping mediate issues that arise at the school regarding working conditions. I also am the Model United Nations Club Advisor, which entails weekly meetings at lunch and two weekends a year.

A Full Plate

Even wih this “full plate” I have to stop myself from taking on more stuff, especially as I become more of a veteran teacher. The baseball coaches are always trying to get me to come out and assist them. I have even been asked to coach freshmen football!

I know from experience though that if I take on too much, everything will come crashing down like a house of cards. Being able to keep a positive attitude, have adequate time for family and self-care is absolutely critical to the entire system working.

Dealing With Burnout

Burnout is a huge issue for educators due to the insane workloads we carry. I have found many “hacks” to keep myself sane and still do high quality work and have relational capacity for students, but it was not always this way!

Learning The Hard Way

As a first year teacher, I took on the role of head varsity baseball coach, first time father, and moving from Mammoth Lakes to Santa Clarita. It was way to much for me at that time. I had seemingly endless demands from the district as a new teacher for lesson plans, attending classes, observations, coupled with putting a baseball program back together that had been in disarray. As soon as the season started, my daughter was born who suffered from colic so needed to be held constantly or would be in great discomfort. I would literally come home and fall asleep witj her velcroed to my baseball jersey in her swaddling blanket. I would wander into school many days with an hour or two of sleep and needless to say, did not teach very well. By God’s grace I made it through, but I learned quickly not to overcommit myself.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading The LifeLong Education Blog! I hope you have a fantastic weekend! Till next time!

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