Wanna Piece of Me?

As we head into the last month of the school year, the busyness of education ramps up. Schedules are full of end of the year events, concerts, award ceremonies, final exams, proms, and graduations. It’s an exciting time to celebrate the accomplishments of the previous school year. It can also be a draining time as educators close out the year.  Besides attending the events mentioned above, there are the tasks of getting final grades submitted, meeting requirements of student’s individualized education plans (IEPs), and completing necessary paperwork. Every educator I interact with can immediately share how many days are left until summer break. The countdown is underway (usually after spring break if we are honest). There are memes that show the difference between a teacher at the beginning of a school year and how frazzled they look at the end.

This is the point in time when everyone needs everything and right away. The demands and tasks add up quickly. There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day and definitely not enough personal energy to manage it all. It feels like everyone wants a piece of my time, my input, or whatever I’m working on. I can feel pulled in too many directions. I find myself saying periodically “I can’t keep up.” I know I am not alone in this. In fact, I believe those in classroom settings, surrounded by young people with all their needs and demands, have a more challenging time. First, when I notice I’m using that phrase, I try to reframe that thought so negative self-talk doesn’t take over. But I also take a second to breathe and think realistically, “What is the rush? Does everything truly have to happen right now? What can wait?” Often, I find I’m my own worst enemy. I’m the one adding that extra pressure.

My hope with Living SLOW is to help stave off some of that exhaustion. I know realistically it’s impossible not to have a few bumps and bruises at the end of the school year, but ideally, I would love it if this profession wasn’t as taxing on people’s well-being. Ultimately, the system needs modifications, an influx of resources and supports for students’ needs, professional development for the adults and reframing of priorities. While we wait in anticipation for those days to come, what can we do as individuals to ensure we aren’t army-crawling our way to the finish line? What strategies can we employ to protect ourselves and our own wellness?

I recently re-read the blog I posted “Have you lost your marbles” from February 2023 and it reminded me of the perspective that you start each day with a set amount of time and energy to expend. I know I must be intentional during exceptionally busy times to protect that resource. There are only so many pieces of myself, my time and brain power I can give. I know by the end of the day my momentum wanes. I’m sure many of you can relate. I try to be proactive about how much “slice of time” I allot to certain tasks and activities. I attempt to level set for others by being upfront about how much time I have to attend to certain tasks. For example, I may say something like “I’m happy to talk with you but I can only give 20 minutes.” Thinking about teachers, I wonder if it’s possible to establish a boundary around paper grading (“I’ll focus intently on grading these for 30 minutes then I’m taking a 15-minute break to do xx that refuels me”). I’m learning that if we don’t pre-emptively plan, prepare, and protect everyone will take all of your pieces and your peace. Protect it.