True Tales of a Teacher

Let's face it, I'm getting old. My body aches every day and I get tired easily. My memory isn't as sharp as when I was in my 20s and retaining information has been a challenge for me lately because my mind simply cannot multitask and remember every single little detail of my job, every conversation, every meeting and balance my health, family and work life. I have my health to care for because it's mandatory to live. I exercise at night because that's all I have time for. I take naps before I go because I'm too exhausted from the teaching day. I have my husband who needs me to listen to his day at work and I want to spend time with him. I have my son who doesn't want to spend time with me as much anymore. I'm lucky if I see him for an hour during the week because he's always busy. He is slowly drifting from the nest. It's hard to let my kids go into this scary world, but it's another life experience I'm encountering in addition to this cr...

 Who am I? A question I've been asking myself for the last year. And every time I answer the following: A woman who's main hobby is teaching. Every day, every year. It's been my main lifestyle for the past eight years. A teacher that spends countless hours on the weekends trying to make little people not only learn, but love school in the process of it all. I research ways that can make their learning engaging so they don't surrender to their ADHD behavior or constantly have that need to be stimulated. This is a different population of children. They are allowed to do whatever the hell they want. Cry? Here's an iPad. Hungry? Here's some Oreos. Bored? Here's an iPad with all of these apps that will keep you occupied and provide instant gratification. Tired? Watch a YouTube video and put yourself to sleep. Lonely? Chat online with friends you don't know while hiding behind a computer screen.  This has been my life for the last eight years in this occupatio...

It has been some time since I've popped in. This is due to the fact that teaching has consumed my life. It has consumed my life so much that I've decided to seek ways to get out of this profession that I've loved for so long. I realize I can't take on other people's problems anymore because it is diminishing my true sense of self. I slave away at my computer developing lesson plans, which to be honest aren't always mine because I am so exhausted and don't find the motivation to be creative anymore as I once was twenty years ago. Back then, the late 90s early 2000s, kids were different. There was no constant accessibility to electronics like there is now. I was so creative back then. What happened to me? Where is the spark within me that shined so bright?  The spark has been dull for sometime now. It no longer shines as bright as it used to. The enthusiasm I used to feel was such a rush for my inner being because I truly sensed I was changing so many lives. T...

 "Do you want to be on this committee for literacy?"  "My child needs more of a challenge, can you please assign more homework?" "I'm assigning this amazing instructional facilitator to help you teach math. Please make sure your room is ready tomorrow for a preview." "You have to sign up for this training and I want you to lead discussions at the team meeting." Any of these sound familiar? Requests....they are from our students, from our parents, from our colleagues, from our administration. We have so many requests in one day and God knows how many in one week! It can be overwhelming and many teachers find it hard to say, "NO." Why do we constantly do this to ourselves? Why do we take on more than we can handle? Why do we feel obligated to volunteer for the after school program? Why do we feel pressure to stay at school until 6:00 or 8:00 in the evening working away at lesson plans, grading or researching the next best lesson on ...