Back-to-School: Teacher's first week survival guide
- by Jessi Chartier (RSS feed) on Aug 21st 2007 3:00PM
- Filed under miscellaneous, seasonal
The school bell is about to ring in a new year, but there is a group of adults who need just as much attention for Back-To-School preparation as the students: the teachers. Most people don't realize, but a summer break for a teacher is not a break at all, but an opportunity to lesson plan for the upcoming year, get those state required classes completed, fight in line at the local state board of education for re-licensure, and catch up on the required reading for next year. Regardless, going back to school is just as exciting and demanding on teachers as it is on students. Unlike students, however, most teachers have the added stress of family and household demands. So, here's a survival guide for the teacher on easing back into the school year without fainting from exhaustion.
The Week before school starts
- Make extras for dinner each night, tupperware them in individual packages, freeze. Viola! Frozen dinners for either lunch or dinner next week.
- Get in the habit of getting up early now. The best is to get up at your normal school time. I know, this sounds painful, but it will make next week that much easier. Remember, you need to be more awake than the students.
- Get all "day-time" stuff done now: return library books, stop off at the DMV, wait in line at the post office.
- Make a list of all the daily things you want done during the school year. Make a schedule of chores, when you'll work out; remember, during the school year, each hour during the day is precious, use it wisely. And don't forget to include relax or play time. Put this schedule on the fridge.
The Weekend before school starts
Friday
- Enjoy a night with the girls or go out for a game of pool. Keep it low key, but enjoy the night.
- Get up only a few hours after you would normally get up on Monday - Getting your body acclimated to getting up early will help with the Monday alarm.
- Work out - Make sure you work out now; it will give you the energy needed to shake off that summer slump.
- Casserole heaven - Make several casseroles and freeze them. The first week of school is much like having a baby: nothing gets done around the house due to pure exhaustion. So, get the food ready. Make the casseroles big enough for left-overs for lunches.
- While doing errands, fill up on gas - This will get you through the next week without having to worry about running out on your way to work.
- Party out one last Saturday night - Watch SNL, Adult Swim, or go out. You've got to celebrate that last weekend of freedom.
- Again, get up a few hours after you would normally.
- Clean the house one last time - Again, you won't get to it during the week, so do it now.
- Relax in the afternoon - Enjoy your family, or have tea with a neighbor.
- Order a pizza or Chinese for dinner - Why make dirty dishes the night before school?
- Set out tomorrow's clothes, make a lunch, and set the alarm early.
- Get to bed early - If you've been cleaning your house the entire day, you won't have those panic attacks in the middle of the night. You'll be sleeping instead.
Before school
- Get up early enough to have time to stare at the coffee for a bit and get to school before those students do
- Accept that things will not go as planned, and that's half the fun of teaching
During school
- Find a quiet moment to just breath and be thankful you're not in a cubicle career.
After school
- Relish in one good thing from the day.
- Make an 'at-a-boy' phone call home.
- Pop a casserole in the over
- Work out
- Eat - stick the leftovers in tupperware for lunch tomorrow
- Grade/plan
- Relax just before bed
Rest of the week
- Remember to give yourself enough time in the morning
- Nap on opposite days of working out
- Go out Friday night with adults - being around kids all day is taxing, albeit amazing. We all need adult interaction.
Comments [4]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-21-2007 @ 9:11PM
Dr.MOZ said...
Fantastic post Jessi! We hear a lot about preparing students for the new school year, but this could be the first post we've seen mentioning the teachers.
A link to DIY's survival guide was included in today's post at the Dear Dr.MOZ blog:
http://www.deardrmoz.com
Keep up the great blogging!
Dr.MOZ
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8-21-2007 @ 9:24PM
Jessi Chartier said...
Thanks Dr. Moz. I hope to continue to write more about DIY teacher stuff throughout the year. Such as how to make Winter Break a break, not a "catch-up with school work" time.
Viva la chalkboard!
Reply
8-22-2007 @ 1:26PM
Jennifer said...
Bless you for recognizing that the summer is not just free time for teachers! All too often I hear people complain about teachers, commenting that we have no right to growl about our working conditions, pay, etc. because of all the time off during the year we have! But I can tell you that just because I'm not in my classroom doesn't mean I'm not working! This summer I planned for a new book for a course, completed a class, dealt with benefits issues and renewing my credential at my district office and my university, investigated new technology for use in my classroom, updated my coursework to reflect the new book, revamped assignments, and reorganized part of my classroom - all while catching up on cleaning that I never seem to have enough time to do during the rest of the year (especially since I have a family of 5). No vacation for me...not enough money, what with 3 children still at home, all of which are prepping to attend college in the next two years.
So on behalf of teachers everywhere - THANK YOU for recognizing that just because we go to the office "only" 180 days during the year, we work year-round, inlcuding weekends, holidays, and summer "vacation".
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8-27-2007 @ 9:26PM
Chris said...
Wonderful article! This time of year, we focus so much on getting ready for our students that we often forget taking care of ourselves. I've posted a link to your article on my blog:
http://www.craftyteacher.com
Thanks again for remembering teachers and not just their students!
Chris
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