This past week I went back to school after the summer holidays. To teach, luckily, not as a student. I think it’s less stressful as a teacher, regardless of all the organising etc. Students, especially the little ones, are freaking out quietly that they’re going to do the wrong thing, they won’t know anyone, their teachers will be mean, all that stuff.
That said, teaching in that first week is hard work. Most of it is spent trying to remember 150 new kids names and, often, a whole lot of new staff members’ names too. Your classes have not met you before (except for those dreams of classes where you’ve taught nearly everyone and those are easy peasy) and a lot of the first weeks are spent convincing them that a) they made the right choice choosing this subject and b) you’re a great teacher. They need to learn how to behave in your classroom, what your personal expectations and boundaries are, and you need to learn 150 kids’ preferences, backgrounds, obstacles, strengths, attitudes, and social skills.
It’s tough.
This is all to say that this last week I’ve been quiet on the blog front because I’ve been back to work, beta reading two manuscripts for friends, and continuing with my own writing. It’s tough to juggle it all. It will get easier once school evens into a routine and everything becomes (mostly) what you expect.
I used to feel terrible when I sucked at juggling life, but now I give myself the same understanding I give others – juggling is pretty difficult. I think we can all agree on that! At the moment I’m trying to juggle chainsaws when I’m really only skilled enough to do tennis balls.
The thing about juggling is that, with all things, it gets better the more you have to do it. The more you practice. So my goal for this coming week is to get the balance a bit better so that all the things I want to do (oh, and the vacuuming too I guess. and dishes) get done, and the blog returns to a bit more of a rhythm. Thanks for sticking around!
How do you cope with juggling life demands? Let me know your handy tips in the comments!
Clementine Fraser - Author 