Finally finding peace

Through a bunch of different avenues, I am finally finding a sense of peace in my teaching, and I'm really, really liking it.

For the first 8 years of my teaching, I was a literal mess. I never knew exactly what I was doing when. I changed things minutes before class started. I planned things then forgot about them. I had massive amounts of resources that I did not use but insisted on keeping. It was crazy and nerve-wracking. I would get to break and be completely wiped out for 2 or 3 days while I recovered.  Then I would have to start getting ready for the next bout. It was miserable. I did not look forward to going to work because it was completely and totally draining. Every single day was a struggle. I hated it.

Then, 2 years ago, I joined the teacher 40-hour workweek club and it was life-changing. Or at least work life-changing. Every month was a different topic and they delved deep into that topic with a focus on making life simpler and easier for the teacher.  This really started me thinking. About everything. Everything I did. How I did things. Why I did things. The way I did things. Everything. And I think that was what was needed to turn my teaching around.

I started this blog a year and a half ago strictly to document my evolution in teaching. And it has worked. It has helped me be introspective about things I do in my classroom. It has helped me see when things don't work for me. It has helped me see when I was fighting something and really just needed to change it. It has led to much calmer and happier me. I am calmer in the classroom. I am happier in general. And I really like my job again, which I was very close to hating.

Fast forward to the last 4 weeks. We have been back from break 4 weeks now. I have used all that I have learned to make these 4 weeks easier on me. And they have been. I have found a sense of peace in what I'm doing. I have set out what I want them to know, copied the worksheets and worked on them learning that. When I ran into trouble, I was able to take a step back and reteach with little problem. I handled an absence with ease. I have a system that really seems to be working for me.

I have also found peace with my planner. Not only do I love how it looks, but I am using it in a very effective way. I am entering my plans for the class at the beginning of the week. After I teach the class, I highlight what I did and alter what I didn't. Then I use that information to determine what to do the next class. It works amazingly well. I've been doing more and more of my grading during my preps because I'm not running around trying to figure out what to do for the next class. I have needed copies all made and ready to go and I use my TAs to make extra copies or to clean up around the lab. It is awesome.

So finally, after 10 years in the classroom, I am finding peace with what I'm doing. I even have time to do things like put agendas on the board and keep the objectives posted and up to date. It is really amazing. I'm looking at incorporating other things into my teaching too. I took a class yesterday on Google Classroom and got some great ideas. But I've learned not to jump in too quick. I'm going to start with 1 class and see how it works for them. If things go well, I'll expand to all classes next year.

Today is Saturday and I have just a few school related things to do. So, because I'm feeling kind of crappy, I get to spend most of the day doing things I really enjoy and that makes me happier during the week.