Being
a college student can be stressful—trying to fit studying in between classes so
you can get to your evening job, staying up until 4am writing a paper, eating
ramen noodles and hot pockets every day because you have no time or money for
real food. Being a student can really take a toll. Then comes your senior year—the
routine is down, the study schedule is perfect, you’ve upgraded from ramen to
hot dogs and turkey sandwiches. You have finally figured out how to balance
school and life—unless you’re an education major, and you’re student teaching…
Last semester I had my routine down, but student teaching is a completely different ball game. I was unprepared for this change. Teaching all day, staying after school to grade papers and prepare for the next day, finally getting to my homework at 6pm, eating fast food…not ideal. Of course one benefit is that by the time I get to bed I am so exhausted that I sleep better than I have ever slept in my whole life. That said, I feel completely opposite of “balanced.” By Friday each week I am struggling to keep my eyes open. I feel like I am behind all the time, even though as I write this blog entry it is actually nine days before it is due. The point is, I am probably not actually behind, just stressed. Very, very stressed.
Long
story short, I need help. How can I succeed at
student teaching and stay healthy and happy? After searching for
advice online, I found some helpful information at http://teachersupport.info/facts-sheets/work-life-balance-what-it-and-how-do-i-achieve-it.
The article is called “Work-Life Balance- What is it and how do I achieve it?” After reading the tips in the article, I realized
where my downfalls might lie. The following four tips from the article are the
ones I believe will make the biggest difference in my student teaching life,
and maybe in yours, too!
1) “Make boundaries—something
produced in three hours will be different from something produced in one hour,
but is it any better?”
It happens to me all the time. I get
“stuck” on a lesson plan or assignment, and instead of taking a break I push
through, driving myself insane, staring at the computer screen. Maybe if I set
a boundary each day regarding how much time I will allow myself to spend on
planning and homework, I could come back at a later time with a fresh
perspective, avoiding that MAD SCIENTIST look I get on my face on the fifth
hour of lesson planning.
2) “Keep fit. Exercise
regularly and make sure you’re eating healthily.”
What? Add something else to my
schedule? Are you crazy?! I am sure it is true, though, and I am completely
guilty. In past years as a college student I have always exercised on a regular
basis. During pre-student teaching, though, I started cutting back. This
semester I have been to the gym only once! This is definitely an area I could
work on.
3) “Rest and relax. Keep
at least one day of the weekend free.”
Until this semester, my rule was ‘no
homework on the weekends, and no homework after 6pm.’ I was very successful at
keeping up with this rule. This rule doesn’t work for student teaching. I am
teaching all day, so homework must be done in the evenings and on the weekends.
Maybe this new rule—keep one day of the weekend free—would be a good
substitute.
To
be the best teacher I can be I need to be the healthiest, happiest human being
I can be. Living with constant stress is not okay. I have told myself that what
I am sacrificing—not working out, not taking time to relax, working through
lunch—is for my students. Not so. What my students need is a healthy, happy teacher
who takes care of herself, who can be a role model and an inspiration for
students so they might do the same. Now I just need to make some changes so
that I can be that person for them, and for myself.
