Why is it that at the
beginning of the school year, everything has such a rosy glow?
You get all revved up for the start of the school year. You rush and stress and work super long hours the first week of school (after having worked during the summer) in order to throw yourself into that first week of students. More long, stressful hours. The coffee helps, but it’s really the positive vibes that keep you going.
Then, the crash.
Reality sets in. The drawbacks of the job stand out. I don’t know why, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone in November is basically the same as they were in August, but something has changed. You start asking yourself questions, questions that don’t necessarily make you happy. It can really mess with your mojo. I don’t even think that it’s anything bad about the job of teaching. Maybe it’s just that adrenaline can only last so long.
Don’t get me wrong. Right now, a few days before students, there are plenty of questions.
Are the new evaluations fair? How many hours a day should I be working? What was (insert name of department) thinking in writing its new curriculum? Why does the teacher’s union have a cookout? …on a military base?
That’s the magic. It’s August. It’s okay not to have satisfying answers. Okay for now. During the grind of the school year, these kinds of questions would probably have me shaking my head ruefully. Now, though, I think I’ll go eat a hotdog.
It's going to be a good year.
You get all revved up for the start of the school year. You rush and stress and work super long hours the first week of school (after having worked during the summer) in order to throw yourself into that first week of students. More long, stressful hours. The coffee helps, but it’s really the positive vibes that keep you going.
Then, the crash.
Reality sets in. The drawbacks of the job stand out. I don’t know why, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone in November is basically the same as they were in August, but something has changed. You start asking yourself questions, questions that don’t necessarily make you happy. It can really mess with your mojo. I don’t even think that it’s anything bad about the job of teaching. Maybe it’s just that adrenaline can only last so long.
Don’t get me wrong. Right now, a few days before students, there are plenty of questions.
Are the new evaluations fair? How many hours a day should I be working? What was (insert name of department) thinking in writing its new curriculum? Why does the teacher’s union have a cookout? …on a military base?
That’s the magic. It’s August. It’s okay not to have satisfying answers. Okay for now. During the grind of the school year, these kinds of questions would probably have me shaking my head ruefully. Now, though, I think I’ll go eat a hotdog.
It's going to be a good year.
