Striking the balance...

‘We all know and are often told that teaching is a tough career. This week more than ever, I have thought about the sacrifices we make for those wonderful pupils in front of us each lesson of every day. But how do we strike the balance?’

This week has brought with it our wonderful school musical. This was my first musical with my school, and I feel absolutely overwhelmed by its success. To hear the audience’s rave reviews, the kids faces gleaming with pride and to sit with my wonderful colleagues eating cold pizza at 1am smiling from ear to ear, made it all worth it! We have been rehearsing and creating since September, for our final show in February. Five months of solid commitment from us all - after-school rehearsals, organisation, preparation, and barely any sleep!

When our prayer theme for this week was ‘surrender’, our deputy head mentioned in staff briefing about how much we surrender/sacrifice in our jobs. He then mentioned all the teachers involved in the musical. The staff who have been arriving at work before 8am and not leaving until 11pm every day this week. With enrichment lost, we have rehearsed all days of the week between us, with the pupils also sacrificing their social lives, time for homework and time to chill.

At times it was very tough. The tiredness hit hard, and I found myself snapping at my fabulous colleagues when I really shouldn’t have. But the great moments outlive the grumpy Miss Barber that unfortunately surfaced this last week. Running back stage was a delight, seeing the excitement on their faces as they got ready to go on stage. My family travelled from Suffolk to see my first school production, and were so proud of my achievements. And of course, to celebrate our fantastic collaboration as colleagues, even if it does mean staying at school until 1am to clear up!

But whilst all of this was going on, our daily teaching didn’t stop. The world kept turning, the multi-tasking had to keep happening! At the end of the week, I thought about both the sacrifices of this week, and also every week that I teach:

- The weekends we give up to make sure our pupils have the best lessons ahead of them.

- The marking we do in our spare time, instead of spending time with our families and friends.

- The crappy, quick, easy-to-prep meals we have for tea because we know we’ve got a to-do list as long as the wall of China to get through by the end of the week.

But this weekend, I did not sacrifice my time. I had some ‘me’ time, I spent time with my wonderful partner and family. I got some fresh air on a rather muddy dog walk. I treated myself to some sweet treats. I had a relaxing, long, hot bath with a bath bomb included!

Striking the right balance is hard. Not feeling guilty for having ‘me’ time is hard. But when you feel that you might have met that balance even for a few short moments, it is golden.

This weekend was guilt free, knowing that I have sacrificed a lot in these past months, which although they have been completely worth it, some rest time was earned and needed.

Sometimes we need to take ten minutes out, be proud of how much we do for our schools and our pupils, but also we must look after ourselves. We have to look after ourselves and not always sacrifice our precious time for others. Take some time out for YOU.

What do you sacrifice for the pupils in front of you? How do you strike the balance?

Have some ‘’me’ time and enjoy it! You are wonderful and you deserve it!

Miss B :)