Teaching is What I Do, Not Who I Am

For months, I have debated whether or not to post this. However, after recently listening to an episode on Annabelle Williamson's podcast Listening to Your Gut, what Annabelle had to say really resonated with me.

One of my favorite TV shows is Abbott Elementary. Not only do I find the show absolutely hilarious, but I think that it actually captures what teaching and school life is like as a teacher (as opposed to a show years ago called Boston Public which I felt got it so wrong). One of the aspects which I love most about Abbott Elementary is how it portrays the dynamics between the younger, newer teachers and the older generation of teachers. The younger teachers, with only a year or two of teaching under their belts, view the older teachers as cynical and uncaring about issues in education, while the older teachers view their younger counterparts as idealistic and unrealistic. However, what the younger teachers soon realize is that the older teachers do indeed care about education but after years of experience, they now realize which battles are worth fighting and which are not - these older teachers understand the reality of the teaching workplace. 

I SO relate to both sets of teachers in Abbot Elementary! I can vividly remember in my first year of teaching as a 27-year old listening to an older teacher named Herb in his 50's ramble on about how much education had changed and how SO MUCH MORE was being added/expected of teachers in addition to teaching without anything else being taken away, AND I can vividly remember my reaction being, "Gosh, this is man is old and all he does is complain - he needs to retire." Fast forward 24 years later - I am now Herb!!  Chalk it up to that I am in a completely different age and stage than I was in my first year of teaching at the age of 27, and the scope of education has changed so much since 1997. If only Herb were to see now what we teachers are required to do now 24-25 years later! 

You may view this blog post as ramblings of a grumpy "old man" (how i can remember thinking that 52 was old when I was in my 20's!), but now that I am in my last 1/3 of my teaching career, there is so much which I view differently now than even 5-10 years ago. I am so grateful for the pandemic lockdown and the year of hybrid teaching, because everything came to a screeching halt, and I had to re-evaluate myself. One of the biggest lessons which I have come to learn: Teaching is what I do but it is not at all who I am. 

I had to go through a shift in my mindset to come to that conclusion, and like I said (and also as shown on Abbott Elementary), so much of it is a result of my age and stage. Here is how I now keep perspective:

• It is perfectly okay to look out for yourself first, because that is healthy. I think that it is very easy to blur the lines between our professional and personal lives and that so often, our professional pursuits/lives slowly bleed into our personal lives until there is no real distinction between the two. I firmly believe that as teachers, we are incredibly passionate people (or else we would not be teachers) and that we are very giving of ourselves to our students and to the profession. Yet, whenever I hear teachers say that they are staying in the profession for their students (because "if they as teachers leave, who will be there for their students?"), then I become dismayed, because that it is a "savior mentality" thinking. While students indeed should be a priority, you yourself are priority number one! If you are at the point that you feel you need to leave teaching, then do it! Teaching will always be there to return back to again - focus on yourself first. 
• Boundaries are SO important - please draw them, and stick to them! I am no longer serving on any more boards as a member or officer - being a new department head is more than enough to fill my plate. I am now incredibly selective with what conferences I will attend and present at. Years ago, I felt like that attending/presenting at conferences was my life, and I really enjoyed it - it brought me pleasure. But that was the problem - my professional life became my personal life. 
• Leaving work at work. I love that I have a true personal life now!
• Choose your battles carefully - big picture, not every hill is worth dying on. 
• Find out who you are outside of teaching. Again, once I made a distinct boundary between my professional and personal life, I could focus on me outside of anything related to the classroom. I am learning that I enjoy traveling and cruising (on a ship, not in a car down a street lol)!

This is not to say that I have lost my passion for teaching - far from it! I still want to be the best teacher whom I can be and wish to continue to grow. However, because of this perspective, I am able to enjoy teaching in this last 1/3 of my professional career and to avoid burnout.

Anyone else love watching Abbott Elementary too?