Balance

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"I used to believe that teachers burnt out because they had poor strategies or they weren't meant to be teachers in the first place or maybe they simply worked too hard and it consumed them. I realized, over time, that the core issue of burnout is one of identity ... A crisis of identity and a skewed belief system ultimately do more damage to a teacher than failing to breathe correctly or use the best procedures. Teaching is not a mechanistic endeavor. It is deeply tied to one's beliefs, attitudes and identity, because it is a relational profession." (John T. Spencer in A Sustainable Start, page 8)

I started thinking this week about what would leave me feeling burned out and lack of balance came quickly to mind.  Part of my identity as a teacher is that I am also a person, a wife, a mom, a friend. It will be important to me to maintain a balance between my teaching life and my personal life.  I struggle with this now during our certification program, focusing on the program and letting other things slip.  So this week I tried to have more balance.  I went out to dinner with my husband, spent a day playing board games with my son, and set up a lunch date with an old friend.

I am starting to think balance might also be a key to good teaching in the classroom.  Balancing kindness with limits. Balancing subjects - making some room for Science and Social Studies. Balancing independent work time with collaboration. Balancing technology with old school essentials (like handwriting). Balancing active learning with quiet times. I want to give my students a range of subjects and points of entry so that they find places they feel comfortable and places that make them stretch.

Speaking of technology ... we don't set limits on screen time at my house and I know this is controversial.  But our kids have good balance (better than mine, I admit).  They will walk away from the screen to play basketball or go to karate or do homework or read.  By allowing them to fine tune this sense of balance - between all the things in their lives that are important to them - we are trying to help them develop the ability to monitor themselves since we won't always be hovering over them to make sure they are following the rules.

I want the students in my classroom to learn balance and I want to provide them with balance in the classroom. I think the first step in doing this is to have balance  myself.