Stupid Protestant Work Ethic

09. January 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

At some point in my adult life, I began to work harder than I know I did as a teenager or even a college student.  Some of this was by necessity.  A 9-5 job is a very different commitment than 4 or 5 classes in college. Even though I have worked at “real jobs” since I was 14, I approach work differently than I did then.  Those jobs were just jobs.  Now I feel a level of investment in my work that makes me put a lot more effort into it.  At all of my jobs for the last 15 years or so, I have really cared about doing a good job, not so much because I wanted to get promoted or whatever, but because, as an educator, I knew people depended on me.  I’ve sought ways of improving what I do: by going to conferences, by talking to experienced colleagues, or by reading books.  I’m also often asking myself what more I could be doing to make wherever I work a better place.  I put a lot into my work.  As a result, I usually get a lot out of it, too.  I feel good about what I’m doing.

However, that kind of cycle of constantly looking for things to do better or more of has the potential to burn me out.  And so, I don’t take work home (much).  When I come home, I may read a blog or article on education, but I don’t grade or prepare for class or check email.  I leave work at work.  For my own sanity, this is how it needs to be.  And yet, I sometimes feel guilty.  I know colleagues who take their work home.  I feel guilty that I don’t.  But as another colleague was telling me, we need to step away from work.  It makes us better able to cope the next day if we’ve spent some time relaxing, being with our families and not thinking about work.  And so, I try to put the guilt away, rest, reconnect so that I have the physical and emotional energy I need to do my best at work.

Back to the grind

03. January 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,
Day 1: Dog tired

Image by lorda via Flickr

Well, here it is. 6 a.m.  A time of morning I haven’t seen in a while.  I have not really thought much about  school for two weeks.  We’re in the middle of everything, so there’s no new beginnings post new year.  In fact, we have exams in a few weeks.  I’ll be doing a few things and then beginning to review.  It feels weird.

I’m looking forward to going back and seeing colleagues and students again.  I missed the routine of school.  But I also enjoyed the lack of routine the days have had, where I decided from moment to moment what to do.  This week is short, at least, a good one to get back in the swing of things.  By the time Friday rolls around, 6 a.m. will seem normal again.

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Scenes from the first week

18. September 2011 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

The first full week of school is done, and boy, has it been filled with surprises, good and bad.  I started the year off without permanent furniture in my classroom.  We ordered it late, and then it arrived later than we expected, yesterday, in fact.  I’m still working on arranging my classroom the way I want it.  It’s not quite there yet.  I’m also trying to come up with a way to improve the acoustics–it’s quite echo-y at the moment.  My worries about not knowing as much as my students has been abated.  My fear came from two places.  One, I’m still an inexperienced K-12 teacher.  Two, I have several students who have gone out and “learned” things in my field on their own.  I’ve realized that it’s like being an English teacher who’s not read a particular book than a student has, and not like an English teacher who’s never read a book.  I’ve also realized that while some of my students have indeed explored languages and environments that I haven’t doesn’t mean that they’ve fully grasped the underlying concepts.  In fact, I’ve found that the underlying concepts are often a bit fuzzy for them, so now I’m helping them get those more clearly so that whatever language they’re in, they know what a loop is and when and why to use it.

I started a middle school robotics club this year, and I have 20 students–20!  I have no idea how this is going to work out.  But, it’s going, and that’s the important thing.  I have a wide variety of students, which makes me pretty happy.  I kind of know what I’m doing this year, so even though I don’t know everything, I can usually figure things out quickly.  I also have help in the form of a volunteer who has done this a lot, for which I am truly grateful.  Just having an extra set of hands is great.  I’m also getting a lot of great support from colleagues and my administration, which is really wonderful.

I will be glad when I get past in-service day, which I’m coordinating.  Things are going well there, but it still worries me that something will not go well.  All I can say is that I’ve done what I can.  I’ve been as organized as I possibly can be and from here on out, things will flow however they will.

Next week, we’re away on our class trips.  I’m going camping again this year, and I think it’s going to be very fun.  Geeky Girl will be on the trip as well, and she’s really looking forward to it.

I have to tell you, even though there were some rocky moments at the beginning of the year, I still love my job.  Yes, I’m working ridiculously hard.  I have a lot on my plate, juggling many different hats, but I still feel fulfilled rather than drained at the end of the day.  I’m careful about my time.  I really do work mostly only at work and when I come home, I turn it off.  If I do do some work at home, it’s often because I want to, not because I have to.  I’m looking forward to a great year.

Holy Cow

01. September 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

I know it’s all going to be okay in the end, but shew, what a whirlwind these last days have been.  Meeting after meeting.  Email after email.  A classroom without furniture.  A growing to-do list.  How, oh, how, will it all get done?

But . . . I have 7 kids signed up already for a new club–and that’s without advertising.  I’ve had some very fruitful and good conversations with colleagues, all of whom have great ideas.  Those same colleagues have really stepped up to help with the in-service day that’s just over a month away now.  And yet another colleague who has helped me immensely with all my classroom issues.  I am getting her something as a thank you.

Tomorrow, I’m going in to finish off the must do list and then Geeky Girl and I are going on our annual girl shopping trip.  I hated, hated shopping with my mom.  The fact that Geeky Girl doesn’t yet is quite something.  I have a replacement phone coming this week (thank you, ebay).  And Mr. Geeky and I are spending (we hope) a relaxing evening in the city, eating good food.  A last hurrah because the school year really gets going.

And so it begins

30. August 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Today was the first day of meetings. It was great to see everyone. It was really nice not to be the new kid anymore. I felt like i knew what I was doing and really looked forward to seeing people. One of my mantras for this year is “more hugging,” which I know sounds weird, but I have always been shy about connecting with people. Often I will feel like hugging someone because I’m glad to see them, but then I don’t. So I’m resisting the urge to back off. It’s great to feel connected to people and great to feel that they feel a connection to you as well.

Lots of real business is also getting done already and it feels good to be wrestling with stuff again. I love that I have such smart and thoughtful colleagues who work hard and think hard. I also feel like I’m never on my own. I have a ton on my plate but I know I can always ask for help and that I will get it.

Now we’ll see what happens when the kids get here.

To go to the office or not

15. August 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

During this time of the year, I often question whether to work at home or go into the office.  Today, it’s raining and yucky, and while there are things I could do at the office, I’m thinking of not going.  Tomorrow, I have meetings and other things going on.  Today, meh.  I need to order furniture for my classroom, and I need to work on the bulletin board outside my classroom, but really, neither of those things will take that much time.  I searched this weekend for good decorations, and couldn’t find much.  I found some robot scrapbooking materials, but they were in the “Boys will be boys” section, which made me very sad.  So, I’m still scrambling.  I might have to scrounge around a computer store to find anything useful.

I have lots to do around the house today, so I could tackle that.  And part of me is thinking . . . only two more weeks, let’s cherish it.  No one else, btw, is really going in to work.  I was in almost every day last week and I only ran into three other teachers.  I think a quiet day at home, checking email, and getting some course materials organized, is in order.

Finally vacationing . . . sort of

05. July 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Friday through Monday, I finally quit thinking about work, quit thinking I should do something “constructive” every day as if I needed to atone for my getting the summer off. Sad, isn’t it? I have my fall course planned through winter break. I have locked in one speaker and 9 volunteers for our in-service day that I’m planning. I’ve been to two work-related conferences and will go to another one this weekend/early next week. I think I’m working enough. Thank you Puritan background. Sigh.

Because, of course I got up and checked my work email this morning for the first time in a week, and of course, I’m now going in to work for an hour or so. Which I’d sort of planned on doing anyway. But, by god, I’m going to the pool this afternoon. Don’t try to stop me. I’m on vacation. Sort of.

Here we go

13. June 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

It’s going to be a busy summer. This week, I plan to continue work on developing my fall class. I’ve been planning out discussions, a few short lectures, and labs. To keep my programming skills sharp, I plan to work through my own exercises and I’ve devised a challenging project for myself.

I’m also attending 3 conferences, one a week from today, another just a few days after that and another less than two weeks later. I’m hoping those conferences bring me ideas for my work, but I do feel a bit overwhelmed by all of it. Still, I hope to take a real break after the last conference and not really think about work for a good 3 or 4 weeks.

Next summer, I think I’ll limit myself to just one conference. I’ll still be developing courses. That’s the blessing and the curse of building a new program. Even if I had courses in place, I’d still be making changes I’m sure. The pace is going to be different andd I’ll appreciate the downtime, a first for me in a job.

What was that about teachers not working in the summer?

Organizing summer

06. June 2011 · 5 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

Mr. Geeky and I were just discussing how to organize our kids this summer.  Geeky Boy is going to one camp.  Geeky Girl isn’t going to any, so we have long days ahead of us.  Though we want them to have relaxing summers, we also don’t want them to totally veg out. Mr. Geeky and I both have work to get done, and my personal plan is to work in the mornings and take the afternoons off.  A few summers ago, perhaps when I was still working on my dissertation, that’s exactly what I did, and it worked well.  I spent a focused 3 or 4 hours in the morning working, and then could relax guilt free in the afternoons.

We want the kids to do the same thing.  Both have summer reading to do.  We’d like them to do some other academic-like work.  We’d even be open to them playing music and other non-computer-like activity.  So we’ll figure out a plan and see what we all come up with.  What do you all do with your long summer days?

Scrambling to the finish

04. June 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,
Birthday cake

Image by lorda via Flickr

Motherlode has a post about all the many activities that take place at the end of the year.  The comments are really kind of funny.  There’s the ones that commiserate, listing all the activities they’re participating in at the end of the year.  There are the complainers that this is too much and they’re not wasting their vacation days on silly end-of-year parties.  There are the pragmatists who say they go to what they feel like.  And there are the anti-child people (only a couple) who are grateful they don’t have kids.

The end of school has always been crazy for us, with our kids’ birthdays being on the 5th and 7th of June.  Not only are we running around to various end of school events, but also planning our own parties and often visits from relatives.  I was never so glad when we moved to this neighborhood and parties turned out to be really low-key events, with parents sometimes calling us a few days in advance to come over for pizza and cake, gifts optional.  One parent in the comments commented that the original poster was contributing to the end of the year pandemonium by having parties for her kids.  Why not skip it?   My kids have had friends with birthdays near the end of the year who postpone until July or August, or who even pick a random day in say, November, to have a party.

This year, neither kid is having a party.  Geeky Boy, turning 16 tomorrow, has organized some friends to go out for a sushi dinner together at a place within walking distance of our house.  We’ve offered to cover the cost and provide rides, but he doesn’t want us there.  We’ll do something as a family tonight probably.  Geeky Girl, who turns 12, and whose birthday, for the first time, falls after the end of the school year, is opting to maybe possibly do something later in the summer.  Her friends, who found out she’s not doing anything formal, have offered to organize something.  So that might or might not happen.  Her choice for family activity is to go spend time on a boardwalk at the Jersey shore.  She wants to ride rides and play games, eat fries and ice cream and maybe have a nice dinner on the way home.  Geeky Boy is also mostly on board for this.

So, big parties for us are ramping down.  I suspect the next big one will be Geeky Boy’s graduation in a couple of years.  I was explaining to the kids that I don’t even remember having birthday parties when I was their age.  A friend and I coordinated a 16th together, but before that and after that, I don’t remember much special.  I remember attending parties with cake and ice cream and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, but only from say, kindergarten to 3rd grade.  Middle school was the age of “boy-girl” parties, hosted any time, without waiting for a birthday.  These consisted of pizza and soda and chips, and sometimes cake if we were celebrating something.  There was music and dimmed lights and games of spin-the-bottle.  I don’t think things like this happen anymore.

I’ve always taken a very low-key approach to these kind of kid activities as well as the school ones.  I went when I could, but if I couldn’t, so be it.  And the kids seem no worse for the wear.  How about you?  How big a deal do you make about different kinds of celebrations?

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