Countdown to Teacher Inservice

The panic has begun.

Teacher inservice starts in one week.  How is that possible?!  NO!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's how most teachers feel about inservice week:

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If you're a teacher, you completely understand that the last week of summer is full of juxtapositions. (I love the word juxtaposition, by the way.  One of my faves.)  These last few days are both wonderful and stressful.  You enjoy them, but not as much as the rest of the summer because you're anxious.  It's the time when you can still stay up late, not pack lunches, and pee when you want, but you're insides are also turning over themselves with nervousness about starting another school year.

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If you're not a teacher, you're probably thinking that teachers everywhere should stop whining, complaining, and talking about going back to school. I get it.  I do.

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but people who aren't teachers have said so many things to me over the years about the "perks" of teaching that I've sort of become immune to their comments.

Yes, there are perks.  BIG ones.  I get my summers off, snow days, and holidays.  It really is the perfect job for someone who wants a family because I get to be home when my son is home, and that's the biggest perk of all.

But I also work my you-know-what off during the school year.  Teaching high school English for ten years was extremely hard.  I loved it, but it required a TON of prep work and hours of grading at home.  During the school year, all I did was work.

I had to be in my classroom by 6:50am (which, quite frankly, sucked), but I'd be home by 3:15pm.  At home, I'd do the mom thing for several hours (playtime with my son, dinner, housework, etc.), put my son to bed between 8 and 8:30pm, and then stay up until almost midnight most nights doing school work.  And then do it all again the next day until I crashed between 9:00 and 9:30pm on a Friday night before seeing "who dun it" on the Dateline we were watching.

I'm not telling you this because I want pity.  After all, I chose this profession.  I'm telling you because I just want you to understand that life during the school year, at least for me, is super stressful, busy, and exhausting.

Hence why I'm not looking forward to starting another year.

(PS and by the way -- I know there are a lot of jobs that are also just as, if not much more, stressful.  Please don't think I am trying to downgrade those in any way.  I'm just giving you a snapshot of what my life as a teacher is like during the school year.)

This year, though, will be a little different as I'm returning in a new capacity -- as an elementary librarian.  The district I'll be working in is the same as before, but the school I'm in this year is one of our lowest achieving ones.  It's extremely diverse in terms of its student population, and most students are from very low-income families (if they are from families at all... some are from a children's home).  The school itself isn't in the best neighborhood, either.  Most of these students need all the help they can get.  It will definitely be a challenge.

I've already been having back-to-school nightmares about going into school and forgetting to get dressed, having no lesson plans, not finding the library, etc.  Do any of you teachers have dreams like these before the school year begins?

My stress level is super high right now because I still have so much to do and prepare.  My library still isn't ready to go, my office is a hot mess, and my lesson plans for the start of school have yet to be made.  I'm normally a high-stress person (I HATE that about myself), so the stress of starting another year isn't helping.  My body knows it, too.  Without being too TMI-ish, my bathroom habits have already shifted, and my diet is off kilter.

Stress level, anxiety, nervousness = me in a nutshell.

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So I'm going to do my best to try and enjoy this last week while, at the same time, get some items checked off my "to do" list.

I hope you have a great week, whether you're preparing to go back to school or not.  Here's my advice to myself and to all of you who need it, too:

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