During Thursday of inservice week my school held an open house where parents and students could find out their teacher. Students could bring their school supplies and unload their goods into their desks. The open house was held in the evening after school hours. During the second week of school we held a "Curriculum Night." This meeting was held to tell the parents about new school policies, and listen to teachers talk about class procedures. During this meeting parents were encouraged to sign-up for teacher-parent conferences to be held three weeks later. In two weeks the school will hold a PTA meeting at night in which teachers are highly encouraged to attend.
It was 8:45 PM when I finally ushered the last parent out the door. I had been on my feet non-stop since arriving at school at 7:30 AM. I'm really curious what occupation has their salaried employees work 13 hour days without the benefit of a "flex" or "comp" day. I don't know of a school that offers this arrangement to teachers. I really do "get it" about the need for parents to have access to teachers. I always attended my children's school events. I really appreciated the long hours the teachers put in, because I was in their same boat.
When I arrived home, my daughter and husband had tried making "spirit overalls" in which I had insisted they not start until I was home. My daughter was determined to start without me and I did my best to give directions. Even still, they had spent hours cutting out patterns and letters, but had missed a vital step. Prior to cutting out the shapes, the "wonder under" should have been ironed to the fabric. After eating dinner which consisted of a quick bowl of cereal, I was finally able to take off my teacher hat and be a mother. We started the project over from scratch. Shortly after midnight the project was half completed, but we all called it a night anyway.
My feet hurt, my eyes are weary, and in 6 hours I will awake to be a motivating teacher. Why did I plan a science experiment tomorrow with several stations? I'm not sure my feet can handle it. After school I will look forward to a 2 hour training for science teachers. I really like the science trainings because I usually get to be a kid and investigate all kinds of experiments. However, the family has been instructed once again to eat without me.
I know this is all part of the job, but it's hard with the time demands to strike a balance between family and work. The old saying of the best part of being a teacher is "June, July and August" really only boils down to a few weeks. The rest of the summer is heavily scheduled with trainings, curriculum writing, or building summer inservice.
Although I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world, it's tough when the job entails putting other kids in front of my own. My daughter needed me to be home tonight. The time I missed with her was time I simply won't get back. Hopefully, I can figure out how to have the best of both worlds, but a night like tonight makes it pretty hard on my heart.
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