Coming back from Winter Break (or any of our fabulous vacations) can be a challenge. Adjusting our routines and bodies back to our school schedules and preparing lunch the night before are two of the things I hate to do following a long break. I always find myself awake at 11:30 pm the night before school, thinking about what I'm going to do for lunch the next day. (There are not very many good lunch options in the neighborhood I work in).
This winter break however, I was on my game. I went to bed at a reasonable hour only AFTER packing my lunch. Nice.
I really didn't feel any back to school drag until I was back at school. On Monday morning we found out that one of the teachers in our department had passed away the night before. She had been struggling with cancer for a long time, was in remission and had relapsed in the last year. She was still working the first day of the week of winter break, and then she was out. Apparently she declined very fast. When the principal made the announcement over the PA system, he applauded her for her 19 years of service to our school, and how she "worked til the end". I enjoy my job, but to be perfectly honest "working til the end" sounds absolutely miserable.
Occasionally I take a sick day, some days I am sick, others I am just exhausted and need a day. Most days I am absent however, I feel guilty about. I wonder if this feeling of guilt is what pushed this woman to work until the end of her life, when she probably should have spent more time recuperating and healing at home.
It's difficult not to feel guilty when absent. Sometimes I feel as if teachers are seen as super humans who have no other relationships besides the one in the building they work in and who have excellent immune systems that go unchallenged by the many germs they come into contact with on a daily basis.
One of my work related goals this year will be to take off when I need off, WITHOUT feeling bad about it.
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Teachers are seen as superhumans. And since there does not exist a good system for our students to continue learning (without putting in hours and hours of lesson planning for a sub), we feel extremely guilty anytime we take a day off no matter how much we need that time off.
Many other fields do not have this same pressure. Work can go on without them. I recently switched fields to the legal field and am working as a paralegal now. And I could not believe the relief I felt making a doctor's appointment during the day, knowing it wouldn't require hours of planning on my part just like when the weather was bad (where I lived but not where I worked), I could just pick up and leave work a few hours early.
I wish sick days and other absences didn't cost so much (in time) for teachers because they really need that time and the ability to not feel so guilty about it.
You’re right, there really isn't any good system in place. I remember still working when I was in high school, and we had a sub. At my current school however, it's a free for all whenever a teacher is out.
Ah, I hope you are enjoying the legal field. :)
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I've never succumbed to so much sicknesses than when I began to teach, and my kids began school. Germs have been invading from all fronts!
Now I'm a sub, and sometimes I drag myself in when a teacher is out sick. I try to keep myself on the list when I'm under the weather because if I don't work, I don't get paid.
When swine flu was a bigger concern, each time I'd sub, a student would ask if the teacher would ask if the teacher had swine flu. I'd hope not, since I was touching the teacher's desk!
Haha, Theresa, that's so true. I was absent when swine flu was everywhere and I think ALL of my students asked me if I had it.
I totally relate to this post- it's not REALLY an accomplishment to "work until the end" but it's so hard to get rid of the guilt. I have slowly gotten better at it (my first year teaching I took NO days off)...but I am still not good at it!
That is an excellent goal-to take off w/o feeling guilty. As Rebecca has said, we are not superhumans. It is not a big deal to take off from time to time. I typically leave bookwork or a film. And as time goes on, I am learning not to feel guilty about it.
I was once told by a veteran teacher: You get sick and die, administrators say condolences, but the reality is the next day, someone will be in your room doing your job. She reminded me that I was replaceable and that I needed to take care of myself first!
I'm sorry that your school lost an amazing teacher.
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@Kelly, yes, I'm slowly getting better at it too.
@Miss Teacha That teacher gave you some excellent advice, I'll keep that in mind.
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