Or how to make it through alive…
1. Have an amazing staff at your school. Seriously, my principal and fellow teachers continue to amaze me every day. They are hysterically funny and grounded. Get a cocktail in us and we’ll be telling stories about kindergartener’s potty accidents for days.
2. Use your sick days wisely. If you feel on the verge of passing out and are starting to cough on your kids, seriously take a sick day! They are also a great time to squeeze in things like dentist appointments (and other things that are only open on weekdays).
3. Hang out with people NOT in Teach for America, or even teachers in general. Sometimes I forget that people who aren’t teachers exist, and am getting to the point where if I have to talk about something not involving children, data analysis or unit plans I become socially awkward. People who aren’t teachers (should there be an acronym for this?) bring sanity back into your life with things like celebrity gossip, dating drama (only non-teachers have time to date) and book clubs not revolving around Pedagogy of the Oppressed or Teach Like a Champion.
4. Get a dog. Although there are striking similarities between kindergarteners and my little Yorkie, she is always excited to see me at the end of the day and never asks me what I could do to make my lesson plans better.
Fact: I teach at one of the only schools in New Orleans who has work the week of Thanksgiving. Most TFA’ers are already home getting fat on pumpkin pie while we slog on.
I can’t wait to make it back to California! 2 more days and I will be sporting a shirt that says “I survived until Thanksgiving!” (ok, not really.. those are tacky).
Foggy Mornings 