A Night Off

I was tired on Tuesday. It was another in a string of long and busy days that included the weekend and most of the week before. It had been a full day of teaching, plus a staff meeting that included training on our new online evaluation system which took my brain from a steady sizzle to crispy fried. After that I had some of the usual errands, dinner, and convincing my four year old that she was both hungry and then tired.

There were things I needed to catch up on after she did finally go to sleep. Student assignments. Emails. Flyers. Chaperone assignments for upcoming field trips.

But I took the night off.

The dogs and I curled up on the couch and I finally finished the book I'd been trying to polish off since the school year started. After that, I went to bed early. It was marvelous.

I'm an adult (ish) and a teacher though. I get the option to decide how much work I do and when. There are deadlines, but they're often far enough away that I can fit things into my schedule when I have the opportunity and I can prioritize how I spend my time. Students don't often get that choice.

When the subject of self care comes up, work life balance is a huge factor. But kids get little input in their own balance. They're assigned homework with almost immediate deadlines, often from multiple teachers simultaneously. They have practices, games, competitions, family gatherings, chores, etc.

Maybe so many of us struggle to balance work and our personal life because we often take away the chance to learn how to manage it as kids. 

I wonder about this often for not only my students, but my daughter. How, as both an educator and a parent, can I do better at helping the kids in my life figure out how to prioritize, goal set, and take breaks when needed, when so much of their scheduled time is not of their own choosing?

I don't have an answer for this yet. I may not ever. But I'm hoping that a greater awareness from my side will help me to help them.

What are your thoughts? How do you help? When do you decide to take a night off?