Working Mommy Wednesday...

Do you bring your work home with you?

When I first started teaching I worked for a tiny private school whose mission was to have an individualized program for every student.  Wow...I worked sixteen to eighteen hour days regularly and at least a full day on the weekend.  The question was more like, "Do I take home to work with me?"  They were crazy long days, but I learned a lot about education and a lot about how to differentiate for various kids.

After my first son was born, I started working in a public school but it was a parent-choice program and the days continued to be very long.  I became more efficient about keeping work at work, and usually only worked a half day on the weekends.

My second son was born after I made the shift to the school in which I currently teach.  When I made the shift, I consciously decided that I needed to draw clearer lines between home and school.  Here's the thing about teaching...you're never done.  You can always do more...add more detail to a lesson plan, search for a more engaging way to launch a lesson, labor over the accessibility of the text you'll be using.  You can always add more feedback to student work, call more parents, spend more hours analyzing data.  I finally realized that I need to have clear boundaries between home and school.  I learned to be more efficient at work and to bring less home with me. 

Today I usually check and reply to email in the evenings.  If there is something pressing, I will take care of it but if it can wait I let it wait until the next morning.  I frequently text with teachers who are burning their own midnight oil, and offer feedback when I can.  For the most part though, I don't bring home tangible work with me.  Here's the other thing about teaching...there is always a kid, usually more than one, who lingers with me.  A kid who I can't get off my mind...wondering what more I can do to help him be successful.  Those kids are always in my head...they always come home with me at least mentally.