Last school year I finished my 5th year teaching. It was the best so far, but the month of April and the beginning of May were the most stressful in my teaching career due to a temporary change of assignments to help kids get ready for their Texas standardized tests (STAAR) with little time for lesson preparation. At the same time, I was getting everything ready for the longest trip I've ever taken. It is the kind of stress that some of us might get when upcoming events or situations are not completely planned or taken care of.
I met my parents in San Antonio the last weekend before school was over, right after STAAR testing. That was the last weekend before Memorial Day. They took my laptop to Monterrey in order to keep me from either taking it to Europe for six weeks or leaving it here in Odessa, TX and spend the last three weeks of my summer break without it.
I left Odessa on May 27, stayed in Europe for six weeks, and then flew back to Monterrey on July 9. I stayed there until the 31st. When I was not meeting friends or family members I was editing and selecting the best pictures out of almost 8,000 photos that I took in Spain, France, Andorra, and Portugal. It's taken a long time but that'll help me keep and share the best digital memories, hopefully forever.
After getting back to school we realize that we're doing things a little differently as far as teaching goes (hopefully not a lot). Having exactly 9 days before school starts and not having my room ready or knowing exactly how the system is going to work gets me stressed. The picture editing de-stressing activity, and time to simply relax, hike, meet with some friends and family members, eating homemade food and not having to do that much cleaning is over for some time.
As a single teacher I feel that during the school year I work way too much, while during my breaks (especially in the summer) there is plenty of time be lazy. I don't know if I'm ineffective in preparing and planning lessons or if I should just work less and have time more for my family if I find a girl or just for myself if I don't. If I did any less work I would feel guilty. Traveling is an expensive and interesting way to find entertainment as having nothing to do gets boring. It gets especially boring when you don't go back home in the summer, I have not been lucky enough to do that every time as I did last month.
I feel scared, excited, and nervous about how we're changing things at school. Lots of new information during in-service training while trying to figure out the scope and sequence of what I'll be doing in science and math is draining my physical energy. It feels like my brain is working out without burning any calories but still making me feel exhausted. I might have little time to edit pictures and it might take weeks or months before I finish, but as we get more answers and figure things out, hopefully all teachers will only be excited and no longer nervous or scared, I'm looking forward to that. I don't see myself changing careers.
