Yesterday I read a post on Facebook that was just the information I needed to read. Even though I’m old enough to be a retired teacher, I’m still parenting a high schooler. The writer gave some excellent tips to help both parents sending their students for face to face instruction as well as parents choosing remote learning.
The teacher in me though, is what made me think HOLY CRAP! I hope I can always be seen as a cheerleader for teachers. Even before I retired, as an Instructional Specialist/Coach, I knew that teachers in the classroom were having their plates piled higher and higher each year since I’d left the classroom. This year, even a bigger platter can’t hold all that’s being dumped on them.
Years before I retired, I had some health issues. While I wasn’t happy with the diagnosis, I decided I needed to stay positive and move forward with the best attitude I could. This didn’t work for me right away. A cousin, who had the same diagnosis handed to her years before, told me, “Take time to feel sorry for yourself. You deserve to throw your own pity party.” I needed someone to give me permission before I’d allow myself to feel sorry for myself.
I was busy with a new baby and working full time with 8th graders, but I found the time to fit in my pity party. My morning shower was often tear-filled; it was cleansing in so many ways. I was listening to a Brene’ Brown podcast this morning, and someone asked a question about the difference between self-pity and disappointment. She talked about how pity carries such negative connotations. Ultimately, it comes down to how we respond to that self-pity. We can wallow in it or use it to see what it propels us to do next.
There were many mornings that I needed to have my own pity party before I started my day. I needed that so I could move beyond feeling sorry for myself. Teachers right now deserve to feel sorry for themselves. I liked what Brene’ said in her podcast, disappointment isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it gives us the motivation to figure out what to do next. Self- pity, on the other hand, may not give us that motivation.
I know a lot of teachers; they aren’t good at pity parties. Maybe I should be calling them disappointment parties instead. Whichever term you prefer, take the time to recognize you deserve to be disappointed right now; you need that to help you move on.
And yes, some day, teachers, when you retire, you will have the time to listen to podcasts and dwell on the message. I figure that’s the least I can do to still be a cheerleader for teachers; I’ll drop a little tidbit of wisdom from a podcast since I know you definitely don’t have time right now to listen yourself. (And you probably don’t have time to read to the end of this blog either!)
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