Slowing down... but not really

Sometimes teaching can feel a little overwhelming. There just seems to be an endless 'to-do' list.

The week just gone I (not in any order, chronological or otherwise): finished marking 4 sets of senior exams; planned Creative Writing 'Workshops' for my senior students; wrote 4 class sets of senior reports in 12 hours (was finished by 11:58 Thursday night); commented on my Year 11 Creative Writing Piece 2; marked my Year 13 Close Viewing Internal; ran a department meeting modelling Unit Planning; had an HOD meeting in preparation for ERO; supported the Football Girls, 1st IV boys, and the Hockey Girls on Wednesday night; found one Year 13 had plagiarised an assessment; commented further on some Year 13 Writing Portfolio work that is in the process of re-crafting; helped a fellow teacher with getting and then organising her responses from a Google Form; had a meeting for the BeLT on Thursday afternoon (till 5); and had two students sit exams, and supervised them, as they were absent during the actual practice exam. I am pretty sure I have left things off; these were just all still in my mind. I, of course, also taught my 5 classes. With all this going on, I didn't leave before 5 any day, and some days not leaving till 6. With a 40 minute drive home, that makes for some long days. Once home, I usually work for a few more hours.

Work-life balance is not something I can manage at the moment. It is probably more like work-work balance. I realise that a lot of this is my choice, but I don't do things in half measures. Probably why many teachers leave the profession.

However, as I received my Post Graduate Diploma in Education in the mail this week (which I passed with distinction mind you) my husband and I drove to see my folks on Saturday, as they wanted to take us out for dinner to celebrate my award. We came home today, stopping to look at possible areas to rent in the future. So, I took some time out. Unfortunately, it just meant that not everything I needed to mark today got done (and that I am blogging at 9:30 on a Sunday night).

I would think things might slow down, but they aren't really. We have parent-teacher interviews the week after this one coming, and I am helping with the Power Up initiative for Pacifika students a few times, which runs on Monday nights from 6 - 8. The Year 11 Creative Writing, as well as my Year 12 and 13 Writing Portfolios, is coming to an end very soon, and Personal Reading Responses keep coming in.

So, we will see. Fingers crossed this week will at least be a bit quieter.