Why haven’t I been tweeting? Why haven’t I posted a blog?
Why am I feeling as if my body is against me? Here I will answer all of these questions. I am a teacher, this is my day job. By evening (early evening, and I do mean more like late afternoon), I am a blogger, a tweeter, and a website manager. I am also a wife, mother, housekeeper, and student. I feel very fortunate to have a husband who is also a teacher and who knows exactly the toll of beginning a new school year takes on a teacher (this makes him more understanding of how I will feel later in my story). My husband and I also teach at the same school which is a blessing and a huge convenience. As far as why I haven’t been able to do everything I usually do all week...it is because so many things about the first day of school conspired against me and would not allow me to function properly.
Last week was my first full week back at school. The first three days consisted of inservice meetings, a convocation, and getting ready for students. During this time, I walked from my room to the gym for meetings about changes for the new school year, first day procedures, and found out where my duty post would be. All teachers have to sit through these kinds of meetings at the beginning of each school year. I did mention the word sit in the previous sentence. During the summer, teachers are able to sit whenever we need to, even when we are busy working. While the first three days of inservice were taking place and I was getting ready for class, I was still able to sit down occasionally when I needed to all while knowing in the back of my mind it was all coming to an end.
On Thursday, students arrived on campus for the first time. I was greeting them with enthusiasm and smiles while welcoming them back to school. Students from last year were calling out to me and telling me about their summer. Sixth graders were asking how to get to their classes. I was met by red faced students who had big tears resting on their bottom lashes ready to fall down their face at any moment. Returning students realized they were lost as soon as they saw a teacher and they asked for directions. I saw students packing huge bags of school supplies that were roughly the size of the student carrying the bag struggling to make it down the hallway. Every class change was a mass of confused students trying to transition from one class to another. As I survey the faces staring at me when class starts, I see the scared ones. I see the happy ones. I see the ones who think they know more than I do. I see the ones who are quiet. I see the ones who are going to be fun. There are so many eyes staring me down to see what happens next.
All is going well in class, but about the time the third class arrives, I want to sit down just for a minute. As a teacher, I know is virtually impossible to sit at any point during these first few days. This is the beginning of my body rejecting my career choice. My feet are beginning to feel achy. I curl my toes in my shoes and then flex them outward against the leather. This is my attempt to stretch my foot. I do one foot and then the other as I go through introductions, procedures and expectations, and course information. By this time in the day, I have talked more than I did all summer. My throat begins to feel strained and I want a sip of water I cannot have because I have told the students we cannot have food or drinks in the class due to the computers.
I am very fortunate to have a lunch break. I walk down the hall to warm up my lunch and realize I this is the first time I have been more than a few feet from my classroom door all day. I warm up my lunch and attempt to sit in a chair. This will be my first time to sit all day and I already imagined how great it would feel. As I attempted to sit, my lower back was so tight that I felt a slight pop as I lowered my body into the chair. When my bottom met the chair, the front of my body (my abs that are well hidden) reminded me I had not bent over at all today either. My feet, however, were thankful for the break. I relaxed for the few minutes I had. I then forced my body to stand as it protested all movement as I went to my doorway with a smile on my face to greet students.
The day went on and all classes came and went. Finally, the afternoon dismissal bell sounded and I was free to feel the physical weight of the first day of school. My first day was amazing! As far as classes went, the day went by very smoothly. It was the best first day of school I could remember. I am very excited about the new year, the new groups of students, and the possibilities a new year presents. As far as my body, that is a completely different story. I manage to walk painfully back to my classroom from bus duty. Once behind the door of my classroom, I cannot hide the physical pain my body is in. My feet are killing me, my legs feel like jelly, my back hurts, and I have very little voice left. I manage to get my things together as my husband enters my room and finds the closest chair. Somehow, we get to the car and make it home. We talk very little in the car as we are both too exhausted to speak.
Once we arrive home, I now have to convince my body to get out of the car. My only motivation for moving through the pain was that the recliner was just inside. There, I imagined propping my feet up and kicking my shoes off. I knew takeout was on the menu as there was no way either of us would be able to cook dinner. As I collapsed in the recliner and shoes went falling to the floor, my body sighed in instant relief. I glance at the time, it was 4:30 pm. I stayed in the chair as my body would not allow me to do anything else. I then began fighting a continued wave of exhaustion that was washing over me. At 6 pm, I could no longer hold my eyes open. The sun was still shining bright outside, but my body was opposing all natural routines. I had no choice but to go to bed even though it was so early in the evening. To go to bed meant I had to get up and walk to the bedroom. I already knew this was going to be a tricky task.
I stood (which sounds so easy) and was barely able to get my balance. The pains shooting through the lower part of my legs was so excruciating I was not sure I would be able to make it to the bedroom. I could not call for help as my voice was completely gone from talking all day. I began taking steps slow and deliberate toward the bedroom as if I were a baby taking my first steps. I staggered to the side of the bed and lowered my exhausted body onto the comfortable mattress. I recall very little after that point. The next thing I knew, the alarm was going off for me to get ready to do it all over again. I slept the sleep of the dead. I did not dream or turn over all night long. I remembered the pain and exhaustion from the previous afternoon and wondered if I would be able to get out of the bed. To my surprise, I was well rested and able to move around with no problem. I had no lingering complications from the day before. All I could think about was how excited I was to do it all over again and get to see my new students. When I wasn’t tweeting or blogging last week, it was because the new school year had started and was barely able to make it!
When I think of physically demanding jobs, teaching is not one that ever comes to mind. People with other occupations often think teachers have it good because we get summers off and get paid while sitting at home doing nothing but enjoying the lazy days of summer. This is not remotely close to the truth. Teachers get paid all year, but only for nine months of work. I choose to have my paycheck strung out over each month of the year. I only wish I could spend lazy summer days doing nothing. What is that like? Instead, teachers spend their time preparing for the upcoming school year, researching, and attending conferences to help them grow as teachers. While I don’t consider teaching physically demanding, it sure can be those first few days when I’m breaking in my teaching legs and body. Every teacher can relate to this side of teaching. The first few days are the hardest. In the coming days, the physical pain will no longer be there and my voice will return and all I will be left with is days filled with students, learning, and endless possibilities. Make sure to put your best shoes on and take on the new day with your students and have a fantastic year! If you need great resources for all content areas, check out our website. We are constantly adding new things to www.walledtech.com. While this had no mention of ed tech, I hope you enjoyed this unconventional blog post by a fellow teacher as I’m sure everyone in education can relate.
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