Teacher Tea
When Does the School Day End? (No, Really)
As teachers, when does our professional life end, and our personal life begin?
In the NEA Today article "The Time Crunch: What Aspiring Educators Need to Know,” Mary Ellen Flannery discusses the challenges faced by aspiring educators in balancing their academic and personal commitments. She shares some insights on the skills of time management for teachers, such as prioritization, setting boundaries, and learning to say "no."
Flannery also discusses the increasing workload of teachers and the negative consequences of burnout, including the current teacher shortage. Unions are under particular pressure to advocate for policies that reduce teacher workload for the sake of their well-being.
There are some key points from this article that could be useful for aspiring teachers. For one, teachers need to prioritize tasks efficiently and focus on the most important activities, or simply delegate the less urgent ones. You cannot do absolutely everything. This is part of what everyone calls “setting boundaries,” or establishing clear limits in order to avoid overcommitment. Overcommitting and failing to deliver on our own promises can be demoralizing. If you’re a teacher, you need to get used to saying “no,” and if you struggle with declining requests that don’t align with your priorities, you’ll ultimately have trouble with making time for yourself outside of the classroom. Self-care is essential for maintaining your health, and it isn’t a luxury. As Flannery recommends, this may mean seeking support from your colleagues, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from them. If that also means getting involved with your union, then yes, join your local education association so that you can advocate for policies that support both you and your students.
Time management is an essential skill for teachers. We recently featured an Edutopia article covering this very topic, as it’s widely discussed in our industry given the backdrop of a widespread teacher shortage. As others have mentioned, overwhelming workloads and constant demands can lead to exhaustion. Setting boundaries helps teachers allocate time for both personal and professional commitments, preventing this exhaustion and burnout. Effective time management allows teachers to focus on lesson planning and personalized support for students, which ultimately improves student outcomes. Teachers are leaning more and more on their unions in order to effectively advocate for fair workloads by setting professional boundaries in writing.