Teacher Tired

So once upon a time, I wrote on another blogging platform called The Odyssey. It was really great for me at the time and it exposed me to an audience that I normally wouldn't have on this blog. But they had weekly writing requirements and then life started to get crazy. So I kind of just gave up. Two of my most popular posts on that platform happened to be about bras and teacher tired. I won't be talking about bras here, but let me tell you. The struggle is real...teacher tired is real. If you googled 'ain't no tired like teacher tired' you will see my face. Look at that screenshot.

I AM SO TIRED. On the first day of school, I came home and went to bed at 7:30 pm. On a Friday night, I am a young woman in my prime and I'm going to bed at 7:30. I am at a new school this year, and my thought was a new school, new Meghan. I will finally have my life together. I forgot that I don't get to go to the bathroom whenever I want during the school year. I needed to pee all day. I forgot that my voice hurts because of all the singing and talking. I forgot that my feet hurt. How do I forget this stuff every single year?

That first of year teacher tired is then replaced by Fall Break teacher tired, then Winter Break and Semester One finals teacher tired, then Spring Break/April Spring Testing window teacher tired, and then the school year is over teacher tired. So really we are just tired all year long. And all the time. Then we are expected to you know have a social life and love our families on the side. I can't y'all, I can't do it y'all. I'm sure there are people out there that want me to be a social butterfly and all relationshippy and fall in love and all that crap. I just want to go to bed at 7:30 pm, eat 15 donuts and waste away this prime time in my life.

So here is the thing, this tired is worth it. Yes, I am tired, but this means that I'm just giving my best for my students. It is okay that we are tired. If we aren't tired I would question a few things.

So one day I will sleep again. I will be relaxed and calm. That was a lie, I will never be relaxed and calm. But for now, I am a tired teacher. I am 100% okay with being a tired teacher.

Kids are Kids

If you have known me for any extended about of time, you will know that I love teaching middle school. I have gushed about it.

I said I would never teach high school Choir...well....

I know I have only officially been a high school choir teacher for a week, but the grade level that I didn't want to teach, never envisioned myself teaching, or even thought I could be good enough to teach. I am in love. I am in love with every part of teaching choral music to these fabulous singers of mine.

Some differences that I'm so in love with, in high school kids that are in Choir choose to be there. They have a vested interest in being there. In middle school, especially with many of the latest middle school trends with teaming and core teacher common planning, kids have limited electives options and many times they are just placed in Choir and other electives. Thus becoming a dumping ground. You have the combination of kids that want to be there and kids that don't and your teaching becomes a dog and pony show. In high school, they catch on to things faster. They remember things more and there isn't a ton of re-teaching the materials from the previous day. Plus I really can't stress this enough, in high school, they have that internal motivator that middle school kids just don't have yet. But my favorite thing....THE BOYS VOICES HAVE CHANGED!!! Sorry not sorry for my excitement on that one. Also, you can't beat the school pride that is felt at the high school level.

However, there are many things that are the same. I get to expose kids to the quality choral music that they otherwise wouldn't get to be exposed to and I get to build a community. Kids are Kids. Kids just want to be loved and they want to be heard. They want to feel valued. My middle school students wanted this, and guess what my high school students want this too.

This goes for teaching at any grade level. Students want to have a voice, they want to be valued and heard. We as educators have to ensure that we give our students a voice. After all, it is their education, shouldn't they have some say in it?

So here I am today eating my words, I said I would never teach high school and yet here I am. But I can tell you one thing for damn sure, I will NEVER teach elementary music. For those of you that do it, thank you for your service. You deserve sainthood. For those of you that teach middle school Choir, keep loving it and keep helping kids fall in love with the art form. For my high school colleagues, let's go change the world and help these kids reach the highest heights.

For the Love, all educators let's do that last part no matter what kid level you teach.

Relationships Matter

My Sequoyah Teacher Squad

As educators, we hear the phrase, "build relationships with your students" all the time. It is true this is something that we as educators need to be doing, we need to be building healthy and effective relationships with our students. Kids need to know that we care. Another phrase that gets tossed around is "kids don't learn from people that they don't like." This is true as well. Our kids respond better when we take that time to get to know them. What they like and don't like. How they learn. What their lives at home might be like. These are all important things that we need to know. Relationships Matter.

But there is another relationship that matters. The relationship between educators. We need each other. We need our community. We can't do this by ourselves.

If you know me you pretty well, you know that I'm a big extrovert(ENFP for life) and making friends has always been pretty easy for me. At my old school, I had a group of ladies that were some of my closest friends. When needed help with our students, needed a laugh, needed a round at Happy Hour, or just needed to reach out and cry we had each other's back. Not only were they my friends in my school building but they were my friends outside of that building. Our text threads are pretty hilarious.

Well...I moved to a new school. In another district. In another city two hours away. In a moment of total realness. This has been one of the hardest things that I have done, new things are always scary. I'm so excited and looking forward to this new journey and a new chapter in my life, but it comes with some bittersweet writing.

Like I said, making friends has always come pretty natural to me. But I'm struggling, I'm having a hard time. While it might be easier to just stay in my classroom and keep my head down and just plow through. That is not what is best for me and for my students. What makes me happy and "centered" in my life? People. I need people. If kids learn from people they like. Kids won't learn from overwhelmed, sad, and lonely Meghan. Educators need other educators. We need each other. We are better together and we need this community. We need it to sharpen our own skills as educators, we need adult contact because we spend all day with children. We need adult conversation! In this day in age in education, we need to advocate for each other. We stand up for each other. We go to other educators when we have our "teacher hearts" broken. They are shoulders to cry on and the perfect person to partner with on those dress up days.

I'm struggling to find my place and finding my squad, I know that it will get easier. I also know that this bluesy feeling I will be gone once kids show up. This takes time and it won't be overnight, but it will get better. It is already getting there! I have already started building important and needed relationships.

Educators, please don't try to do this on your own. You will get burned out so quickly. We need people. So find your squad. Celebrate your squad. Go out with your squad. Hold tight to anyone that you have ever said is a part of your squad, no matter what school you are at. Teachers, you are amazing people and you are even better when you surround yourself with like minded people that love and support you, but also call you out when you are in the wrong. Reach out. Always remember that relationships matter.