Teaching - due in the Fall

Lark2013

This is going to be a long one as I just need to vent so I'm hoping there are others out there who can relate: I'm looking for fellow teachers who are due in the fall this year because I'm freaking out (FTM).  1) What grade & topic do you teach?  2) When are you due? 3) When are you going on maternity leave?  4) How long are you taking? 5) Have you gotten your sub yet?  6) Do you have to plan out lessons for them?  7) Anything else?

To answer my own questions:
1) Teach high school - foreign language
2) Due Nov. 26
3) I'd like to work until Nov. 22, but that assumes baby will arrive close to its due date... I know one teacher who delivered on time, everybody else was weeks off.
4) I get 12 weeks, 6 of which are paid, but I've been teaching long enough that I also qualify for unpaid family leave, so I'd like to take the rest of the year off if I can (an additional 11 weeks if baby is on time).
5) No sub yet, which is stressing me, because my language isn't an easy one to find somebody to teach, especially if it's only temporary.
6) I don't mind giving my sub a general idea of what I'd cover in the year and giving them all my materials and past plans, but no way in hell am I spending my first months as a FTM planning lessons. Yes, I could do them before hand, but who really has the time to plan out and grade not only current stuff but for 3 months in the future as well, all while dealing with being pregnant?
7) I'm really freaking out about this.  HR won't even talk to me yet, so I have a lot of unanswered questions.  Finding good long term subs in our district is a challenge and then you add on the fact that my sub MUST be able to speak another language (that's not Spanish) and it becomes nearly impossible.  I also teach AP, so I worry about those kids not getting what they need to be successful on the test.  And even if we do find a sub, if they can't take over for the entire year, I'll have to go back.  I know it happens every day, but the thought of putting my 3.5 month old baby in daycare with some stranger is abhorrent to me.  *sigh* I know these are first world problems and I probably sound super whiny, but this is the kind of stuff occupying my mind right now.  Anybody else?

blg116

I know there are quite a few teachers on the board, there was a thread going for teaching while pregnant. Could be a good one to check out

blg116

Oh, found it. "Teacher thread", on page 3 (at least on my app on my phone). 

creamcheeseplease

I'm not a teacher, and @angieeeeee already pointed you to a previous thread for teachers/teaching issues, but I did want to say a couple things:

1) why won't HR talk to you yet? That seems weird.

2) It sounds like because you do not know if you are going back after 12 weeks or taking the rest of the year off you have not secured daycare. I do not know where you are located, but frankly in many places that is very important to do earlier rather than later. I myself secured my daycare spot for this child when I was around 13 weeks pregnant. For my first, I waited much longer and had a bit of a difficult time getting a spot.

3) if you truly feel that the idea of daycare for an infant is "abhorrent" I would suggest you explore other options, like not returning to work until your child is older, a nanny, or a family member watching your child. I get it - it was hard leaving my first in daycare when he was 3 mo old. However, overall I am very happy with my daycare center. And, honestly, the ladies in the infant rooms there are the best - very caring and loving and I know they took good care of him. There are good daycares out there with good people in them - I would suggest getting to know some of the places and teachers so that you are more comfortable leaving your child there when the time comes. While I know it will still be hard leaving this baby at daycare to go back to work when she is 12 weeks old, I know the ladies who will be taking care of her during the day and I know they will do a great job with her just like they did with DS.

Lark2013

I thought I'd seen a thread for teachers, but was unable to find it when I posted this, so I'll double check - thanks.
@creamcheeseplease They won't talk to me because it was too far out (stupid, I know.)  Daycare is not an immediate issue because I've got family in the area that will step in if I need it.  I have no issues with leaving a 9 month old in daycare when I return to work - it's the 3 months that bothers me.  Of course I am also spoiled by Germany's system - they get 3 years (yes, you read that correctly) for maternity leave.

rogro118

@Lark2013 I was a teacher when I had my son.  If you haven’t already, look into short term disability as well.  In MA if you contribute before having your baby (not sure Of the required time frame), you can receive disability pay during your leave, which helps with taking longer.  My district had a great leave policy that allowed up to two years of maternity leave (per child), all unpaid obviously, and guaranteed a position once that time was up.  I would definitely press HR about ironing out plans before the start of the school year, that will be stressful to get done during the beginning of the year chaos! 

As for my experience, I had my son at the end of September and worked up until the week I delivered him.  I had it in my maternity leave terms that I would work until birth, or as my doctor sees fit, and I ended up stopping due to hypertension.  I initially took 16 weeks, and ended up extending that around the 13 week mark to stretch until the next school year.  So, I officially went back when my son was 11 months.  I ended up resigning that year because I couldn’t get my heart back into it, and I had another option to start my own business, but I did feel like the 11 month mark was more than old enough to comfortably leave him.  

For plans, I left a binder with all of my curriculum information and detailed lesson plans for the first month.  Beyond that, I left my calendar for the year with my curriculum pacing (rough idea of topic and skill flow for each week).  I had a severe disabilities classroom for grades K-2, so a bit different than high school!  Also, they did not have a sub for me until after I had my son, which made planning very difficult.  If I had know My sub, I would have loved to meet with them to review everything I left, but instead I was just overly detailed in everything I left for her.  I hope that helps!

laura721

I’m a high school teacher and due the 27th (high fives there) and this is my third baby. I will be teaching until Halloween. I’m entitled to 20 days before and 20 days after paid (sick days) and will *def* be taking all of them bc with two kids at home and teaching I know I’m going to be beat. 

I teach in an academy for highly intelligent students and they already rearranged my schedule so that a colleague will have those students all year and I will have other classes bc they won’t let a maternity leave replacement with possibly minimal experience take these extra challenging/demanding classes. Do you have a supervisor that you can ask about your AP courses? You CANNOT possibly prepare your students for their exam in three months. And the notion that you should even try is ridiculous. This shouldn’t be on your shoulders. 
From experience, once baby comes, that takes up your everything. I can’t sit and worry about my students bc every waking energy is for nursing and cleaning and snuggling and enjoying my time at home. I think if you want to take the rest of the year then YOU SHOULD. They can’t tell you that you have to return if you’re entitled to the option of staying out. And from experience, taking off the entire rest of the year is really freeing bc those kids get a full stretch with another teacher and you don’t have to worry what you might come back to. It’s also hard for the kids to have teacher switches multiple times in a year. 

Good luck mama... teaching and being a mom is a hard balance so also be easy on yourself and know that it’s okay to prioritize your baby over your students... and when you go back, it’s okay to do the opposite from time to time too. You CANNOT be everything all the time and you will legit fall apart if you expect that of yourself (and everyone else will think they deserve your 100% at all times. No parent or student or newborn will let you off the hook and so you have to be the one) ... take it from someone who’s tried and is still working out the balance three babies later!