September 2015 Moms

I can't do this...

Back to work tomorrow and I feel like I can't. I teach second grade and I'm struggling with the concept of spending my days with other peoples' children vs. my own.

Teachers: Did you find that understanding the love of a parent first hand was helpful when returning school or the opposite?

Re: I can't do this...

  • I understand the struggle... when I went back (not a teacher a receptionist at a veterinarian hospital) I stayed for 3 weeks and now I am going to get my real estate license and work with my mother and sister... I love that I will have the flexibility to spend more time with my LO but people don't understand boundaries with their real estate agents so that will be interesting. I hope everything goes smoothly with your return to work. Just remember that as your LO grows up you will have all of their breaks and summers off together which will be awesome :-)
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  • I teach special Ed preschool (and I used to teach kindergarten). I have found being a parent has made me a much more sympathetic and understanding teacher. I used to get fustrated at what parents did or didn't do. Now that I have kids, I totally understand.

    It's also helped me realize how fortunate I am to have a background in early childhood and can appreciate how much that helps when dealing with my own kids. I understand what comes easily and makes sense to me doesn't to other parents and not because they're bad people but because they don't have the experience.
  • I'm not a teacher but I can relate to your anxiety about returning to work as I had to in November. I just want you to know I'll be thinking about ya and hope your day goes fast so you can get home to that sweet smiling baby!!!
  • I teach high school so they're not little ones, but I find it's a bit of both. No matter how old they get, I know they are someone's baby and I know how hard it is to be a parent. It also makes me a little more sympathetic when parents being overbearing and having a hard time letting go (though I still want to tell them to stop wiping their 15 year old ' s ass for them). However, when my students are being terrible one day I just want to yell at them, "I am giving up time with my kids to be here and you're being terrible!" I do straight up tell them essays will take forever to get back because I prioritize my kids over their essays now and won't work at home as much as I used to. It's a constant balancing act, that's for sure.
  • https://beckythompson.com/2016/01/03/to-every-teacher-and-every-woman-going-back-to-work-on-monday/

    This article really hit home for me. I'm a teacher, and I love my job, but I hate leaving my baby. My first born comes to school with me, which I love, and it makes it easier, but every morning is a struggle when I have to drop baby off. I do feel like I have become a more understanding and warm teacher since becoming a mom, though, for sure. And the summers and holiday breaks are simply heavenly. Since we can't afford for me to stay home, it's the next best thing!!
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • Thanks so much girls. Today is going well so far (kids are at PE so I'm pumping). I was greeted with such love and excitement from my students/coworkers which really helped!
  • When I returned to teaching after having DD1 I started looking at my students and thinking each one is someone's baby! I looked at even the more challenging kids in a new more loving way. I also started giving parents a lot more credit. I thought, "you got your kids to school age. Amazing." I realized even in "bad parenting" someone was feeding that kid in the middle of the night. Even being what society would say is not such a good parent there still had to be sacrifices.

    I think it also helps me to be a better parent since I have seen so many K students not ready for school. Just drives home the importance of early literacy activities, pre school, learning to follow directions,etc.

    I will be returning to teaching after DD2 on MLK day.
  • First grade teacher here! I've been back for four weeks. This was the first week where I felt OK about work. It was hard at first because I didn't start the year with my class so I didn't have a connection with them so I had to get to know them. I definitely look at my students differently now, I loved my other classes before but it feels different now. I feel much more motherly to them, and they are a group that loves to hug. They are such sweeties.
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