I can remember when I first starting working as a preschool teacher at a fabulous language immersion school in Atlanta - every afternoon, while the students took their naps, my co-teacher and I would take turns power-napping as well. We were just EXHAUSTED. Our bodies and minds weren't used to spending energy this way, and it took months before we adjusted and could get through the day with energy to spare after going home.
Full circle, here I am again, falling asleep at 8pm because staying awake is impossible. Of course, it's really not a good idea to fall asleep at 8pm, no matter how tired you are, because then you end up waking up at 4am and having to lie in bed for 2 hours because your apartment is one room and if you do anything you'll wake up your peacefully snoozing husband. And he went to sleep at a normal adult hour (read:10pm). :)
On good, normal nights, I fall asleep between 9-9:30 and wake up rested and refreshed at 6am.
It amazes me that sitting, talking, and writing on a white-board can take so much out of someone. Why is this so tiring? My best guess is that it's a grand combination of mental strain, stress and the final stages of jet-lag adjustments. (which I heard can take up to a month, if not longer, to really settle)
Not to mention that we're ON pretty much all day long, and I'm sure it doesn't help that we teach 5 subjects (instead of just one like normal teachers) and are constantly having to switch gears between them.
From 9:40-11:30 I supervise the high schoolers as they do their work on the computers (I am so thankful that we have computer programs for them - I have no desire to teach high-school level science). They ask questions when they don't understand the questions. Sometimes it's because their English needs work, and sometimes it's because the question is hard. And these are smart kids, so hard for them usually means I'm not going to know the answer right off the bat. (Especially when it's science. Or world history.) I figured out pretty quickly that if I don't know the answer, I should just tell the student and then we hunt it down together.
[While I'm with the H.S. students, Adam is teaching Bible and English to the middle schoolers.]
Then we have a nice 1.5 hour break for lunch: 30 of those minutes are "office hours" when the students could come by our office and ask questions or get help. AND there always seems to be some problem or issue that sucks up most of our lunchtime, too. "Anna, can you proof-read the school schedule?" asks the school registrar....etc.
Then Adam and I swap positions. From 1pm-4:50 I've got the younger students for Math, History/Geography, and Science, while he supervises the older students.
By the time 5pm rolls around my brain is mush.
Like right now. :)
The end.
Anna, I remember those naps! I still get worn out like that, just by reading, of all things, in school and have to, have to, have to take a desk nap there and then! Teaching used to exhaust me at first, I think it has to do with just how much attention you're devoting to each student: their posture, level of engagement, etc., and in your efforts to be a good teacher, i.e. to be sensitive to all that, you're expending tons of energy!
ReplyDeleteI can just picture you teaching a bunch of enraptured kids, I bet you (and Adam) are amazing!
Much love from NOLA,
Mariya