What I heard him say was I needed to go through all the cupboards and throw out all the high sodium food and completely change the way we cook and eat. I panicked. (I think my blood pressure may have risen.)
My husband reminded me that he suggested just one small change. I didn't have to redesign my life all at once.
I am learning not to do this in my teaching. We would adopt a new curriculum or I would see something in someone else's classroom, and I used to feel pressure to throw everything out and start over.
Now with Pinterest and teacher blogs the amount of great ideas is overwhelming. I want to be a teacher that is constantly improving, but I need to remember to pace myself.
I have been teaching for twenty-two years and I want to keep teaching awhile longer. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
What's one small change you would like to try in your teaching this week?
If you figure out how to do this, please let me know! I've taught for 19 years, and I need to make it to 25. I am just overwhelmed every day. I'm very organized, and I've taught the same grade level, but I need to pace, too. I wish there was an elixir ...
ReplyDeleteDear Kristi,
DeleteI understand feeling overwhelmed. I am there so often. I have to watch what I say to myself, because I can make myself even more stressed.
No matter what I am doing, I could always do something else to help this child more or reach that child instead. Human needs and wants are insatiable, and I am just one person.
This is the purpose of my post: I need to focus on one small piece at a time to stay sane. I know that I want to improve all the time, but I will do better focusing on the step I take right now instead of the miles ahead.
Hang in there. You are not alone.
Mary