Balance

**akteacher** · 06-20-2009, 12:20 AM

I just finished my first year of teaching in a public high school, and it was fun, but exhausting. I'm worried that a public school teacher lifestyle will take up so much time that I won't have balance between school and my personal life. Does this get better after the first year, or how do you cope with the overwhelming amount of time teaching takes?

**JohnBoy** · 06-20-2009, 12:33 AM

As you get the hang of it, it gets a bit better. You learn where you need intensive labor, and where a lick and a promise will do. That's one of the functions of being an experienced teacher, which you pick up along the way. However, it sort of depends on how you do things- I'm pretty labor-intensive, and I put in longer hours at school so I don't work at home. Some folks find they can pretty much handle school at school, and are out the door at 3:15 sharp. Your burden is sometimes determined by yourself.

Having said that, you will have to learn to pace your activities a bit. A very hard-partying lifestyle can be a rough thing to maintain if you have long days. (I'm not saying you do, btw, but it is a known failing among neophyte teachers fresh from college.) Even if you are not into that sort of thing, you have to learn to schedule things carefully, so that your activities and your work mesh efficiently.

**kontan** · 06-20-2009, 03:43 AM

Couldn't say it better JB. I think it gets better, but that is because you learn to balance. It really helps if you continue teaching the same subject year after year.