When Dropping the Ball Isn't Dropping the Ball

I am really enjoying this #28daysofwriting thing.  It has made me more reflective and it has been a good habit to get into.  Today I realised how much I had on a school and in my own life and I felt like maybe I was dropping the ball.  That got me thinking…

So it is week two after a long weekend and between school and a few other things I felt today that I was just a little behind on a few things.  I felt like I was dropping the ball.  Then I realised that it has to be ok sometimes and actually I wasn't dropping the ball because that implies a lack of control but in fact (keeping to the sports analogy) I was kicking the ball to touch, or for the American readers, I was taking a knee.  

Both of these analogies imply strategy and in their respective games are used to buy the team time.  Without these tools things can quickly get too much and bigger mistakes can follow.  

As educators we know the demands that are on us.  They can be huge and when trying to cater for the learning needs of all of the students in our class it can really get busy.  And that's ok.  You are allowed to feel like that.  And guess what?  We are allowed a life too.  

Too many times I have seen a teacher’s missed cry for help go answered by a comment like “have a teaspoon of cement and harden up” or “we all feel like that it’s just normal”.  These statements invalidated the persons feelings and stresses.  Here in New Zealand we have a definite ‘harden up’ mentality that doesn't always lead to the best results.  Next time you hear a teacher say something about finding things hard, take some time to listen and support them.  We are all on the same team and they might need some guidance about what ball to put down for a bit.

I blogged a few days ago about finding the important in what you do.  This is where the strategy lies in letting something go.  It has to be something that is using up your time for little results.  You don’t want to drop something important,  like that appraisal you have to have finished in a few days, but you can probably skip marking the students free writing for a day or two.  The ideas it to drop something that can be fixed quickly.  Falling behind in something important will just delay that stress for another day.

At ULearn14 I heard the saying “Fail fast, fix it fast” it is supposed to be a reference for trying to strategies in you classroom but it can also apply here to when there is just too much to juggle and you need to prioritise.  

Some people suggest going even further, Every heard of the one where you make a list then cross everything out except for the one at the top?  I think that might be going a bit far unless it is a huge job!  But I did once attend a professional learning session with Trevor Bond and he talked about making a list and sorting it into MUST DO’s, MIGHT DO’s and NICE to DO’s.  Then it became very apparent, very quickly which things you can afford to put down for a bit.

Sometime the feeling of having too much to do is just us being hard on ourselves, as educators we have to be aware of this.  Our career requires us to be present for our students and our colleagues.  It is a career that requires a lot of giving and we need to make sure that we have something in the tank to give.  

This post relates to the following criteria from the Teachers Council Registered Teachers Criteria.

1. establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of ākonga

5. show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning

Thank you for reading this post.  And thanks to @MarkeetaRP for the idea of adding Professional Standards to the post.