Teachers, It’s Okay to be Tired!

It’s the end of the school year and I like many teachers across the nation are doing the end of the year count down. My Facebook status for the last 2 Mondays have been….”Guess what? We only have 13 more days of school left! Can you feel my excitement?

Yes, I’m a teacher and yes, I am tired and ready for the school year to end. Some people like to make teachers feel guilty for wanting the school year to end ASAP! Well, guess what? I don’t feel guilty not at all.

This  meme that is being shared on Facebook  says, “There’s no tired like teacher tired.” This is the absolute truth. People who are not educators have no idea of what a teacher goes through in one day. Well here’s a little insight of a typical day for a teacher.

•  Teachers arrive at 6:30 am so that they can avoid the line of cars that wrap around the school 30 minutes before the school doors open.
• At approximately 7:30 am the herding of  children begins!
• Students no longer eat breakfast in the cafeteria ( you know the place where they are supposed to eat) they get to eat in your classroom where you have now become the cafeteria worker!
• After breakfast there is non-stop action some teachers teach over 100 students in 1 day. Teachers can be called “miss” or  have their names called over 200 times on any given day.
• It’s lunch time! We each lunch when the students eat lunch so if you teach kindergarten and lunch is at 10am and you have already had your enrichment time then you are hungry until the end of the day. Some teachers  are clever enough to find a way to eat a snack in the classroom and then continue teaching.
• If you are lucky to have your planning period (which is supposed to be for planning) and not have an “unplanned” meeting then you might be able to sit down and rest your feet which are plagued with plantars fasciitis.
• On average teachers walk about 2 miles every day because they rarely sit down. Then there are some administrators who have the mindset that teachers should teach on their feet not from their seat. Go figure!
• Restroom breaks are few and far between. If you would like to take a restroom break alone you have to watch your classroom door so that you can grab the first unsuspecting teacher without a class who walks by so that you can sprint to the restroom like you’re running the 100 yard dash!

People tend to have this idea that teachers shouldn’t get tired because we have so many holidays and we get the summer off to do whatever we want while everyone else is at work (rolling my eyes). Teachers do more in 1 day than accountant does in 5 days. If you are new to teaching and you are worn out and ready for the students to go home for the summer, don’t feel guilty. If no one ever tells you, I’m telling you that it’s okay to be tired!