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Teaching stories: September 4

9/4/2018

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6:17pm. I’m not proud of this view. I don’t wear this as a badge of honor. The lonely walk from classroom to parking lot has often been a walk of regret. I understand that the permeable boundaries I’ve single-handedly created have been portals to wonders and to painful realizations that I’ve missed out on parts of my life that I shouldn’t have missed out on. These days, when Sarah is at dance 6 days a week, until 7:30-8:00pm on weekdays, I have less guilt about staying late to organize, regroup, connect, and create. I can honestly say that I didn’t miss the ‘big things’ (well, except when I was on my expedition to the Arctic and I missed Sarah’s dance recital. Bittersweet, for sure.) But I’ve missed the ordinary that turns out to be the heart of extraordinary when I count out the years, months, days until Sarah graduates from high school, or when I watch her sleep and see, simultaneously, the stunning young woman and the sweet baby girl who slept with her Puppy.

I have yet to figure out this work-life balance, maybe because I don’t see teaching only as work. I see it as Me. Teaching brings me immeasurable joy. And, if I’m being honest, it compels my ego to feel rather good about herself all the while insisting that I work just a bit harder to do more….more….more.

I would like more balance. (I would also, for once, like to have a teacher to-do list that is actually achievable within a reasonable, finite amount of time.) I’m working on it. Definitely not as much as I could or should be. I wonder if I’ll continue to skirt around this truth, if I’ll begin to baby step my way towards a more balanced, sustainable life, or if I will be catapulted to the end zone, provoked by some life-altering event or epiphany.

Until I figure this out, I’ll try to be a little less hard on myself when I stay late and try to freakin’ celebrate myself when I leave on time.

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  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Think Global - Svalbard
    • The Polar Bear Express
  • Vamos Explorar!
    • Background and Inspiration
    • The Geo-Inquiry Process >
      • Student Blog Posts
    • Expeditions into New Mexico Wilderness Areas
    • Content and Curriculum Resources
  • Think Global - Finland
    • Introduction
    • Education in Finland
    • International Expressions of Global Education >
      • Global Education Concepts and Definitions
    • Case Study: Global Education in Finland >
      • Global Education Initiatives Timeline
      • Themes of Global Education in Finland
    • Curriculum Development >
      • Resources for Teachers
      • Finland Blog
    • Gratitude and Dedication
  • Think Global - Germany
    • Teach Global - Germany
  • Think Global - Colombia
    • Journal
    • Think Global Resource Guide >
      • Essential Question
      • Standards Based Global Education
      • Global Education Unit: American Indians and Indigenous Peoples of the World – Past, Present and Future
      • Digital Learning Environment Inventory
      • Local Resource Guide
      • Global Education Unit: Being American: An examination of the struggle for civil liberties for historically disenfranchised groups of Americans
      • Global Education Student Assessment Tools Inventory
      • International Project -Based Learning Opportunities
      • TGC Teacher Blogs
  • Teach Global
    • Think Global - Peru >
      • Virtual Field Trip to Peru >
        • Tasty Peru Tour
      • Peru Teacher Resources
    • Virtual Field Trip to Pakistan
    • Social Justice Heroes from Across the Americas
    • Global Leadership Odyssey Project: Introduction Videos to Students in Cartagena, Colombia
    • Colombia Lessons and Presentations
    • Schools Around the World
    • Ancient China
    • iEARN Global Learning Circle - Spring 2014
  • Chaco Canyon Trek 2018
  • Non-clickable Page