Today is Saturday, the second to last day of my spring break, the day my daughter smiles the biggest, runs the most, and my husband beckons for me to read, relax, live a little. Instead I go to work. Mind you I don't have to, no one told me in my contract that I had hours to fulfill. No one told me that I better get in there to check on everything, to plan, to prep, to clean. And yet in I go, blissfully so. So why do I work on the weekend?
I work on the weekend because there is not enough time in the week. Of course, there would be plenty of time left over if all I did was teach out of the book and not do any assignments, so perhaps I just have myself to blame. Perhaps when I decide to plan projects, extensions, and create opportunities for all of my kids to learn, I need more time. Perhaps when I decide that teaching straight from the book just is not going to cut it, then I need more time. I am not mad, or angry at the time I spend fore I know that I will get results back from the time invested. So I work on the weekends because my students deserve it.
I work on the weekends because it is quiet. I don't turn on the music, the lights and I shut the door and let my thoughts roam. I practice, I reflect, and I tinker with what I am going to teach. I do this uninterrupted by students, coworkers, phone calls, needs for hugs, requests for lunch, mini meetings, or friendship counseling. I relish the quiet as my thoughts paint pictures of the results I want to have in the coming week.
I work on the weekends because it makes me a better teacher. By coming in, spending the time, and thinking once again about what I intend to do, I grow. I question my intent, I question my goals, and I always, always, think about the students. How do they want to learn about this? How can I be quiet while my students explore? How can this become memorable and not just another daily lesson? So I work on the weekend not by force, but by choice, because I choose to attain greatness as a teacher so that my students can attain greatness as well. I work on the weekends because my students deserve whatever extra time I can put in, they deserve that extra attention, they deserve the best. So I work on the weekends.
I work on the weekend because there is not enough time in the week. Of course, there would be plenty of time left over if all I did was teach out of the book and not do any assignments, so perhaps I just have myself to blame. Perhaps when I decide to plan projects, extensions, and create opportunities for all of my kids to learn, I need more time. Perhaps when I decide that teaching straight from the book just is not going to cut it, then I need more time. I am not mad, or angry at the time I spend fore I know that I will get results back from the time invested. So I work on the weekends because my students deserve it.
I work on the weekends because it is quiet. I don't turn on the music, the lights and I shut the door and let my thoughts roam. I practice, I reflect, and I tinker with what I am going to teach. I do this uninterrupted by students, coworkers, phone calls, needs for hugs, requests for lunch, mini meetings, or friendship counseling. I relish the quiet as my thoughts paint pictures of the results I want to have in the coming week.
I work on the weekends because it makes me a better teacher. By coming in, spending the time, and thinking once again about what I intend to do, I grow. I question my intent, I question my goals, and I always, always, think about the students. How do they want to learn about this? How can I be quiet while my students explore? How can this become memorable and not just another daily lesson? So I work on the weekend not by force, but by choice, because I choose to attain greatness as a teacher so that my students can attain greatness as well. I work on the weekends because my students deserve whatever extra time I can put in, they deserve that extra attention, they deserve the best. So I work on the weekends.
