Yes, I know it is not the end of May yet. However, I leave tomorrow for the first of three separate vacations/travel plans, so I wanted to reflect on the end of the school year before the beginning of my summer.
First of all, I was honored to be asked to chaperone the orchestra trip to Pigeon Forge for the first weekend of May. And it was super fun. The kids smashed their competition, and we got to go to WonderWorks and Dollywood. I had never been to WonderWorks, and it's kind of a cross between a science museum and an indoor amusement park. I have no need to go back, put the kids liked it. And Dollywood is always a good time. Dolly was even there the day before we went! We just missed her! If I were to return for a personal visit, and I would love to, I would definitely get the time saver pass. They're super busy! Anyway, enjoy some photos.
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| WonderWorks Ropes Course |
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| WonderWorks |
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| WonderWorks |
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| Dollywood |
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| Dollywood |
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| Dollywood |
Then it was back to school for two and half quick weeks. My students were studying CPR and first aid since testing was over. Everything was a little crazy and there was some general confusion about schedules, but we made it.
The topic that really occupied my mind the last week of school was professionalism, and how that relates to work-life balance. For those who don't know, teachers in Tennessee are evaluated on their "professionalism" every year in four categories: school and community involvement, leadership, use of data, and professional growth and learning. It's basically things like sponsoring clubs or volunteering at sports events. You know, stuff that's not in our contract and that we are not compensated for. And this topic has been weighing on me for several reasons.
1. I had deliberately taken a step back from some of these areas after the two deaths in my family in the fall of 2024. I wanted to take some time to grieve and breathe. My students still learned (to a top ten finish in the state according to some released raw testing data), and I still fulfilled my job as my contract stated. But, according to the rubric, was that professional enough?
2. I truly believe overwork and stress has contributed to illness and death in my family. I don't want that to happen to me, and to be a level five in professionalism (like super-duper), you need to overwork yourself. And I'm not sure fives are even given out.
3. From my experience, especially with my attempt at helping with social media, stepping up to help in certain areas just invites meaness, criticism, and drama. I'm not doing that either.
4. Speaking of leadership, ever heard of too many cooks in the kitchen?
5. Acknowledgement, or lack thereof. We do teacher of the month, and I can already tell you who will be chosen for 50% of those acknowledgements next school year. Favorites are a things. I talk about this more on my substack here: https://bterry.substack.com/p/the-year-of-self-care-week-12-e6d and here: https://bterry.substack.com/p/the-week-of-self-care-4ed.
6. I am more than willing to help out, but you need to be clear about it. Again, see the notes about our contract.
7. Compensation, or lack thereof. I'd even take food.
8. We honored our retirees on the last day of school, and it was mentioned how they can now travel and spend time with friends and family. Umm, couldn't they do that while they were employed? Can't we do that and work at the same time? I don't think people my age will ever actually get to retire, so you best bet I'm not going to wait to live my life.
9. I had several similar thoughts about the Peace Corps too, in case you want a refresher: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hUhT0_RdarQn1hOaPHyYSS0dHKiGCba1/view?usp=sharing.
Anyway, sorry for ranting and being so negative. It's a topic that's gotten to me and I needed to get that off my chest.
And now I have two glorious months and several trips to get it off my chest and move on to a more positive place. Yay!
I hope you all have a great summer!
Cat pictures for attention:
