Sunday, June 8, 2014

Teaching and Stress

I rarely write about my work as a teacher in much detail because I know that many of my co-workers and perhaps my boss read this Blog. My dad (a expert on old sayings) once told me you don't s**t where you eat and so with that in mind I have generally avoided the subject of teaching. However, as the year comes to an end I want to recap a few things and share some stress with the Blog so that I can let it go.

In June of last year I went to NYU for surgery, my boss and co-workers were incredibly supportive. I came back to teaching in September with my own room (my mobility was very limited at the time) and teaching a new subject (Geometry).

I would say it took me a good four months to really get going again. I have found the stress related to teaching this year to be incredibly high. First, I was teaching a new subject. Second, the adjustments needed to meet Danielson requirements took lots of time. Third, I found my self caught up in a cycle of negativity among the staff that really quashed my normally happy spirits.

As the year comes to an end I am still trying to figure out how to deal with the moodiness caused by my low testosterone levels. The thing is it has never been a problem in my classroom but the energy needed to keep it at bay all day has left me with little reserves to deal with workplace drama. This is an issue I haven't really brought up at work but nonetheless they have experienced it.

The funny thing is I feel bad that I have let my boss down and that I haven't been the leader I wanted to be this year, but I'm not sure (given the circumstances) I was capable of anything more this year.


Healing from an injury takes time. Healing from a broken life takes longer. My life was broken in 2013 and its only now that I'm beginning to see what the new Brad will look like.