Going With The Flow – Finding Joy In the Unexpected

Nothing EVER goes as planned.
Teachers can find that hard.

Many teachers are highly organised list makers and goal achievers.
There is nothing like a day in a primary school to mess up the plan.

We have landed in the busiest season of the school year.
There are camps and excursions and sports days and special events – just like every other term.
But this one also has that frantic, “end of the school year” aura.
This one has grand finals, Christmas concerts, presentation assemblies, Year 6 Farewells, moving days, high school orientations, kindergarten orientations,
… and on and on and on.

Then there is the constant pressure of Term 4 administration.
We have assessments to finalise, data to collate and reports to write.

Underpinning it all is a constant layer of ambiguity about the future.
What will next year hold for me?
– what school?
– what grade?
– what staff?
– what classroom?
– what kids?

We are all busy.
We are all tired.
We are all uncertain.

And…
We are all trying to teach our “normal” program.

At this time, every year, I need to make a very deliberate decision that helps to guard my happiness.
I choose to go with the flow.

I make a plan for my day, but I hold it loosely.
Maybe it will all go as predicted.
Most likely it won’t.
And that’s OK.

Getting all worked up about the things I have no control over is a complete waste of energy.
It doesn’t improve anything for anyone.

Instead I try to…
– enjoy the fun interruptions.
– prioritise the main lessons, and let the rest be what it will.
– believe the best of people.
– be hard to offend.
– provide some desperately needed encouragement to others.

I haven’t perfected it yet.
There will always be days I feel overwhelmed.
That’s OK too.

Life, in Term 4, in a primary school, is wild.
We are all at the end of our rope.
Let’s link arms and support each other all the way.
Our goal is simple – finish the year well.

Interruptions are inevitable.
But…
Sometimes, disruptions to our planned schedule, allow for an unexpected moment of joy.

How to be a happy teacher in Term 4…
Make a deliberate decision to go with the flow.

Thanks for following along,
Jen