There are a number of factors to consider what makes an effective teacher and while many of these factors are contextual and situational in nature, one of the most common characteristics is passion. A teacher’s passion helps them to establish a moral compass and guide their energies as they embark on their teaching and learning adventures with their students, colleagues, and the broader field of education itself. While passion can look and sound quite differently for each teacher, one of the most common threats to a teacher’s passion is time; more specifically, competing interests or responsibilities that require their time, thus preventing them from engaging fully in what they are passionate about. It is in this crossroad of one’s passion and time (or the conflict of time) that lead many teachers to resign their professional passion and focus more on time challenges in their lives, and in many cases these time challenges revolve around family life, or parenting.
Throughout my teaching career I have developed and pursued many passions in teaching and learning and I have taken on a plethora of challenges and roles aligned with these passions. I have been told by many teachers (with more seniority than me) that my energy and enthusiasm for teaching will “die off when you have kids”. Many have also mentioned that when I have kids I’ll no longer:
• Get to school early to prepare for classes
• Spend time at home prepping for classes and/or marking student work
• Take on tasks outside of the classroom setting
• Volunteer for activities in the school and/or district
• Think outside the box
• Spend as much time thinking about change
• Be as passionate about teaching
In hearing these types of comments I wondered if there was any truth to them or if these individuals had simply thrown in the towel on their passions and were going through the daily motions of teaching. Given that they had much more experience at being a parent and a teacher I wondered if it was inevitable that these two roles (ie. teacher and parent) would conflict with each other and make you less effective at one of them. Were they warning me of the potential perils, or were they trying to stop the winds of my sails? Was there any truth to what they were saying and if so, which direction would I choose if I was ever to become a parent? For me, these questions would be answered soon after my son Kayden was born.
Now, as a parent and a much more experienced teacher, there are many lessons and insights that I have learned that have helped me to maintain my passions in teaching without creating conflict between the time and responsibilities (and joy) of being a father and husband. Undoubtedly, the most significant strategy that has helped me has been to…
FOCUS ON MY EFFORTS AND ENERGY
When it comes to teaching and learning, there are an endless amount of challenges and tasks that we can take on and try to solve. While it is very important and rewarding to get involved and try to create change in our schools and education system, it can also act as a never ending vortex as we might be seen as that ‘go to person’ who is always willing to get involved. Being seen as the person who can contribute to any possible challenge and/or task that needs to get done is a time draining role to assume (I know this as I have been that person) and can very easily get you lost in what you really want to be focusing on. Additionally, keep in mind that the deeper you go into this type of role the harder it is to get out of it and the next thing you know you might find yourself spending time on things that you do not really care deeply about and are taking you further away from your passions.
To avoid this time trap (and energy drainer) of being the person who takes on every and anything, consider finding the one or two areas that you are really passionate about and really want to be involved in. Consider the following questions to help you focus on where your effort and energy goes:
• What led me into teaching? Am I still focused on that?
• What are the 1-2 things I want most to experience this year?
• What are the 1-2 things I most want for my students this year?
• If the end of the school year was today, what are the 1-2 things I want to say, “I am so happy that those things happened?”
As any teacher can attest to, there are always things coming our way that could require our time and energy (I call these energy suckers). When we are focused on 1-2 things that we really want to take on/work towards then it becomes that much easier to say (politely of course, when/if possible) no to these requests that have the potential to derail our attention. While this might not always be possible, the more we establish our energy foundation (i.e. that which we choose to focus on-our passions and interests) the more we preserve our energy to carry out what is most important to us. If we don’t do this then everything becomes important which essentially means nothing is truly important.
At the end of the day we all have only so much energy and time to go around and the more roles that we take on the less energy and time that we have for these roles. This is why it is imperative to be focused on what truly matters in these roles and use our energy and time for the essential tasks we are really passionate about. Yes, you will likely be saying no to some ideas and opportunities that seem worthwhile, but are these opportunities really important and aligned to your passions? When we are focused on the essential tasks in our roles as teachers (and hopefully linked to our passions) then we are better able to:
• spend our energy on the essential tasks
• say no to tasks and opportunities that are no related to our focus
• be clear on what we are passionate about and working towards
• have energy and focus for our family when we return home
• be more present in our lives regardless of the role we are takin on
Being a teacher and a parent does not have to mean that we give up our passions in teaching so that we can invest our time and energy for home life. Indeed, our families should be our top priority in life, but when we are teaching we must remember that we have 30 top priorities (ie. the students) from other families in front of us. These families send us their children and trust that we will do the best we can to help them learn and grow as individuals and educated citizens. To be the best teachers that we can be we need to ensure that we are focused, are passionate, and are present for the students in our care. We can’t do that if we are feeling a lack of passion for the profession and simply want to be elsewhere. No, being a parent does not make you a less effective teacher, but it will if you are feeling so spread out in your career that you feel you have no time or energy to invest in your professional role. Rather, being a focused and passionate teacher will make you a more effective teacher and parent as you’ll be able to ignore the non-essential tasks and return home with more energy and time to focus on your family.
While there have been some challenges in my life transitions to being a passionate teacher and parent, I can honestly say there is no conflict (anymore) between my two roles. When I am teaching I am focused on my passions and the essential tasks related to these passions. When I am home I am focused on my family and all the joy they bring to my life. By focusing on my most essential passions (and related tasks) in my roles as a teacher and parent I have become much more effective in each role. I still wake up on Monday mornings excited to go to school and leave school feeling energized and happy to return home and spend focused time with my son, wife, and puppy.
Do you have any experiences or strategies that help you as a teacher and parent? I’m always open to learning new ideas and would welcome the chance to hear from you.
