You know that beginning-of-the-school-year spark? That feeling of excitement wrapped in nerves that fuels your first couple of weeks in the classroom as you get to know your students and get your footing in front of the class. You’re eager to plan new activities and eagerly await the opportunity to share new learning opportunities with your students and see how they respond.

Although there is a lot of juggling and acclimating, this, the beginning of the school year, is often as close to what we expected teaching to be like as it will be the whole year.

This is because in many schools the expectations of that first couple of weeks are to get to know your students and establish expectations. There isn’t a mountain of grading, the weight of assessments, or all of the other “stuff” piled high that can make teaching stressful or overwhelming.

We now have two feet solidly into this school year and the newness has begun to wear off. That is to say, we no longer are wondering what classes will look and feel like. We know. We know which students initially are going to challenge us and which ones might need more guidance and support. The excitement and nerves begin to give way to practicality as we stare down the rest of the school year.

Although the newness may be gone, that doesn’t mean you have to lose that spark that excited you at the beginning of the school year. Here are some tips to keep your spark alive this school year.

Start Each Day Anew

Each day is a new start. You have heard this before. But, sometimes it’s hard to put it into practice.

Starting each day with a new refreshed outlook toward your role, your students, and profession can do wonders in maintaining that spark and making this school year all that you had hoped in that first couple of weeks.

For You

Giving yourself permission to start over each day is a powerful resilience building action. This step alone can transform how you interact with colleagues and students. Letting go of the stresses, frustrations, missteps, or negativity of a previous day (or week, month, year) opens you up to new opportunities for growth and success.

Lingering in the past, on the things that you “could of” or “should of” done differently, doesn’t do anyone any good. You have already reflected on your practice and now it’s time to look forward at the potential of a new day.

• TIP: Think of a way to kickstart each morning: Some find mantras helpful or morning routines.

For Your Students

Letting your students know that each day is a fresh start is a major community-building piece that will ensure your students feel safe and supported. By taking this approach you are letting your students know that they can have a bad day now and then or experience missteps and failure it doesn’t define them or their position in your classroom. Consider the benefit to your students and their learning and success if they know that in your class, each day is seen as a new chance to be their best.

Keep Track of the Workload

You know it’s coming if it hasn’t already arrived. The early mornings, the late nights, the teacher bag full of work, and the scrambling to try to get it all done. It’s not a surprise; it’s part of the job. However, this year, take time to keep track of your workload. To recognize when it gets too much. Many teachers, myself included, tend to bury their heads in the proverbial sand when the work piles up and then before we know it, in floods the stress and overwhelm. The way this often happens is by not seeing it coming.

Consciously being aware of the work you are doing and the extra responsibilities you are taking on allows you to say on top of the stress and see when you need to leave it behind, if just for a night or weekend.

• Tip: You can develop a system in your teacher planner to keep track. For example, you can add small marks in the corner of your calendar such as, “x” means you took work home, “o” means you came in extra early to work, “+” means you stayed late to work. Seeing these scattered throughout your calendar gives you a visual representation of your workload and allows you to see when things begin piling up.

Say “No” to Teacher Guilt

Teacher guilt is very real. The guilt is often based on the feeling that we should be doing more – largely because there is always more to do.

I have been in many situations in my teacher experiences wherein I can now, in retrospect, there was no way to be truly successful. The amount of work was insurmountable – the number of classes, number of students, number of professional development responsibilities, duties, meetings, etc. all added up to a level of work that was not sustainable long term. However, if I felt like I was struggling I felt the guilt.

This is the same guilt we feel when we are sick but work through it knowing that there is more work to do in planning for a sub than you have time for and/or you don’t feel like you should leave your students with a substitute. Or, the same guilt we feel if we have to send a student to the office for a major behavior issue even though we know that this is frowned on. And, the same guilt we feel if we choose to do something for ourselves while knowing that there is a stack of papers in your school bag waiting for you.

Conversely, there is another type of teacher guilt. In the mediocre rise of teacher resilience and self-care in conversations surrounding teacher stress, there is an often unrecognized, undiscussed guilt. Some teachers WANT to be entrenched in the work. These teachers desire to be planning after school, coming in early, and staying on top of the workload and they take joy in knowing that they are always, always giving it their all. I can say, I was this teacher for about 4 years and have ebbed and flowed in and out of this ever since. Teachers who want to be working hard, long hours should feel guilt in doing so.

• TIP: ALL Teachers, no matter if they are feeling the stress or thriving in it, should be equipt with a toolbox full of resilience-building strategies so that when their careers begin to feel overwhelming they have strategies from which to pull.
  (if you are looking for strategies, check out the book Joy in Teaching: A Research-Based Framework of Action for Educators)

Stay Connected

You are surrounded by support. You have colleagues who have a very good idea of what you are going through, you have family, friends, and even online communities (like the Joy in Teaching free Facebook Group) that you can turn to when things get tough. Staying connected gives you both a shoulder to cry on and a mirror for successes. Knowing that there are others who hear you and support you are necessary within the current education climate and can give you the energy you need to maintain that beginning of the school year spark.

Also, Disconnect

In the same vein – disconnect when need be. Recognize that you don’t always have to be “on” and your door doesn’t need to always be open. Sometimes, especially introverted educators (you can read more about introverted teachers here), quite time to reflect and regroup is necessary in order to be your most resilient self.

• TIP: Keep lines of communication open. Even if you don’t feel like eating in the teacher’s lounge or chatting in the hallway with your colleagues, let them know that you are available and open to socializing and communication. There is no benefit from closing off people who could be positive and supportive, even if you don’t need them or feel like you have time for them now.

Check out more resilience-building strategies to help you keep your spark alive right here.