Teachers are going crazy!

The good things about being in school on a PSLE day are that the school is quiet, the children are not around, and there are no lessons to plan :)

The bad thing is that you [or rather I] get more tired easily, because of no exercise, you stare at your computer screen too much trying to finish planning lessons before the weekend, doing research for upcoming exam papers, and other assorted admin work. X(

Now I realise how unsuitable a desk job is for me.

Anyway, there is a current thread going on at Moe's forum about whether teachers are going crazy. According to either unfounded rumours or hidden facts, [whichever you choose to perceive it as] there is a significant number of teachers who end up at IMH for......... you can go ahead and guess for whatever reason. :)

I tried reading the threads, but I almost went crazy doing so [haha, cheap pun] so here are the main points as supplied by my friend:

1. Prioritise your time.

Work is work, leisure is leisure and never the twain should meet. I only realised how important leisure time was when I started the real work. True enough it does take up time that could be used planning lessons or looking for resources, and the worst thing is that I end up procrastinating a lot and doing a lot of last minute work. :p

The upside is, I get my recess time, and something about being forced to meet a deadline no matter what has resulted in some of my better lesson ideas. Mwahaha. At least my creativity and quick-thinking skills are improving.

Put it this way: You won't want your kids to sit through lessons the whole day without recess in between would you? So why subject yourself to the same torture?

2. If you can't, you can't

Everyone has their limits, and a wise man knows his. If you know you can't do it, why force yourself to do it, and then convince yourself you can? It's true enough that nobody knows their real limits, and that if you never grow, you will never know. But you know when you can't do it. That's when you start dreaming of nightmare scenarios involving you, your students and your HODs and endless piles of unmarked papers. Or you sweat uncontrollably at the sight of a red pen.

Face it, if you think you need learning support, don't force yourself to join the A stars.

3. Eat bananas

So you don't go bananas. No really, according to someone on the forum, bananas contain anti-depressants, so maybe there is some truth to the statement after all.

And my very own point at the end of it all... when all else fails....

4. Just Don't Bother

Fergeddabudit. Throw the red pens into the bin, switch off the laptop, ignore the pile of unmarked books, and just go do something fun. Tell yourself you owe yourself that much.

IF you don't agree with any of the 4 points here, I sincerely hope you don't land in IMH one day.