Dear Tired Teacher, In 2025 It's Ok to Choose You

You are Amazing

You are amazing. You stay after school, you’re there before school, you go to every duty and every meeting. You handle those parent emails professionally and amazingly. You respond to your students who need help. You make time for tutoring. You attempt to attend extracurricular activities to see your students shine. You make yourself emotionally available for students. You plan amazing lessons on the weekends. You create an amazing classroom atmosphere that is safe and conducive to learning. You may do some or few of these things. Either way, you are amazing.

The Cost of Amazing

Working hard comes at a cost. You lose precious moments with your family. You work a long 8-10 hours a day with only a 25 minute lunchbreak. You spend so many hours working for free to make sure your students have the best experience. You spend your own money on the various needs of your classroom, since little funds are available from the school. You struggle to be mentally and emotionally present with people because you have anxiety about your workplace responsibilities. This anxiety gets amplified by the feelings of not wanting to let your students down, the contents of your email inbox, and those rough classes. None of this is ok. You are amazing for even tolerating this.

“You are amazing, but you don’t always have to be.“

Your time is finite. For the sake of others, we spend so much of it giving to those who often are thankless or even worse ostensibly thankful. I did and felt all of the things listed above. I found myself to be drained emotionally, physically, and mentally. I began to grow resentful. I just knew I couldn’t keep on doing it. It was time to start reallocating my time. My son deserves more time than the time I give others’ children. My wife deserves a husband who can spend time with her and be fully present. I am amazing, but I know I don’t always have to be. If I have to give up being an amazing teacher daily to become an amazing father, husband, and friend then I will gladly sacrifice that. I must also note that this is situational, these feelings were amplified after the birth of my son.

Take Back Your Time

Remember, time is finite and the most valuable human resource. If you feel like it’s time for a change, it is. How will you get your time back? I chose a route that will allow me to eventually pay for my time back so I can spend as much with my family as I can. I love my students, but I cannot keep up with the time sink it is. It’s ok to choose me.

Ways to take back your time: