GIFTS

Words are Gifts

Rest. What Rest?

On this mid-week holiday the plan was to rest and be revived for school on Thursday. I know I’m exhausted when I fall asleep when watching the 7pm or 8pm news.

I came home with a tall to-do list:

Write Aunty Sarah’s Tribute

Mark my pre and summative assessments

Mark the home learning

Read a chapter or two of my book club book

Prepare the slides for the local teachers’ conference

Plan my lessons for the next week

Plan for my extension group

Plan for my Journaling Club Activity

Watch videos to help with planning

Write my slice

and read and comment on a few…

Yes this is a tall list and leaves little time for rest. My walking friends called early this morning to ask if I’d join them as it is a holiday. Of course i could not add the ten kilometre walk to my list, that would have broken me. I confessed to them I had walked 10,000 steps the previous day.

This confirms a slice I read today about the demands of teaching, I totally agree with it.

I may have to write about what I was able to achieve and whether I had any rest.

Juliette Awua-Kyerematen's avatar

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Juliette Awua-Kyerematen

13 responses to “Rest. What Rest?”

  1. Radutti Avatar
    Radutti

    Ha! This captures a midweek day off in the life of a teacher so well. Sounds like TEN is coming, hope it all comes off without a hitch. Sometimes our best writing is completely ‘meta’ when we see our process from an outside perspective. Glad to hear you’re getting your steps in. 🙂

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  2. mschiubookawrites Avatar
    mschiubookawrites

    Agreed! A teacher’s list is massive, and add a human’s wants and needs, you get an overflowing plate. Interested in reading how many to-dos were checked off. Most days I can barely get through my top three. So glad slicing made the cut!

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  3. cindaroo42 Avatar
    cindaroo42

    Alas, the list never ends. It is such an intentional list and it’s all important! I hope you find the balance of what works!

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  4. aggiekesler Avatar
    aggiekesler

    Whoa…that’s a long list for one day! I sure hope you managed to get some rest today. 🙂

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  5. rdicarne Avatar
    rdicarne

    That is quite the list! As I have gotten older, I have stopped taking work home. Now I work as hard as I can before school, during my prep times, and after school for about an hour and whatever doesn’t get finished just stays on the list a little longer. I hope you got some time to rest.

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    1. Juliette Awua-Kyerematen Avatar
      Juliette Awua-Kyerematen

      I was able to tick off five items on the list. I also try do do a little after school when there are no meetings, but I tend to bring so much more home. I have to be regimental so I hav some work, life balance.

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      1. rdicarne Avatar
        rdicarne

        This my 38th year teaching, and it took me a LONG time to find a balance. Keep working at it. You’ll get there.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Justine Constantinides Avatar
    Justine Constantinides

    Just reading your list sounds exhausting! I always struggle to make it through my tasks , as I feel like the list just gets longer and longer as the day goes on. I can definitely connect to 8pm falling asleep (most nights!).

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. shfruit Avatar
    shfruit

    That is quite a list. Teachers need to take time for themselves. I was having a text conversation about this with my friends at school earlier this evening.

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  8. writingandlaughing Avatar
    writingandlaughing

    Uff, what a list. Hoping you found a few in-between moments of rest throughout your day. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

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  9. karpenglish Avatar
    karpenglish

    My goodness, it was a busy, busy day, especially for a holiday! I’m impressed that you checked off several of the items, too. I hope some were relaxing ones, and not all school related.

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  10. Sarah Valter Avatar
    Sarah Valter

    This sounds spot on for a teacher’s day “off”! Hope you found some time for yourself to rest and recharge and that the day was as productive as you hoped!

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. natashadomina Avatar
    natashadomina

    What a tall list! I can’t believe everything you are aiming to get done–you need to write “Rest extensively” at the top if you’re going to come back with any sense of rejuvenation! It sounds like your school is lucky to have you–what dedication!

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About Me

I am an Elementary school teacher , I taught at an International IB School in Accra, Ghana. I am now teaching in Hanoi. Writing is my passion and I try to write daily, at least in my sentence a day journal, to capture all the blessings around me. I write with groups of writers, such as Teach Write and sometimes Ethical ELA. I also encourage my friends to write , so I created a platform to make that possible -Writing Run.

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