Do you ever feel the pressure to be something more? Not just as a teacher, but as a person?
I’ve felt inundated this past year with all kinds of things that I should be doing to be a better, happier, more fulfilled person. I’ve been told I should meditate, meal prep, work out more, dress better, take care of my skin, get involved more in education Twitter, provide more extensive feedback, revamp various classroom systems, journal, take pictures documenting my life, listen to more podcasts, read more books, get more organized, start a side hustle, and many, many more things.
And the worst part is, I tried to do all of these things. I tried to do all of them at once.
You can guess how that worked out.
Among the many things I started doing in January was the Daily Stoic Journal. While journaling has fallen off the radar like many other things I attempted, the daily e-mails have not. One from about a week ago hit me particularly hard, anchored by this quote from Marcus Aurelius:
If you seek tranquility, do less. Or (more accurately) do what’s essential – what the logos of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double satisfaction: to do less, better.
As teachers, we are bombarded with things that we “need” to be doing. And the truth is, most of them are good things! It would be awesome if we could all do more hands-on activities, build more engaging lessons, meet one-on-one with more kids, build in an instructional focus, revamp our grading practices, make shifts toward project-based learning, publish more authentic work, blog to share the results of your educational experiments, seek out more professional development opportunities, find or develop more lesson hooks, call more parents, and build more authentic relationships. And on the flip-side, we’re also told that we need to take more time for ourselves and build boundaries around our time between school and home.
Since becoming a connected educator, I’ve dipped my toes in a lot of water but I’ve barely learned how to swim. I think that’s what leads to this drowning feeling, that there’s nothing you can physically do to keep yourself afloat.
So, what’s the solution? I’m going with Marcus Aurelius on this one–to do less, better. I’m picking things to focus on each month and not moving to the next focus until I’m satisfied with my performance on the last one. I’m choosing the things that will have the biggest impact with the lowest energy investment. I’m attacking the areas with the biggest need first. I know what my weaknesses are. I know where I’m not meeting expectations, both personally and professionally. And of course there are things waiting in the wings, ready to occupy my time once I’m satisfied that I’m doing the things I currently want to focus on at a proficient level. But doing a little bit of everything without ever getting good at anything just isn’t cutting it anymore, and it’s time for a change.
Hunter Lambright teaches AP Statistics and Algebra 1 in Richmond, IN. You can connect with him on Twitter @hunterlambright.
Educating the Hunter 