Educators' Lounge - Place to chit and chat

Hey there Educators n' All,

Let's sit, kick back and relax. It's FRIYAY!

Welcoming all for a virtual coffee. How's education's/educators' life going?

@AL0007 @Liearna @S1s1 @Freckles24 @Ron64 @Ferdinand @AzureSkies @Freddiethecat @101613 @Wren1 @MichelleVu @Austin08 @AmbitiousWoman @mr-robot-75 @Jacob7 @GADzooks @misty8 @Cat381 @OM108 @KittyLove1984 @BPDSurvivor @Shaz51 @Snowie @Zoe7

How's everything going for everyone?

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Hello everyone

@AL0007 @Liearna @S1s1 @Freckles24 @Ron64 @Ferdinand @AzureSkies @Freddiethecat @101613 @Wren1 @MichelleVu @Austin08 @AmbitiousWoman @mr-robot-75 @Jacob7 @GADzooks @misty8 @Cat381 @OM108 @KittyLove1984 @BPDSurvivor @Shaz51 @Snowie @Zoe7

Hello @tyme

Ha Ha thinking of going for a drive tomorrow to the Butterfly Sanctuary but Mr shaz washed the car

and the weather said it is going to rain tomorrow 😂🤣

Thanks for sharing the platter! Yum @Shaz51 !

Butterfly sanctuary sounds lovely! Can you take some photos?

will take some photos @tyme if we get there 😎

so have to wait now to see what tomorrow is like xx

any plans for the weekend ?

I wanted to go out with the kids, but my sister doesn't want to go out @Shaz51 . I splurge going out and she's saving her pennies.

I guess being 'free' means you have money floating, but it's different when you have 3 kids and a mortgage.

HI everyone. I'm an adult educator, with AuDHD. Makes life interesting !!

How's everyone doing?

Hi everyone. I thought I’d pop in before I go back to school tomorrow.

I’ve just stayed up putting lesson plans online for about 30 classes.

Joys of being a teacher!

Due to teacher shortages, we have a lot of teachers from aboard eg UK, NZ. Some are starting tomorrow.

Let’s just say they need a lot of nurturing. It’s a huge shift for most of them.

I really should be sleeping now but after 2 weeks of chilling and late nights, it’s not easy. Not to mention daylight saving!

I’ll update you when I’m able to.

@mr-robot-75 @tyme @Shaz51 @Appleblossom @Zoe7 @Millieme @Spirit_Healer

Hey @skttrbrain @BPDSurvivor @Shaz51 @Appleblossom @tyme

I'm going to answer the questions here...better late than never.

1) Your work as an educator

I'm qualified to teach English Years 7-12, Chinese P-12 and I have also completed an elective for teaching 7-9 Maths. Last year, my school added Humanities to my English and Chinese allotment, even though I didn't study it at uni or get trained in it. That took a lot of extra time and effort to learn content and pedagogy, without being given extra preparation time.

2) Your biggest wins as an educator

Sometimes it's the small things. I've been on sick leave since mid-November 2024, and three students contacted me in December. Two were Year 10s wishing me to 'get well soon' and another was the most stubborn student in my Year 7 class, begging me in three separate emails to 'plz come back'. It's these kinds of communications that show me how much I'm valued, and the impact I'm making on young lives.

3) The biggest pain points as an educator

Bosses who make drastic, school-wide changes without listening to staff protest.

Being so accessible to parents at the click of a mouse and tap of a keyboard. And once I receive parent communication, I'm obligated to respond within three working days.

Time and energy are always insufficient for what needs done. I'm going down from 1.0 FTE to 0.8 FTE in 2025, to focus on my recovery and allow more time for recreation (Salsa and Bachata dancing, piano, Yoga, Pilates, walking etc.).

4) How mental health affects your mental health

Adverse life events, combined with the neverending load of being a teacher leads to burnout. This happens for me every few years. I've run out of sick leave during both episodes of my illness when I was teaching, including this time.

My primary issue is anxiety, and then other issues have arised from this. I have just been rediagnosed with bipolar affective disorder (instead of schizoaffective disorder) and put on a new mood stabiliser. Once my bipolar gets under control this time, my psychiatrist will then consider treating my anxiety. I also have C-PTSD diagnosed by two separate psychotherapists very recently.

I need to address my anxiety because it will not go away on its own. I'm fortunate to have a supportive Clinical Psychologist who helps me problem-solve my work and family issues through a psychological lens (I think a lot of it is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)). I am also broadening both my health professional network and my social network. I have found it easier to be at work since I started opening up in a limited way with a few close colleagues, ten months into this most recent job. I've worked at seven schools over the past eight years, so it has take time for me to put my trust in these colleagues, add them on social media, exchange phone numbers, etc. This process has been well worth it. Over time, I am learning who I can trust, who has time for me outside of work, etc. This is a work in progress.

Teaching has been really good to accelerate my recovery for a few anxiety-related issues: phone phobia, fear of public speaking and perfectionism. These traits don't survive in the teaching career. Over time, I have been able to somewhat overcome these. It's taken a lot of hard work.

5) Anything else you want to share in relation to education

I was very close to leaving the profession on two occasions. Yesterday afternoon, my retired friend and ex-colleague counselled me, and in the end I decided against leaving my current job.

My principal replied to my email to him, saying that he's open to having a conversation, when I'm ready, regarding my return to work. It will likely be another few weeks before I reach that stage in my recovery.

@Spirit_Healer Sounds like a big journey. You have been resilient to manage all the school changes as well as teaching different curricula.

love that you are doing piano. What are you playing?

@BPDSurvivor hearing you that some people find fault proactively, instead of facing their sense of feeling threatened. Hope school has settled since then I am just relieved I have never taught in a school but I respect those who do. Big Respect. Big job.

@Snowie wow I never realised you taught science.

Hearing you about the difficulties teaching in lower socioeconomic areas. Extra challenging all around for students and teachers. I lived in very low socioeconomic areas. Still do according to some, but it is a lot better than where I was during my childhood.

@mr-robot-75 I relate to being an adult community educator and a bit aspie!

@Shaz51 @tyme @Zoe7

Great to hear from you @Appleblossom . Thanks for sharing!