Best part of the day

Take a moment and reflect on the following question:

What is the best part of your day?

I started writing this post long before the pandemic changed our school year and revisiting it now certainly gives me a different lens. I asked my daughter this question yesterday and after a moment of thought, she said “My favourite part is the moment I wake up because I love the way the sunlight comes in to my room.”

I imagine the answer would be different for everyone and gives us a chance to reflect on what we value, what energizes us, and what brings us peace. For me, I actually had the answer before I thought of the question – I had noticed my mood elevated at the same time each day, my mind and heart both content and excited. The absolute favourite part of my day is the drive in to work – particularly the short moment just before arriving to the school.

I snapped this shot as I arrived on campus one day – the snow on the ground shows how long I’ve been thinking about writing this post.

I admit this seemed strange to me at first. When I started noticing that I felt this way, I thought more and more about the reasons I enjoyed this particular moment so much. Here is what I’ve determined:

I enjoy being by myself.

I have three daughters and have also hosted international students for the better part of the last 10 years. My household regularly fluctuates between 7 to 9 people living busy lives within it – making lunches sometimes feels like I am a line cook for a catering business. I have a job that enables me to interact with over a hundred people each day. I absolutely cherish each of these interactions. My kids make me laugh almost every time they say something, I love seeing my homestay students learn and adapt to a new language and culture, and I really love seeing my students grow and learn as young adults with limitless futures. But my favourite moment in all of this is the fifteen minutes I have to myself as I drive in to work because it is a chance for me to reflect. I’ve noticed early in my career that we don’t really learn by doing, or by talking, or by having experiences – the learning happens when we reflect on all of those things.

I am energized by hope and potential.

I love thinking about positive things. In that moment each morning, I love thinking about the possibilities of the day ahead. I look forward to watching the lessons I have planned come to life as the kids wrestle with the tasks and ideas that I have meticulously crafted to optimize their productive struggle. I have noticed that the perspectives through which we choose to view our lives are incredibly powerful in shaping how we approach and view our work. I received one of the best pieces of advice from a mentor of mine as I was making the difficult decision of leaving a job that I absolutely loved to take on a new challenge at my current teaching position.

“How do I know if I am making the right decision?” I asked. 

He responded “The only way to know if you are making the right decision is to make a decision, and then make it the right one.”

The advice was so simple and yet profound. I had never thought of it before – that it does not matter what paths we choose as long as we approach them with open minds and open hearts to see the beauty in anything we do. It completely erased any doubts I had. I decided to accept the new teaching job and have loved every moment of it – even the difficult ones.

I am fortunate to have found a career that I am passionate about.

Education is not my first career. Prior to teaching, I worked as a software developer for a variety of tech companies. While I loved programming and solving problems, I felt there was something missing. It was an affinity for learning and working with kids that led me back to a degree in Education. It may be cliché, but the moment I stepped into a school as a teacher-candidate on my first practicum, I knew that teaching was the career for me. Being in an environment of learning energized me – and that is what made the difference.

If we are in a position to choose our work or school paths, choose things that bring joy. Of course there are ups and downs in everything we do, but framing those challenges around an endeavour that has personal meaning and purpose gives us the energy to find solutions.

There was a recent conversation on Twitter that started when a teacher tweeted about being able to protect home life by never having to bring any planning or marking home. Teachers responded from both sides – some wondering how it would be possible, others cheering for the importance of work-life balance and protecting precious time away from work.

For me, there has always been something that does not sit right with the phrase work-life balance. It is because the word balance evokes an image of quantity. It implies that the challenges of work drain our energy and needs to be countered by the peace and rest that home life brings us. Life tells us that work and home are not easily separated – at times the tasks I have waiting at home at the end of a school day are far more daunting than the day at work. What would happen if instead, we focused on the quality of both of these parts?

I value my home life, time spent with family, following my hobbies, and taking care of myself. But I equally value my work life, challenging myself to grow and learn, reflecting on my practice, and planning for the learning and well-being of my students. If we focus on the quality of each of these significant parts of our lives, we don’t need to sacrifice one for the other but rather we can actively find joy in both.

Teaching hours don’t end when the bell goes. I find the hard work really lies in the planning for learning and this does not happen during set hours. We often let ideas sit as we consider and reflect on how lessons have played out and what we can adjust to better cause student learning. At times, these ideas get bounced around for days, weeks, or even years before we have aha moments that we can apply to our practice. I remember struggling with the concept of teaching dividing by fractions visually for twelve months before I had the aha moment of using language as the bridge to the picture (coincidentally during my reflections on a drive in to work). I rushed in to the office and frantically jotted down the idea before it escaped. Although the final product were some scribbles on a whiteboard, it was only made possible from the months of thinking that lead up to it.

I know I am fortunate that I have found education and specifically math pedagogy to be passionate about. Work doesn’t feel like work, it feels like meaningful play. To use Dr. John Spencer's term, I “geek out” on education and learning.

I know that life can pull us in different directions, but I am hopeful that whether it is teaching or research, we can find meaning in our work and that we can all “geek out” on something. We wouldn't need to constantly try to balance work and home but we could let them live in joyous harmony.