Thursday, December 06, 2007

Teacher, When Is Nap Time?

I have come to the conclusion that teaching is mentally exhausting work.

Actually, I knew that, but because my job involves long periods of "unemployment" I tend to forget about it.

I am a homebound instructor for a local school district. This means I work on an "as-needed" basis, and it can be months or even years between jobs. It looks like the job I have right now, which started yesterday, will keep me busy through the end of this school year.

Fortunately this particular job allows me to work during my own kids' school day, so I don't have to worry about child care of juggle schedules with TheDad. And I thoroughly enjoy the one-on-one (or in this case one-on-two, as I have two sisters to teach right now) at the kitchen table.

But I think I might have to go back to caffeinated coffee. Afternoon naps are just not an option! I teach in two-hour blocks--a whole week's worth of lessons in one session. Because there are 4 other tutors to schedule, this is not negotiable. But 2 hours of a single subject all at once really wears me down. No wonder my students get silly after about 90 minutes!

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