Team Teaching

Rapidly, my summer is drawing to a close. Usually, this is when I begin to panic about what I have NOT done in terms of preparation for the coming school year. Now, I certainly love my job - I would be an idiot to do it, if I did not, since the pay is less than impressive - but summer never seems quite long enough to unwind and then get ready to go again. Surprisingly, narcolepsy does NOT help (in any way) with pulling resources together. Yet, with all of those factors weighing in against me, I simply am not feeling the stress this year.

Certainly, I am thinking about what I need to get done. I have many tasks that I need to complete before my students arrive (literally in two weeks). The difference is that I am working with two other amazing teachers for the coming school year. We have already met together for over thirty hours this summer. We have another meeting scheduled for Friday and two more next week. All of that time is needed for joint planning, but it is also allowing us to form ourselves into a true team. Our plan is to work together every day. Often one person will be the "lead," but even on those days the other two will be in pre-planned supporting roles. Even more importantly, we are discussing how with each unit, with each assignment, we are hoping to help our students grow as people and as learners.

While I knew last spring that I definitely needed a change in my teaching load, I could not have fathomed being this excited. I will be able to use my part-time teaching load to stay balanced. I also have two people who will help me maintain that balance. But, this Grade Nine "Values Symposium" course is filled with material that I love. So, I am entering a school year excited, prepared, wiser, and determined. That sounds pretty good to me.

The key words, of course, are "good to me." More than anything, I need to keep my physical, emotional and mental health as the top priorities in my life. Narcolepsy forces me to do that. When I don't, I wind up getting sick (as has been the case over the past two weeks). I have a ton to offer in the classroom. Working on this team will let me do that in a meaningful way - far more than has been the case in the past few years. My narcolepsy is real, but it can't change who I am at my core. I know that this school year will be good, even on the days when everything goes wrong. I am alive. I have an amazing wife and daughter. I get paid to do something I love. Narcolepsy or no, I'm a lucky man!