My official work week caps off at 36.5 hours. However, I spend at least 40 hours in the school and additional hours and hours planning, preparing, and thinking about my students and how to meet all of their needs.
As a first year teacher, I want to be phenomenal at my job. I want to plan lessons that are engaging and create relationships with each and every one of my students. I want the parents to think I am on the ball (whether that is the complete truth or not so much). I want my coworkers to think I can handle things on my own, and be surprised when they realize this is my first time having my own classroom.
However, this year has proved to be even more challenging than I anticipated. Lessons do not go as planned. Students are not engaged, and are therefore not learning. There have been days I have felt not only exhausted, but like I was letting some of my students down.
I have a team of supportive coworkers, who even with more experience than myself, are struggling with the same problems. We vent to one another and we check on one another. And sometimes on the weekends, we explore this new country together.
In this time, of course we talk about school, but we also talk about our lives back home in our respective countries. This may be the US, UK, Canada, etc. We talk about our families, relationships, passions, and experiences. The people who have found their selves here under similar circumstances to me happen to be open-minded, positive, beautiful humans.
Although we work long days, we are all passionate about making a difference in children’s’ lives all over the world. On top of that, we are all growing to know one another and embracing our differences whether it is accent, age, sexuality, interests, etc. There is no one else I would rather live this crazy Swedish life with.
scandinaive 