• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

May 31, 2016 Featured

Am I Enough as a Teacher?

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Alice Trosclair

Alice has been teaching for fourteen years. She currently teaches English I, English III, English Language and Composition AP, and English Literature and Composition AP. She lives with her husband and son in south Louisiana. She also has hundreds of "adopted" children.
  • Teaching in a Pandemic: Help Teachers, Help You - February 2, 2021
  • The Importance of Feedback in Distance Learning - October 9, 2020
  • What a Teacher Wants: One Teacher's View - March 25, 2018
  • Artist is Not a Dirty Word - March 18, 2018
  • The Death of Reflection in English/Language Arts Classrooms - March 9, 2018
  • More Than A Teacher - March 4, 2018
  • Real Teaching Resolutions - January 5, 2017
  • 23 Times I have Questioned My Sanity While Teaching - September 7, 2016
  • Part 3: Adventures in Real Word English/Language Arts - Let Them Be Great - August 23, 2016
  • Part 2: Adventures in Real World English/Language Arts: Making Them Care - August 4, 2016

It is the end of the school year and every teacher is utterly exhausted. Yes, all of us. We are proud of our students, but the end of the school year is a trying time. As we finish up the school year, we wonder did we do enough. Are our students ready to move on to the next grade level or even college? Then we see all of our co-workers going to professional development, obtaining masters degrees, or teaching summer school. We all are wondering the same question- should I do that? Do I need to go back to school? Is it wrong that I just want to sit at home and play with my kids? I have given everything to other people’s children. Why do I feel guilty for just wanting to spend time with my family?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"]Why do I feel guilty for just wanting to spend time with my family? Click To Tweet

We all go through life wondering if we are “good enough” and as teachers, we are always questioning our abilities. This self-doubt is fed by politicians, the public, (unintentionally) our coworkers, and ourselves. The only person we should ever compete against is ourselves. We just need to be better than we were yesterday, last week, or last year. It is so much easier said than done. Why are we so hard ourselves?

The only person we should ever compete against is ourselves. Click To Tweet
I am here to tell you to stop. You are good enough. You are plenty. You did amazing things this year and made miracles happen when everyone said it was hopeless. You changed lives, not just one or two, but at least twenty, and those kids will remember you for the rest of their lives. You cried, you smiled, and you fought with children that did not care about themselves and you made them care. You brought new ideas into the world, and because of this, you made children see the world in a new light.
You have spent time with students that broke your heart, and made you so proud you could almost burst. You are enough, my dear coworker. You have earned a few weeks away from other people’s children. You deserve time with your family and even yourself. If you do not take a few weeks to focus on yourself, then you will never recharge and be the best you can be for your students. Not everything has to be about them if you want to go back to school, do it for yourself. Trust me, the students will not care if you have a master's degree, they only care about if you care about them. And that is not taught at any university, it comes from within.

Students will not care if you have a master's degree, they only care about if you care about them Click To Tweet
You are enough. You develop relationships with twenty-plus kids every year. You give them every bit of you every single day and not all of them hold up their half, but you made that relationship work. And you have results to prove it. You deserve a break. And NEVER let anyone let you feel guilty for focusing on you and yours during this summer break. We all know that you will be looking at lesson plans, writing curriculum, and attending professional development, and while all these things will enhance your abilities as a teacher, they will not make you good enough. Because you are already enough, you are a teacher and that in itself is extraordinary. I love each one of you and thank you for all you do for our kids.

You are enough. Click To Tweet

Am I Enough as a Teacher-[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailUnschooling: When There is No End to the School Year Default ThumbnailThree Months Off; The New Math Default ThumbnailWhat I Miss Over the Summer Before that last school bell rings: How to sustain yourself as a professional
« 20 End of the School Year Memes That Only Teachers Will Understand
Graduations, Endorphins, and Persistence »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships
  • Want to Keep Special Education Teachers? Try Mentorship
  • An Idaho teen who won his school board election has a message for educators
  • Moving Beyond Diversity to Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging: Lessons from a Sunday Sermon

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.