I’m going to age myself for a minute. Many years ago when I was a child, we had vinyl records and cassette tapes that we used to listen to music. There were two sides, the A-side and the B-side. The A-side of a single song usually featured a recording that was the focus; something you would hear on the radio. The B-side (or “flip-side”) was a secondary recording, something that was not as popular or that didn’t receive as much airplay. Oddly enough though, some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides.
In education, I feel like I spend a lot of time on the A-side. The one that is most visible; lesson planning, assessment, teaching in the classroom. This side of teaching gets a lot of focus, at least in my working life. It’s the side that demands most of my attention, can be very challenging, but also can be very rewarding. There are a lot of things to love about the A-side; it’s popular for a reason!
But this year, I’m thinking a little more about the B-side to being a teacher. It’s been hard not to feel overwhelmed this fall. There is always so much to do and teachers in their first five years often ask me when it gets easier. Even at 25 years in education, I still feel this stress when I focus only on the A-side. The side with all the to-do lists and never ending deadlines.
But what is the A-side without the B-side? I’m working this year on thinking about the other side, the part that isn’t always talked about, the side that helps me to be my best self when I’m with the students. And so, I’m sharing with you, my B-side tracks. It’s short, it’s non-exhaustive, but it’s also focused on something a little different than all of the practical parts of teaching.
First track: Balance. I often feel off-balance in education. I feel myself spending a long time working, planning lessons, units, while also assessing students and attending meetings. These days, in truth, I’m coming home quite late and I start to wonder if I’ve bit off more than I can chew outside of my working day. In response, I’m trying to look at balance a little differently.
Perhaps balance isn’t equal time spent on different tasks, but rather how I measure my effort and stress for each. If I am going to be doing a very stressful task that requires a lot of thinking and learning at school, perhaps I’m going to balance that with something that is very fun and rewarding after school. For example, spending a day in new professional development might mean for the evening I’m going to plan a movie and snack night with my kids or a walk along the beach with a friend. If I know I have a long week ahead at work, I’ll spend my Sunday resting and reading a good book. If I measure work/life balance only with time on task, it will always be off-balance. I’m learning to recognize that the amount of time isn’t always in my control, but the quality of that time might be.
Second track: Beauty. This is my reminder to slow down; to take a few moments to notice the beauty around me. That could be making time to watch the sunset and notice how lovely the sky looks. It’s stopping on my way into the school or the ETFO office to appreciate the changing leaves and flowers that might still be blooming. It’s also just taking a moment to stop and appreciate artwork or music or those delicious snacks someone shared in the staff room. Focussing on these moments always seems to diminish the noise of the A-side tracks and reminds me that there’s always something to appreciate. It brings joy in a different way and it reminds me to take a different perspective when looking around the world.
Third track: Boundaries. This word is sometimes misunderstood and can be guilt-inflicting! I used to think that boundaries meant I’m just saying no to people and that they would be hurt, annoyed, or frustrated with me. As I’ve grown, I’ve realized that boundaries are actually about knowing myself. It’s knowing what I need in order to stay well and to feel happy and be present for my students. Boundaries aren’t selfish; boundaries are actually part of my self-care.
For example, on the weekends, I’ve got a 1:00pm boundary. Whatever I am working on at home, I insist that my 1:00pm boundary is in effect – I sit and read a book or watch tv or take a nap. At school, I make sure I take an uninterrupted lunch break and, here’s the hard part, I try not to talk about work! It’s not easy, but I try very hard to have work conversations limited to ten minutes if it’s necessary and try to talk about something social during the rest of lunch. This helps me to step away from work for a moment and it also builds community amongst staff to share a little bit about ourselves with each other. And it’s a wonderful feeling to work with a strong and connected staff that feels like they can lean on each other. I’ve noticed that it just makes our A-side tracks (co-planning, co-teaching, professional development) go so much smoother when we know one another outside of the parameters of work talk.
And so, the B-side tracks. Often not at the forefront of the day compared to the A-side of teaching, but no less important to educators. While it sometimes gets less airplay, it’s sometimes just as catchy and fun as other versions. The B-side helps me to enjoy the A-side, to give it the airplay it deserves and even have the energy to dance around a little.
