How Are All of My Fellow Teachers Doing?

Whether you're a teacher, principal, teacher's aide, substitute, etc we all know that this school year is completely different. While some of us are teaching online, others like myself are teaching both brick and mortar students and e-learners. I'll keep this post nice and sweet...take care of yourself! I have come across many articles where teachers across the country are either retiring early or quitting altogether this year. I also know teachers in my social groups that wish they had another trade under their belt so that they can quit. This year is ROUGH! I myself have a hard time getting out of bed sometimes and it breaks my heart because I love my job and I love my school, however we're all human and this is something we were not trained to do and we weren't mentally ready for it. I suffer from anxiety and depression and I'm very blessed to work at a school that has amazing administrators that have an open door policy where you can just sit and vent in confidence. I'm also blessed to work for a diocese that cares about its staff to the point where they are hosting virtual therapy sessions for those who are suffering from anxiety and would like to talk about all the changes that are occurring in their classrooms in confidence. So please! If you are an educator who's going through a rough patch and you have no clue what to do, reach out to someone! If you have a principal or AP that you trust and feel that you can talk to them au natural, then go for it! If you don't feel comfortable going that route, look into your employee manual/benefits for resources such as free counseling services or help lines. 2020 has really beat a lot of people down, but I think that the only thing that's really helping me see the light at the end of the tunnel is that this not permanent. It can't be! We WILL go back to normal and if classrooms don't go back to normal 100% by the 2nd semester, then they just have to by the next school year. We just have to pray that they do. You're not in this alone and always do what's best for your mental and physical health.