Teachers - how do you do it?

[ohthegoats]

I've just gone back to work after almost a year of mat leave. I'm assistant head and working 4 days a week. I know that this time in the term is not a good time to be judging your entire job, but really... I'm totally exhausted. On my work days I leave home at 7, don't pick my daughter up until 5, family stuff until 7.30, then working again until sometimes gone 11.

My job share is hopeless so far (she's been off sick), and I'm all over the place with my actual planning and knowing the class... we won't even get into my management responsibilities.

I know other jobs are 'bad' when you first go back too, but I just want to know what teachers have done to make things easier please.

I'm thinking of getting a new job at 5 days a week, with no leadership responsibilities. Going back to main scale and not having to deal with a crappy job share has surely got to be easier? We can't really afford for me to go to 3 days a week or 4 days a week on a main scale salary.

Urgh. Just want to cry.

Well, today I didn't manage to leave until 5.30. Last baby at nursery guilt, her dad had to go and get her because I was in traffic... bad girlfriend guilt. Really behind on management stuff due to loads of marking (that I had to bring home), so bad assistant head guilt.

Today I want out of teaching altogether.

Well the baby will never remember and you aren't doing it every day. The work will get done and being a bit behind never harmed anyone. Your OH loves you and parenting is all about pulling together. Be kind to yourself.

retired teacher here- sole parent for 3 while full time teaching . It was hard and my kids were shortchanged because i tried to do the job as well as i could= exhaustion. Second all the suggestions except IAMCHIPMUNK. Piggy backing on other teachers lessons and resources while you are the head!? I know what they all say about you.

I was 4 days for a year and found I was working 5 days for 4 days pay.

Three days was much easier as people remembered I was part time, so didn't push too much on me. when I went to 4 days, everyone just treated me as full time and it was horrendous.

I am now full time and an assistant head. I fond the meetings at the end of the day the worst, if I was a class teacher, I would not have these. All this week I have been in meetings til half 5/6 and been clock watching and having to leave before meetings finish to do pick up.

That is not much help to you But I would say- do 3 days or 5 days, but 4 days is pants.

I went back after baby no1 as a class teacher five days a week and almost cracked. It didn't help that I went back to a new HT who implemented a lot of new things including planning formats so I had a lot more work than normal to do to 'get the hang' of it all initially although it did help make me more organised in the long term. I dropped to four days within a few months.
I'm terrified going back after baby number two- going back after Christmas.
I survived last time by having an incredibly tight schedule of lists of tasks I would complete each day. I had an app that allowed me to schedule repeating tasks each week so for example Tuesday - all planning for week plus writing marking plus maths marking, Wednesday - two groups language marking, following week's reading PowerPoint and prep etc.

I found once I got into a routine it really helped.
I stayed til 6pm Tuesday and Thursday, left by 5pm on a Friday and on a Wednesday my mum kept dd1 and gave her dinner and I came home, put my jammies on and worked until 7pm in the house, hubby picked dd up and put her to bed. Was like a treat night as I could curl up and work with the tv on and a cup of tea.

Tues- thurs nights hubby put dd to bed and I started working again at 7.30pm-9.30pm then made sure I was asleep by 10pm. I made sure I was in work for 8am and got loads done in the morning too.

I don't know if I'll be able to sustain that with two kids as bedtimes will obviously be harder. I've just decided already that I can't give as many hours over to work as I was giving before going off on mat leave and I'll just need to find a way to do as good a job as possible for the kids I'm teaching without burning myself out and neglecting my own kids.

Not sure what the answer is- am 15 months post mat leave and thinking about giving up teaching. I work 5 days a week with a stressful TLR responsibility and am fed up of working every evening after DD goes to bed + Sun afternoon/Eve and still being ridiculously behind with everything.

The thing is, it would be hard to leave and lose the salary (although I do appreciate that teaching is more or less min wage when divided per hour) plus have to pay for school holiday childcare for ever more.

Yikes just gone back after a year off to a new head too. Doing 4.5 days (love my afternoon off...) Today had a bad day and came home and took it out on ds. Feel bad, it's not his fault. I don't know what the answer is, but enjoying reading all your suggestions.