Kimberly Frey Consulting

Happy February! Here in the Midwest we are currently in what I like to refer to as the doldrums of winter. The excitement of the holiday season is now far behind us, the sun has been missing for days on end, and the promise of spring is too far ahead of us to be comforting. I know I shouldn’t complain though, because our temperatures have been pretty mild compared to the usual (but I also know that climate change is partly responsible for that). So I’ll focus on counting my blessings while counting the days until the glorious sun returns.

However, this post is not about Midwestern winters or climate change – although the opening might’ve made you think it would be. This one is for all my teacher friends out there who have also hit the doldrums of the school year. For most schools, the 100th day of school has recently happened. The 100th day of school has been celebrated in elementary schools all across the country since its inception in 1979, and although middle schools and high schools might not actively hold 100th day of school celebrations, I guarantee you most of those teachers hold a mental celebration to mark the day.

You see, teaching is not for the faint of heart. Having only recently left the classroom full-time after over 20 years, I can assure you that it’s also not what those outside of education think it is. It is a career where the majority of what you do will be dictated by those outside of the space where you do it, and often by others who have zero experience in the doing of it. A career where those who work in other fields don’t appreciate the knowledge, skill, and expertise it takes to be good at it – even though your career made all those other careers possible. A career where parents and family members will often second-guess your every move, question your motives or expertise, challenge your authority in your classroom, and encourage their children to do the same. Even though these same people are all over social media celebrating their child’s return to school after summer/winter/spring break because of the challenge it was managing their own child for that much time. A career where everyone wants to show their pity for you because “teachers aren’t paid enough,” but then do a complete 180 and say you are greedy and not putting kids first when you fight for better wages so that you can afford to live in the area in which you teach. A career where you are told to practice self-care, but then also are given such a large workload with the expectation that you will just have to bring it home to do in the evenings and over the weekend – with no extra compensation paid for your time.

As a coach and mentor, I have worked with countless teachers over the years and helped them develop their teaching practice, their ability to juggle the many roles they have, and develop their life balance. I see you, and up until very recently, I was one of you. If you are looking for someone to partner with you on your teaching journey, I. Can. Help. Schedule a coffee chat with me to share your story and see if coaching would be beneficial for you.