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Teachers: Enjoy Your Parental Leave


This time last year, I was planning for every day that I would be on maternity leave. My due date was August 25, so I would only be with my kids for two weeks before I would be gone.

I worked tirelessly, uploading lessons to tes.com, so all the substitute would have to do was hit "play" on the slideshows.
I got copies made, planned on speaking with my substitute weekly (which I did), and thought I would also connect with the students somehow if I read their journals and wrote them back, along with their personal narrative essays.

I was going to take only two months off so that it would be like I was never absent. I ended up not going back.

Prior to all of this, I asked other teachers what they did while on leave. Almost all said that they provided lesson plans and graded EVERYTHING while on leave. I also heard a horrifying story of a teacher mom who was getting phone calls while her baby was in NICU because the substitute couldn't find a binder with copies that were in them.

I do have a 13 year old, but I had her at a young age, so back then my only job was being a mom, college, and working at an after school program. Being a teacher isn't exactly the kind of job that we can just leave and not worry about. Test scores will still affect us, behavioral issues will occur, and we have catching up to do when we return. I tried explaining it to my husband like this: what if you went on leave and someone had to solve your cases while you were out, and you would be held accountable for how they handled your cases? Does that seem fair? Our profession is unique and stressful in this way.

I kept looking for teacher ideas on what to do while on maternity leave: how to leave plans, notes to give parents, how to somehow manage behavioral expectations while not being present. I found lots of great ideas, but what I did NOT find was advice that you enjoy your leave.

I know I didn't go back for the last school year, so it may not seem like I can give this advice but I hope it eases someone's mind out there.
ENJOY your leave. ENJOY time with your baby. Don't check your email.
I think that leaving plans and talking with your substitute is fine, but don't stress yourself out over it! It's OK to NOT have the perfect school year while you're gone. You DON'T have to grade papers. If you gave birth, you should take your time and heal physically and emotionally from the labor you just experienced. If you adopted or are on paternity leave, enjoy the bonding time! These are precious moments that go by way too fast!
I know it's stressful to think of returning to a mad house because you aren't there to give instruction and procedures as to how you would like your classroom run, but it'll be OK. It's only a few months, and then you can start over next year.
Trust me, I am not the laid back kind of teacher. I just finished my masters last May, studying sociocultural studies in education. I just earned a level III license, and the only level I can move up now is if I earn National Board Certification. My job is top priority and it is everything, well it used to be. Since I have been simplifying my life, I have taken notice that it isn't everything.

It's OK if things go wrong. You can get a new batch of kids next year, but what you can't get back is time. So use it wisely and enjoy your time at home. It's OK to and you deserve it.

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