To stay in teaching for a long time it will be important to create some boundaries.
Teaching is a job which has no natural boundaries – you could keep working 24/7 and there would still always be work to do. Every day you are working with many different individuals (students and staff) and there are endless ways that you could do something differently.
Our research found that it is helpful to have an open conversation with your head of department or line manager about what your priorities are for the week or term – what has to be done now, and what can be left for the moment?
Teachers recommended some practical steps to help with boundaries:
to focus on building positive student relationships early in the year. This helps to reduce the emotional work throughout the year, and also helps to make preparing the “perfect” lesson less important as the students were more engaged and ready to learn.
to commit to at least one day a week when you always leave promptly.
to recognise that any additional work taken on means another piece of work can’t be done.
Most of all, having a conversation about priorities with your head of department or line manager can help to identify workload problems, and whether any part of the work can be carried out later in the year or in a different way.
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