I thought I wasn’t dedicated enough this year. I’ve taken seven days off of work. I’ve lost a week of teaching. I consider this unacceptable. I think of what my students could have gained in this time and I’m disappointed in myself.
With that in mind, I decided to take stock of exactly what days I’ve taken off to determine whether or not they could have been avoided. They are as follows:
Day 1: I underwent surgery to remove cancer. This was Friday.
Day 2: Recovering from cancer surgery. This was the following Monday.
Day 3: The dog swallowed a bird and I had to take him to the vet for surgery. Technically, I was back to school by 12:00 and only took a half day.
Day 4: Follow up from surgery (and all good news).
Day 5: Fever of 102. Ate some very bad chicken.
Day 6: Fever of 102. Convinced at this point I had undercooked the chicken.
Day 7: This will be tomorrow. I’m writing this blog at 9:00 at night because my car started smoking. I’m getting it towed tomorrow to the dealership and will have a loaner by 9:30. I should actually be back at school by 10:00 in the morning.
Looking back on these days, I’ve confirmed what I felt – I’m really disappointed. I couldn’t have avoided any of these days off, but I can’t help but be saddened by the progress that could have been made.
This, to me, is dedication. Despite having acceptable excuses, they are just that: excuses. And I’m not happy with this because it is my students who have suffered.
I think this is something that makes a powerful teacher and a powerful Teaching Fellow. Despite undergoing cancer surgery, a broken car, a sick dog, and a truly bad fight with some VERY undercooked chicken (hence the fever of 102), my personal feeling is that I need to be better. Dedication is truly never being satisfied because your students are the ones who need the benefit of your dedication, and it’s they who need you to be there as much as possible.
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