*As featured in a past edition of one of our magazines*
Are You a Perfectionist?
Advice on How Not To Drive Yourself Perfectly Crazy!
We all know the Super Teacher, the teacher who does it all and does it perfectly. And we regularly wonder how in the world she does it. She's such a perfectionist!
Are you at risk for becoming a perfectionist? It's not as unlikely as it sounds! To find out, read the following list of traits. Do any of these sound familiar?
- You stick to a schedule, no matter what.
If the spelling test takes five extra minutes, you shave those five minutes off of math time so you can stay on schedule. If there's a fire drill, you still teach every subject, but in abbreviated form, of course.
- You make every second productive.
You grade math assignments between calling out words on the spelling test. You put up bulletin boards on your lunch break. Your students listen to math facts or books on tape as they move from one activity to the next.
- You insist on doing everything yourself.
You might give your students class jobs, but oftentimes you "fix" what they haven't done quite right. Because of that, you're at school an hour before everyone else, and you leave only when the night custodian kicks you out.
- You say yes to everything.
You sign up for committees, you attend extra professional development workshops, and you never miss a PTA meeting.
- You are the person everyone comes to for help.
You always have a shoulder to cry on, an extra copy of the lesson plan, the minutes of the meeting, or a safety pin—whatever anyone needs.
- You think all of these ideas are marvelous.
Listening to math facts between activities. Joining more committees. Keeping a spare safety pin handy. Why didn't you think of that!?
- STOP!
You're trying to do it all! When was the last time you varied your schedule? Let someone help you? Took a break? Said no?
- Take a new path.
Teachers tend to be very good at helping others, but we're not always good at letting others help us. Take another look at the traits of Super Teacher. It's time to figure out how you can control these traits, instead of letting them control you. Check out the following tips to help you.
- Going off schedule isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Sure, it's important to have a schedule. But there's no harm in the schedule going a little off-kilter if your class is actively engaged in a lesson. So what if it takes five extra minutes to finish the papier-mâché masks? Instead of worrying about the schedule, cherish those creative moments!
- You can't—and shouldn't—try to do everything yourself.
Part of your job is to teach kids to be more responsible. That means you have to give them a chance to take responsibility—even if they don't do everything exactly like you would! Once you can do this, you might find that your car doesn't always have to be the last one out of the parking lot.
- Let yourself take a breather.
Every year there's more and more to teach in the same number of hours. So of course you want to squeeze in everything you can. But that can be exhausting—and frustrating!
Try to find at least one time every day when you can do one thing at a time. Just one. Then gradually increase those times. Also make yourself eat lunch every day and talk to your colleagues about something other than school. Or, if possible, grab a friend and take a walk around the playground at lunchtime. Most of all, give yourself permission to relax; you might find that you're more productive when you don't cram activities into every minute.
- Carefully consider activities before you agree to help out.
This one's easy. Whenever someone asks you to join a committee or take charge of an activity, simply change your automatic answer from "Yes" to "I'll think about it." Then do that! Think about the time commitment and the benefits to you and your students. If it's worth it, say, "Yes" and plunge ahead. If not, practice saying, "No, thank you." Be forewarned: Some people believe "I'll think about it" actually means "Please talk me into it." Be prepared to stick with your original response until they get the idea.
- You don't have to solve everyone else's problems.
Just like you need to teach your students to take responsibility, you might need to teach the same lesson to your colleagues or family. Sure, you can share the minutes of the meeting with your friend across the hall. But stop photocopying them for her!
Here's another phrase you might want to practice: "I'm sorry I can't help you." If your colleague needs red construction paper and you don't have any, it's not your job to scour the building looking for some. Simply say, "I'm sorry I can't help you" and let her take responsibility for solving her problem.
- You think all of these ideas are marvelous.
Uh-oh...You're pretty far down the road to becoming a perfectionist. But you can still save yourself. Go back to the beginning of this article and try again!
©1998 The Education Center, Inc. ⋅ The Mailbox® Teacher
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