For the last five years, my job as a highschool teacher has left me mentally exhausted. At the end of a school day, which could be anywhere from 7 to 14 hours long, I found all my energy was used up. Once home, I was often unable to do anything beyond turning on the television, grabbing a small snack from the fridge, and falling asleep on the couch. It was highschool. Even on a good day it felt like at least a quarter of the resident teenagers were having a bad day. Like I said, it was draining.
Now, all of sudden, I feel a complete turn around. While going to school is academic, the focus at VCC is largely hands on. At the end of my day, I've hauled pots, done a whole bunch of cutting and prep, spent time leaning over a hot stove, been up to my armpits in the dishpit, and taken about five pages of notes. It is completely exhilarating. Unlike in the highschool, I find myself completely unaffected by the moods and the misdemeanors of my peers. While we are a team, I am required to focus on the instruction of the Chef. I'm sure if he has a bad day, it will affect the class. But so far there have been no fireworks. At the end of the day, my body feels beat up, but my brain feels great.
Suddenly I feel room in my head for the things I've been longing to indulge in for so long: novels, science, art, fact memorization, grand schemes, reading the classics, the newspaper front to back, and food. Lots and lots of food.
1 comment:
Very interesting post. I could never teach high school for fear that I'd murder them all by the end of the day. As for the 7-14 hour days, the worst that I've witnessed in my field was 36 hours.. But then again, we are talking about teens so you win again.
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