Sunday, October 12, 2014

Teachers College and parenting - not the ideal marriage

Teachers' College is very demanding.  There is a lot of reading, even compared to when I did my Masters Degree in History.  And there are many, many projects, most of which are group work.  Everyone in my program is feeling the pressure and the very few of us who have kids, are feeling it especially because the pressures of home do not let up just because you are a full-time student again.  And being me means that I haven't let all of my extra-curricular volunteer activities go.

I've realized that it is foolish to expect to get much of anything done on weekends because the kids want to do fun things and I don't want them to languish in front of glowing screens which is what would happen if I spent hours on school work.  Also, John loves the NFL.  Enough said on that front.  Much as I have tried to push him to revisit his Sunday afternoon schedule, it is to no avail.

So, I spend late nights in front of my computer during the week and I don't get all my readings done.  That's just the way it has to be.

This coming week is Fall Reading Week at OttawaU.  Unless you are doing a Bachelors of Education, in which case you have classes and professional development.  On the upside, there are fewer readings.  So I guess that's a concession.

The reality is that I will get this done, and I will get it done well, but not as well as I would if I didn't have kids.  But having had my kids already gives me certain advantages and confidences and knowledge about kids and their brains that I didn't have before I had children of my own.  And thankfully, they are, so far, pretty understanding about Mummy's schedule and demands.

Also, I've figured out I can pay Emily $2.50 for looking after the other two while I work at my computer for a couple of hours.   GAME-CHANGER.

Now, back to my readings.

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