Most teachers dread the last few days of summer before the beginnings of faculty/staff meetings. It means the relatively schedule-free days where time is not punctuated by bells at regular intervals.

This was my last free Thursday. There are no more this summer. I spent it by organizing some files (boring), picking up a prescription, buying a new bedside lamp (LED requested by SH) and a pair of red shoes (which should coordinate nicely with my patterned Boden pants), aimlessly reading stuff on the web (waste of time), walking the dogs several times, meeting the electrician who installed an outlet for the new garage opener and door (to be installed August 31), pulling up some random weeds, fixing the hem on a pair of dress pants for SH. Soon I will start dinner (homemade pesto with mushrooms and pepper slices and shrimp). Then spend the evening with SH, maybe watching a show on TV but more likely reading books next to each other in bed.

It is not so  bad a life.

The New York Times did have an interesting article about work/life perspective. Tim Herrera interviewed Alison Green, who writes the blog “Ask a Manager.” The main point of the article is that when the statement, “we are like family” is tossed around it is not usually to the advantage of the employee. The phrase puts certain expectations on the employee in terms of time, availability and priorities. And the expectations go all one way. The article reminded me of something SH says, “The institution never loves you back.”

I think about this as I approach a new year. For teachers it is quite hard to draw these boundaries, but it is essential to do so. We are not the parents or friends of our students. We are their educators. That is a good thing. I am such more patient with my students than my own children. Any of my three kids would even say that I am nicer to my students. But then I don’t love my students as I do my children. And my students do not carry the burden of my unrealistic hopes, dreams, and expectations which my children do. My teacher self has different tolerances, strengths, and skills than does my parent self.

This year I am starting a new role which should challenge me personally and professionally in new ways. A class dean oversees the needs of a single grade in the upper school. The dean works with other deans, administrators, teachers, parents and the students themselves to try to provide an environment of growth and risk-taking and learning for each student as an individual and for the class as a whole. I am somewhat intimidated by this new endeavor and that is a good thing. If I were walking in and thinking I had this new role down, well, that would be a problem.

What I do know is that I am going to work at maintaining a work/life balance so when I am at school as teacher, colleague or dean, I have the requisite mental and emotional resilience.