Overworked and Overwhelmed

From the Teacher's Lounge - A Mixtape - Track

Dear Teacher,

As a millennial woman in her 40s, I had to include Beyoncé on this playlist. Her evolution as an artist, her refusal to shrink, her creativity, and her power…. Every era of Beyoncé has met us somewhere: in joy, in heartbreak, in rebirth, in rage, and in play.

Music is so much to me— sometimes it’s healing, sometimes it’s a celebratory memory and sometimes it’s a lifeline. There are songs that get us hyped, songs that bring us back to our favorite time and place, and songs that accompany us as we drive— singing loudly along with an artist whose song somehow just gets who and where we are. Just For Fun and Sixteen Carriages, from the new album Cowboy Carter, met me in a place I didn’t know I needed it.

These songs were released during the hardest two years of my teaching career. These years were spent trying to get back to a place I once knew, desperately grasping to the parts of teaching that somehow became long lost- and all while my own light was slowly fading.

“Here's to hoping I'll fall fast asleep tonight

And I'll just need to get through this

Born in the darkness, who brings the light?
And I just, I need to get through this
Or just get used to it.”

I had always been known for my “light”—my humor, my creativity, and my love for this job. But the mounting pressures and chaotic, out of this world, circumstances thrown at me became too much. As colleague after colleague commented, “You can’t let anything, or anyone dim your light,” I didn’t know how to stop it from happening. That is until a younger (and maybe wiser) teammate looked at me and said, “I don’t know how many more times I can say to myself ‘maybe next year will be better,’” I knew immediately how to answer that for myself.

It was time to say my goodbye.

It was time to reclaim myself. To surround myself with the joy I had been fighting to protect. The only way to get through it I finally realized—was to finally stop trying to "just get used to it."

Here’s what I’ll tell you, dear teacher: you were never meant to “just get used to it.” So if you ever find yourself feeling like you're fading—pause. Re-center. Reflect… and if needed run, don’t walk away from a job that is stealing your light. Don’t grind your spirit into dust for a system that doesn’t know your worth. The kids need your light, yes—but you need it more.

While we continue to see an unprecedented amount of teachers leaving the profession, my advice is to try a new school first. I know, social media might reflect that the entire profession is doomed, but I believe it is not. Teaching will always be hard, but it should not be near impossible. And if it is for you, it might not be the profession, you might be in a toxic workplace. Try to leave that before you leave teaching completely. There are schools that exist that are high functioning and still rewarding to work in. And there are districts that respect you in ways that are also reflected in your salary… But of course, if leaving the entire profession feels right for you, do it. You matter more than any part of this job.

Sixteen dollars, workin' all day
Ain't got time to waste, I got art to make
I got love to create on this holy night
They won't dim my light, all these years I fight

Here's to falling asleep tonight knowing you're enough. And to waking up with just a little more of yourself intact.

With love, laughter, and the full Beyoncé discography,
A Fellow Teacher Who Gets It

And just because I am still recovering from post Cowboy Carter Tour withdrawal….

The beginning of Beyonce’s - Just for Fun

"I'm goin' all out just for fun, I am the man, I know it. And everywhere I go, they know my name. So I laugh and I lie and the coyotes cry. And, uh, time moves quickly and so do I, so do I. So I'll say my goodbye.

'Cause time heals everything I don't need anything. Hallelujah I pray to her

Here's to hoping I'll fall fast asleep tonight

And I'll just need to get through this. Born in the darkness, who brings the light? And I just, I need to get through this. Or just get used to it"

Pairs well with 16 Carriages- not to compare teaching to the realities of a career as a celebrity but….

It's been umpteen summers and I'm not in my bed
On the back of the bus and a bunk with the band
Goin' so hard, gotta choose myself
Underpaid and overwhelmed
I might cook, clean, but still won't fold
Still workin' on my life, you know
Only God knows, only God knows
Only God knows

Sixteen carriages drivin' away
While I watch them ride with my fears away
To the summer sunset on a holy night
On a long back road, all the tears I fight
Sixteen carriages drivin' away
While I watch them ride with my fears away
To the summer sunset on a holy night
On a long back road, all the tears I fight

Sixteen dollars, workin' all day
Ain't got time to waste, I got art to make
I got love to create on this holy night
They won't dim my light, all these years I fight

It's been thirty-eight summers and I'm not in my bed
On the back of the bus and a bunk with the band
Goin' so hard, now I miss my kids
Overworked and overwhelmed
I might cook, clean, but still won't fold
Still workin' on my life, you know
Only God knows, only God knows
Only God knows

Sixteen carriages driving away
While I watch them ride with my fears away
To the summer sunset on a holy night
On a long back road, all the tears I fight
Sixteen carriages driving away