It will be over one day

A lady teacher, age 43 in a small village in Poskwitów in the Małopolska Region in Poland.

I would like to start with the fact, that for me it was a really hard time. I couldn’t find a balance between my work and the role of mother. I felt overwhelmed, isolated, and left alone with all the problems resulting from the pandemic.

This resulted in deep professional burnout. I couldn’t prevent it, because I didn’t feel well even before the pandemic, so it simply amplified its symptoms.
We didn’t have much support from school, for sure not individualized ones. We can say that online meetings with other teachers of the educational board at school were somehow helpful because we could exchange our experiences, methods, and problems with colleagues, but it was not professional help. We just tried to manage the situation.

The most valuable time for me during the pandemic was the time with my family. Of course, most of the time I spent on teaching and preparing lessons, but they were close and we could chat even between the lessons. As regards free time, I also came back to reading books and if possible, spent as much of it with my family.
Unfortunately, I do not see any value in such a situation as a pandemic and lockdown. One should have a visible distinction between professional life and private life. I really couldn’t find the balance when working at home.

Even though it was a difficult time, sometimes funny situations happened, most of all resulting from using various apps and technical devices. One time I was checking attendance in an online lesson and I asked: Johnny Kowalski, and I saw that Johnny was fidgeting and talking to a colleague. To which another colleague comments “Ma’am, Johny got kicked out of the lesson”.

Honestly, there weren’t many positive aspects to this situation, however – as I said before – a very valuable aspect was the time with my family. We learned a lesson from the pandemic.

“It will be over one day!”

Date: 26.09.2023
Organisation: Szkoła POdstawowa w Poskwitowie