My mother-in-law once told me,
“You have to learn to advocate for yourself and what you believe in because nobody is going to do it for you, better than you.”
Throughout this class we have learnt a plethora of information regarding teacher activism. We have heard from so many valuable teachers and people within the profession that have provided support and guidance as we enter into our new careers. Throughout this learning journey, I have learnt a deeper meaning of what advocacy and activism means within the profession. Alongside this, I’ve learnt how much of it relates back to creating a work-life balance for teachers. As I enter into the profession, one of the biggest stressors I have had has been the ability to maintain a work life balance with the expectations of being a teacher all the time, even within my private life. Some of this stress was tremendously relieved when we read Dr. Pamela Osmond-Johnson’s article Promoting an Activist Teacher Identity (2018) then had the opportunity to hear her speak later that night. Mentioned within the article, she states that “activist teaching identity implores teachers to embrace their collective voice and refuse to yield to narrow, managerial, understandings of teacher professionalism.” (Osmond-Johnson, 2018, pg. 1). In regards to the previous, this statement opened my eyes to what life can be like as a teacher, and as an activist. This statement instigated the idea that we are still able to pursue our personal endeavors, passions, and interests, while still upholding a true and compliant vision of teacher professionalism. While we are teachers through and through, we are still able to be ourselves.
As teachers, we must advocate for ourselves to create an atmosphere that nourishes and cares for our personal lives. This idea is supported by a statement in Emotional Regulation as a Remedy for Teacher Burnout in Special Schools: Evaluating School Climate, Teacher’s Work-Life Balance and Children Behavior by Sri Mulyani et al. The article states that “The teachers’ performance is adversely affected if they cannot balance family and work” (Mulyani et al., 2021). Further, teachers require a stable balance that prioritizes their commitments to their personal lives, equally with their work lives. Although this is not always possible, it is critical that there are consistent efforts to create boundaries and manage time to work towards a dependable feeling of stability throughout a teacher’s career.