Romancing the Zone

Much has been discussed lately about the impact of the pandemic on teaching/ teachers and how much we wanted to go back to ‘normal’. I have to confess that the one thing I really did not want to go back to was what we used to call our modus operandi, our comfort zone in English language teaching. Well, I really need to be more specific, especially because I do feel nostalgic about lots of things that would make sense to have back: the focus of this reflection is our routines as teachers and our mental health. I should warn the reader I have more questions than anything else in the following lines.

The isolation and the compulsory remote teaching have taken their toll and affected learning, teaching, connections… There’s so much we can talk about. But they have also shed light on how blurred the boundaries between work and free time had been for teachers. Because our stress levels raised while we tried to make sense of new habits and the growing uncertainty of the future, we assumed we used to have healthy routines.

Here, I list some of the thoughts I have in mind as I look back and forward reflecting about teaching:

(1) Commuting time is not exactly free time – we may feel great about using this time to read, learn, use social media, listen to music, but it is still not an activity we wanted to add to our routine. It simply seems to be our urge to make every minute count;

(2) A break between our lessons (in school or at home) to stretch, grab coffee, check the materials for the next lesson is still not free time. I prefer to think of it as human moments – the machine may be able to respond in seconds and be ready for the next. We are not, we need a pause;

(3) Binge-watching TV series with a notebook record any interesting facts, language use that we may use in our next class may not be a hobby, as it seems to be work (planning). Always consider when the last time you watched TV without thinking of a class was. If it happened a while ago, may be it’s time to reset our mindset;

(4) Attending (and/ or presenting at) ELT events is pure work, including the breaks to discuss the talks, visit the stands. So, why is it that some of us feel the need to compensate for the hours spent away from the classroom by, for instance, correcting writing tasks in the evening to help the teacher who is substituting for us?

(5) Overworking is not even good for machines (we need to recharge personal devices, computers need to be turned off to avoid overheating), why do some of us still think it is great, admirable or perfect for ‘ increased productivity’?

For years I was always the busy (or anxious) teacher: if not teaching, learning; if not in class, discussing teaching and learning (even at family Sunday lunch), planning the next lesson. Language teaching gives us this power of seizing every opportunity as a teaching, planning, or learning chance – anything, anywhere, all at once. One of the lessons I seem to have become more aware of during the pandemic is this: the fact that we can do it doesn’t mean we should, or the fact that we love what we do does not mean that it is good for us to do it all the time. It may seem comfortable, but it does not mean it is a suitable zone for a balanced life.

Teaching is our chosen career, we spend years throughout our lives studying, striving to be better, to give our students the best possible learning experience. We deal with a lot of prejudice against what we do, and our response is many times working harder. We may call it an overdose, and anything that is over should be reconsidered, I believe.

The question that remains is: how much free time (or simply not-work-related time, even if it is not free) are we allowing ourselves to have? That has a huge impact on our (mental) health, and the only way we can sustain our own profession, passion, work quality seems to be by keeping ourselves strong. I hope your answer is ‘enough’, ‘a lot’ of you-time. We may call ourselves superheroes, super anything, but nothing makes us less human; neither does it make learning, studying or teaching an easy task. Mind your zone, take care of yourself, keep growing professionally, be human.