I don’t know that it’s universal, but it seems to me that most teachers I talk to go through the same slump in late October.

I know for me, the excitement of a fresh start and a classroom full of new faces has worn off. I got behind on grading one assignment a few weeks ago, and that one thing has now turned into a mountain of work that needs to be done. Because I’ve adopted standards based learning/grading, I allow redos and retakes and late work. With the end of the card marking in sight, more and more of those types of things are trickling in and needing my attention. I’m teaching two classes that I’ve never taught before, so I’m drowning in planning as well as grading.

I’m feeling tired and overwhelmed, and this is probably my second lowest point in the school year. There’s usually another low point around early March.

But I know that my students deserve the kind of teaching I do in mid-September, when my energy is high and I feel like I’m really hitting my stride. They deserve the engaging lessons, thought-provoking questions, and thoughtful feedback of a teacher who is not just barely keeping her head above water. I want to be that teacher for them, and I think this late October slump is preventable.

Most schools give teachers a work day or two in the summer, right before school starts. We use that time to get our classrooms ready, make copies, and plan for the beginning of the school year. However, we don’t know our students and their unique needs at that point.

By the end of September, I’ve modified most of my plans to meet the needs of the learners that I now know pretty well. I spend a lot of time after school and on the weekends adjusting assignments, rewriting questions and directions, and figuring out how to get my most disengaged readers to finally pick up their book.

The problem is that I don’t have a lot of time after school. Like many other teachers, I have a family who needs me, too. I know that I’m a better version of myself when I eat nutritious, home-cooked meals, when I exercise, and when I pursue writing as a hobby and not just as part of my job. My kids are also happier when I spend some time playing with them in the evenings, and my husband likes to spend some time with me every now and then as well. Right now, I don’t have time to be that better version of myself or to give everyone in my life all of the attention that they deserve. At this point in the year, I’m feeling like I’m stretched too thin, and I don’t think I’m alone.

That’s why I think most teachers could use a curriculum or records day at the end of September or beginning of October. Not a PD day, filled with meetings and new learning that we also don’t have time to figure out how to integrate into our curriculum. Not an unpaid day off or a sick day that we actually use to catch up on work. I’m envisioning a day where we have time to plan on our own or with other teachers who are teaching the same classes, as well as time to read and analyze student work now that we know our students. I think even just one day would help me feel re-energized and ready to teach at my best.

I can’t control the school calendar, but there are some things that I’ve been trying to do to help myself combat this late October slump:

• I’ve been trying to put my phone away and really engage with my own children in the evening and on the weekends.
• I’m connecting with other teachers, both face to face and online, to get ideas to invigorate my teaching.
• I’m injecting some fun, community-building activities into my classes. (One idea that my kids always love is to have them write down something unique about themselves that no one in class knows without putting their names on the paper. Then, we mix them all up and try to guess who each unique trait, fact, or talent belongs to.)
• I’m buying easy to cook, or sometimes pre-prepared meals (I’m looking at you, Stouffers) to try to cut down on my family’s tendency to eat fast food at this time of year.
• I’ve started keeping up with this blog to help get my thoughts and feelings out there, and because writing makes me happy.

How about you? Are you feeling this late October slump? What are you doing to get through it?