Teacher Guilt...Mommy Guilt...Guilt, guilt.
No matter what you call it, when you teach your own children guilt will sometimes rear its ugly head.
Personally, my guilt arose from not being able to do everything that I wanted to do (or planned to do with my children.)
As I mentioned before, I have diabetes. Before I had children I taught in a Christian school on the mission field. I continued teaching off and on until my third child was born.
With my eldest son, I taught K5 and first grade while he was in the K4 class next door. We live in the Spanish speaking country of Peru so he was in an all Spanish-speaking class. He is one smart cookie so he already knew all of the preschool concepts that were being taught but he knew very little Spanish so he was constantly frustrated. His personality is also a little like Pacman after eating a power pellet so you can imagine what that was like in a classroom setting!
Being overly zealous I tried to homeschool him in English when we came home in the afternoons. MAJOR FAIL! After having a stressful day at school the last thing he wanted to do was more work!
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| A school recital with my son on the left. |
I felt horrible that I couldn't teach him the way I wanted to and that he wasn't really enjoying learning. Enter TEACHER GUILT!
At other times, it has come as a result of not completing a curriculum or not living up to the wondrous blog posts of the homeschooling community.
I left teaching after the birth of my third child because physically I couldn't handle the stress and strain on my body that teaching all day (and grading all night) brings. Then I turned right around and tried to teach that same way in my home. EPIC FAIL!
Why? Duh? My body cannot handle the physical stress and strain and when the going gets tough this diabetic body stops going. And it used to make me feel so guilty, until...
One day I realized that God did not call me to be "super teacher". He called me to educate my children so that they can read His Word, and know Him and love Him. I had to teach them the best that I could within my own physical abilities. The light bulb lit up inside and the dark cloud of guilt vanished.
So what is my tip? Get your eyes off of other people's homeschool goals and make your own, WITHIN YOUR MEANS, and teach your children to the best of your ability and be satisfied with that.
One of my favorite guilt busters is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Another is Philippians 3:14, "I press toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Keep your eyes on the prize!
Be blessed!
Casandra
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