If you are sinking, they are too.

Gather your things. Put on your name-badge. Take a deep breath.

Tomorrow I go back to my students after three weeks of absence. I expect my students and colleagues to ask questions because they don't know the whole story. I won't blame them.
Even if I they don't, I'm not sure if I'm ready, if I'm fine.

The thing is, I'm drowning. What happened in my life has nothing to do with my students, but I don't want it to affect them. I want to be able to come back, unaffected. But I know that isn't realistic.

When I left, my students were half-way through presenting their final projects. Those whose projects were completed were graded, but what should I do about the rest of them?
I'm really concerned about how my actions, unintentional and avoidable, but they have still affected my students.

How do I make-up for the missed grades? I can't count against them for my absence, but I want to ensure that they are still graded fairly.

Also, how can I hold my classroom together when I am falling apart?
Right now I have a CT who can take some of the burden, but what about when I have my own classroom? Would I have needed to take leave from the FMLA, use my sick-days, vacation days? I feel that I need to protect myself as well as my students.
According to the National Council on Teacher Quality, in 2012 the average teacher had approximately 4 personal days and 11 sick days per year (www.nctq.org).

Fisher and Frey talk often about transparency with your students. Though their recommendation falls mostly under lessons, I have chosen to be transparent with my students in these circumstances as well. Any basic guide to being a good teacher will suggest that teachers avoid becoming friends with their students (obviously), but they will usually condone come across as a person to make you seem relatable (or human) to your students.

A few months ago, a student in my class was absent for a few weeks. I remember thinking What  could she be doing that takes her away from three weeks worth of class? and when she came back Why hasn't she completed her work I gave her?
Well.
I feel that I should apologize to this individual for even THINKING that she was gone for no reason or not making an effort to do her assignments (because I certainly never said it out loud or gave her any grief). My absence made me realize that when life happens, when crisis happens, when tragedy happens, homework is not the priority. And not only was homework not my priority, but homework for ONE specific class did not take priority. So when I returned to school, no one class had not taken precedence over another. Who was I, one of her 8 teachers, to think she should have taken the time to complete a handful of assignments I had given her when I had not done the same with my classes?
In the future, I want to be emotionally and academically generous with students who are absent for long periods of time to ensure that they don't become overwhelmed, and that they continue to focus on themselves and their personal needs once they resume their routines.

And now, for a few things that have brought me cheer recently. Here is the link to my Pinterest Board that always cheers me up: http://www.pinterest.com/lindsaydale/couldn-t-have-said-it-better-myself/