The Minimalist Educator Podcast
A podcast about paring down to focus on the purpose and priorities in our roles.
The Minimalist Educator Podcast
Episode 060: Balancing Relationships and Teaching: Insights from Educator Partners Part 2 with Tammy and Christine
Unlock the secrets behind the fascinating world of teaching through the lens of their partners. This episode promises to enlighten you on how the partners of educators interpret the job satisfaction of their significant others. We highlight the intriguing dichotomy between those who perceive their partners as content and those who notice neutrality or dissatisfaction. Explore how subtle signs like stress levels and health play a role and gain insights into the joys and humorous moments that bring fulfillment to a teacher's day. We also encourage teachers and their partners to engage in open discussions about workplace happiness, fostering a deeper understanding and connection.
Peek into the life of a teacher’s partner as we dissect the emotional and time commitments that often accompany the role. Learn practical strategies for providing the essential support teachers need, from assisting with household chores to becoming active participants in school activities. We emphasize the importance of appreciation for teachers’ efforts while advocating for better working conditions, reminding them that their career is crucial yet not all-encompassing. Join us as we offer encouragement for teachers to seek support from their partners and colleagues, ensuring a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives.
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Welcome to the Minimalist Educator Podcast. A podcast about paring down to refocus on the purpose and priorities in our roles with co-hosts and co-authors of the Minimalist Educator Podcast. A podcast about paring down to refocus on the purpose and priorities in our roles with co-hosts and co-authors of the Minimalist Teacher Book, tammy Musialski-Bornemann and Christine Arnold.
Speaker 2:Welcome back everyone to the Minimalist Educator Podcast. I'm Christine Arnold and today we're continuing our discussion on that fascinating survey we started last week. If you missed part one, don't worry, we can always go back and catch up after this episode. In the first half of the discussion, we broke down part one of a survey responded to by the partners of teachers. We also discussed the key results and trends that stood out from the first half of the survey. But before we dive into part two, just a quick recap for those joining us for the first time.
Speaker 2:This survey was conducted with a small number of participants and covered a range of topics, from how often teachers bring work home to the impact of our work on our health. The goal of this survey To understand how our work in education is viewed by our significant others. So let's get into it. This episode goes into more responses to our survey questions and also links back to some of the findings we found in part one. Thanks for tuning in to this part two discussion. If you found any of these insights helpful, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who also loves digging into the data. So the next question was how do you perceive your partner's overall job satisfaction?
Speaker 3:Okay, Overall, job satisfaction is somewhat high, like maybe 70%, unfortunately, no, okay, so that's good, though, because then people are recognizing that it's not okay to feel this way, and I'm not satisfied. You know what I mean. Like cause some people will overlook like, yeah, there's, I'm tired every day, I don't have energy for anything, there's all these things that we have to do. We have this other new thing coming in yeah, I'm okay with it.
Speaker 2:Like that's not okay although, again, this is not teacher's self-reporting. Yes, so right, that could still be an issue. This is the partners, their point of perception.
Speaker 3:this is true, so, but okay, so then I think this should be oh, hmm, yeah. So I'm wondering then if partners hear more negative things, their interpretation is that their partner is not satisfied. But if teachers were, oh man, yeah, I, I don't know, this is a tricky one, so so it is high then no, it's pretty, it's pretty straight down the line.
Speaker 2:Actually. We've got 15 okay, 15, 50 satisfied or very satisfied, and 50 either neutral or dissatisfied, with zero percent reporting very dissatisfied so we've got a straight split between neutral, dissatisfied and then people who are happy. So yeah, I think but as you, as you were just thinking out loud there, I think a lot of that made sense like, if we're not reporting these remote rewarding experiences and these happy moments, then they are going to have a different perception of what's going on. If they're seeing us catching colds and flus all the time, that's going to impact how they think we're feeling about our job.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's right, very true, Because I do wonder, like, how often do you ask your partner or does one in general, are you happy at your job or are you satisfied at your job? So, like that direct question might not ever really get asked, but we get all of the indirect information right.
Speaker 3:Like the illness or the habit creation, or like the funny stories or not funny stories. But I like it's a good question to ask for sure. And and even on the teacher's part, how often do you ask yourself that, like, am I happy at this job? Yeah, and like and like, even if you say not really, yeah, what are you going to do about it? Because it's a lot of work to change jobs and so, yeah, but anyway, just kind of back to like, how often do partners really talk about that very pointed question Does your job make you happy?
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, and I think, as people get really busy in their lives, especially if they have children, like you're really just, you're just I don't want to say it. That sounds awful, you're just surviving the day. But when I look at friends and family that have little kids and you know big family that they're managing, it's almost like an organization that they're managing. You know it's constantly thinking about they've got to go there and they need this and this needs finishing and I've got to respond to that and I've got to get to work and then I've got to get home and make the lunches and it's like how often are people stopping to self-reflect on how fulfilled they're feeling in their work? I think that's a very good point.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:All right, so we're moving into the part now where people had space to write their responses, okay, okay, so what I've done? Because I don't want to read through everybody's responses, so I've just distilled it down into some commonalities. Okay, so there were some common themes coming out here. Okay, so the first write your own answer question was what do you enjoy most about your partner's job? So what do you think the significant others of teachers enjoy about?
Speaker 3:our work. I think it's probably the funny stories.
Speaker 2:That's definitely one that came up quite a bit yeah.
Speaker 3:Maybe another one. I don't even know what else they enjoy about their partner's job. It's just the stories.
Speaker 2:It's just the hilarious stories, that's it.
Speaker 2:Oh well, also maybe like the fulfillment that they get from like teaching yes, okay, yeah, and there was a lot of very lovely comments about, like, I love seeing them so rewarded, so passionate about what they're doing, good joy that they have, um the fact that they're helping and contributing to society, that they have such strong relationships with their colleagues and their students. So there was a lot of really really nice comments there that they love seeing that for their partner, which is really nice. It's not something that they themselves are enjoying, but they're so pleased for their partner.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's great, I like that.
Speaker 2:Another one that came up a few times was that they can have time off for the family, so time off on the holidays with the kids, and things like that. Yeah, that came up a little bit. And then I am going to point out this one comment If it was you yourself that wrote this comment, I'm not having a go or laughing at you, but it's more from a place of curiosity, because I want to know what's happening. So the question was what do you enjoy most about your partner's job? And there was one response that was just simply one word food. Oh, I love that. But it's just got me really curious because I'm like is your partner like a cooking teacher? Are they bringing home like food from work? Or is that like, are they getting like party bags from the kids? Or, uh, are you, are they bringing home food from staff parties? Like what is happening? How are you getting food?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, oh, that's like a great perk it just awesome.
Speaker 2:It just got me so curious. I'm like where are you, where are you getting the food? Anyway, I just wanted to mention that one. I want to find out more. Where's, where's the food coming from? Where's the food? Yes, yes, awesome so the next was how has seeing your partner be a teacher influenced your own thinking about teaching?
Speaker 3:Okay, so I think there was probably some mention of they see how hard it is, like they've there's realizations about all of the things that teachers have to do and that teachers don't. Maybe there isn't enough support in the teaching profession. Okay, that might be something that's not really a thought influence, but maybe a thought that came up. Maybe that it's not for everyone okay, okay, some good guesses there.
Speaker 2:So you were right with the you know, a new appreciation of of what's going on. So it kind of came up into two main themes. One was just how emotionally and mentally draining this profession was. That was something new for them. And then the other one was about the amount of workload not realizing the amount of work that goes on, with a couple of people even mentioning that you know they used to think that you, that it was a job that you had short hours and lots of holidays, and realizing that actually, no, that's not the case. That's not it at all. Your holidays and weekends are gone with, with extra work being done. Yeah, and then there were a couple of people who talked about that it changed their thinking about teaching, in that they've realized how rewarding it is, with a few people even commenting that it's made them consider education for themselves oh, that's nice.
Speaker 3:I mean, we need need people for sure we do. So come on in. You know what you're getting yourself in for for sure. Right, exactly that's what I was just going to say. You know what's what you're going to feel like and what's some of the things that you're going to encounter. That's really yeah. So that really just says how much they admire their partner, then, and the work that they do. So that's yeah, that's really thoughtful, yeah very cool.
Speaker 2:So the next question was what should people know about being the partner of the teacher? Like what's a warning that you should let people know If you're going to get together with a teacher. What do you need to know?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that their time is going to be absorbed by a lot of work things, because besides planning, there's like parent-teacher conference nights and, you know, teacher like beginning of the year orientations, parent night, school events and all of that kind of thing. So your time is a little bit monopolized. That there will be probably some tears and lots of sleeping, hopefully, or maybe not as much sleeping because of stress and terrible school dreams those are not fun, no but also that there would be some joy from the job too. So, like the real hard things, but also that sense of like. You know again that sense of like. You know again that fulfillment of there is a sense of like. There's a reason why this person teaches right.
Speaker 2:so hopefully that came up too yeah, so definitely there was comments like you need to know that, that they're going to be tired. They're going to bring some of the emotional work home with them as well as the actual physical work. A lot of people talked about like you're going to need to be there for your partner. You need to help, you need to support. One person even talked about the idea of like buying back time so like doing things around the house to free up the personal time that the teacher has when they're home. Um, which is really nice that people are are really trying to make that effort to make, yeah, home time a more lovely experience for the teachers. Yeah, a lot of people also talked about like you are going to get involved in this school. You are going to cut out, you are going to laminate, you're going to be a guest speaker. Like you are going to be in the classroom setting up, like get ready yes, all those things.
Speaker 2:Learn how to make a bulletin board, because it's happening.
Speaker 3:Yes yeah, get to know the custodian too, because this is never good.
Speaker 2:I get to know the people in the building, that's it uh, and I think my favorite comment out of all of them was a another simple one. You cannot act like a child, and I just thought you know what that is brilliant. We cannot deal with a day and come home and deal with another child, your partner being another child at home as well. I was like, yes, thank you, thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yes, oh, my goodness, that says a lot. Oh yes, not another person to take care of, please?
Speaker 2:Exactly, we want to come home to someone mature who is our partner in all things, absolutely For sure. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:And then our very last question of the survey was what message would you send to all the teachers?
Speaker 3:Oh, you can do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Maybe you're appreciated and needed. Yeah, I feel like that would probably be a main message, like just the appreciation and the need for teachers.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah, you're on it. You're on it there. So a big, a big common one that came up was reminders about like this is this is a job. It's not your life, like you're not going to on your deathbed, you're not going to want to have more time at work. You have family and friends that love you and need you, like let's put this in perspective. So that was that was a big uh, that's a good one one that came up and then, yeah, a lot of you are appreciated. Thank you, you're doing a great job. The world needs you. A lot of comments like that. And then we had quite a few people talking about like you deserve better, you deserve to. About like you deserve better, you deserve to be paid more, you deserve better working conditions, you need smaller class sizes, more support, like. There was a lot of that coming up as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean all true statements.
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure. And the quote that I'll share with you from that section was you are near the status of a saint. I applaud you oh my goodness, seriously, though, absolutely yeah, I just, I just think it's a real, it's a real clear sign that they see us.
Speaker 3:They see us, they see what we're going through, they see what we're doing, they recognize it yeah, there is appreciation and support and, yeah, that recognition that it's a hard job and it can be consuming, but with support of your people it's, it can be more manageable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely yeah, yeah, so that is the end of the survey responses.
Speaker 3:I'm hoping it wasn't all doom and gloom for you, tammy it wasn't, and there was definitely some know some pleasant sort of surprises and some definite not surprises, but I do really appreciate that people took the time to answer the survey and just with the honesty, especially in those last few questions, with where they could write in a response, and it's. It's really enlightening and endearing to hear their thoughts about what their partner does.
Speaker 2:so, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely glad we did it would. Maybe we'll have to do a follow-up survey again sometime in the future yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3:I think that I hope that our listeners took away some you know, just some joy from that episode and some, maybe you know, not reframing thinking, but just talk to your partner about these kinds of things too. Like if, if it seems like you're coming home always feeling very negative, like, share a funny story If you can find one from your day, there's always going to be something you know something like. So yeah, cause it can feel hard and and we can get pulled down. So remember that you know your partner's there for you to support you and don't be afraid to ask for help, even outside of your home partner right, like there are millions of teachers. You can always reach out to somebody when you know you feel like it's feeling negative and you need to be pulled up, or you know whatever it is.
Speaker 3:But, like this is just really. I think this was a good way to get some insight into those of us that who are there to support us. But yeah, we're all in it together and so, you know, find your people. And so, even if you are an educator listening and you don't have a partner in your life, it doesn't matter. You have people there to support you as well. You've got your colleagues and your friends and you know we're all. We're all in this same gigantic scary boat with some holes in it.
Speaker 3:Sorry, that was terrible. That was terrible, but we all have flotation devices oh, okay, good, I'm glad.
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm glad yeah for sure. And I think the big takeaway for me is like just that reminder of they want us to feel good and they want us to be enjoying our lives and have space for them as well. So I think that's a really good reminder for all of us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you, christine, for making this a surprise for me. This was a fun episode to do, actually to just like go into it without knowing what responses were going to be, so that was a fun change in our share it was, but I also enjoyed preparing the surprise for you, so I'm glad it worked out for both of us. Yeah that's awesome. All right listeners, thanks for joining us today and we will be back with you again next time with another episode of the Minimalist Educator Podcast.
Speaker 2:Today's episode was brought to you by plan z professional learning services forward thinking educator support.
Speaker 1:find out more at plan z pl servicescom be sure to join tammy and christine and guests for more episodes of the minimalist educator podcast. They would love to hear about your journey with minimalism. Connect with them at PlanZPLS on Twitter or Instagram. The music for the podcast has been written and performed by Gaia Moretti. Thank you.
