Sick Leave

I had my first week of doctor-ordered sick leave this past week.  It took me a full day to get over feeling guilty for not being at work.  Then I moped around feeling miserable.  Once I started feeling better the guilt returned. I know that I needed the rest.  I feel vastly better, both physically and emotionally. But I always struggle with feeling like I am letting my students down when I am not there. However this is the very first time in fifteen years that I have not dragged myself to work still sick and as a result extended my recovery time significantly (and probably shared my germs with all my students).

Usually we think that the real troupers are the employees who drag themselves into work if they can stand.  I have often been heard to say, "If I can stand, I can teach,"  But I realize after this week that I had it all wrong.  To teach really well, I need to be whole, healthy, and strong.  Only then am I in good enough shape to be sensitive to the emotions and needs of my students.  Otherwise I am too  immersed in my own misery and symptoms to really be tuned into them.

So, I am changing how I do business.  When I am sick, I will take the time to get better without feeling guilty.  I will honour the rights of my students to a quality education by staying away when I cannot truly give them a quality day.