Team Work Balances And Makes The Dream Work!

It’s that time of the year again dear teachers… The last term of ‘proper’ work is commencing before end of year exams, reports, marking, meltdowns and mountains of admin needs attending to. The biggest challenge is to stay motivated and keep your life balanced, just remember that you have that extra role to play helping learners balance their academics, sport and cultural extracurricular activities.

For teachers, having learners involved in extracurricular activities can feel like a catch-22. On the one side, these activities carry significant benefits for learners and on the other hand, sport and cultural activities take up a lot of children’s time and then comes the most difficult part – to balance their schoolwork which should be first priority. Finding that balance is critical for learners, as this will help them prepare for the hard-knock life which we call adulting.

Teachers, you can help more than you think in this regard. According to David Serwitz, the Founder & CEO of Grade Potential Dallas/Ft Worth In-home Tutoring Services, the National Leader for In-Home Tutoring for grades K-12^th and college, teachers can provide the following assistance:

1. Outline extracurricular activities’ priorities

Parents and teachers alike need to determine what their priorities are. While sports are important, as they provide many social experiences and important exercise, few, if any, of your learners are going to make a career out of sports and become the next Wayde van Niekerk or Springbok rugby player. This doesn’t mean that sports are not important, but they should not take priority over academics.

2. Remember the benefits of extracurricular activities

It’s easy for teachers to sometimes forget the importance of sports and cultural activities, but when balanced well, statistics show that learners who are active, perform better in academics. Encouragement to participate in a sport for example, can improve a learner’s self-esteem and their overall joy for life.

3. Communicate with all parties involved

Parents, coaches, other teachers and the learners themselves need to discuss what can be done to accommodate sports and extracurricular activities without sacrificing the quality of academics. Parents can contribute to this balance by maintaining a family meal schedule, at least a few nights a week. Coaches and teachers can meet to discuss their needs and scheduling. Communication is ALWAYS key!

4. Actively teach time management skills

When there is something else happening for learners, the least appealing thing on their schedules is homework and they will always come with the excuse that they do not have enough hours in their day. While teaching your classes, assign certain times to certain tasks, this will instil a sense of time management and teach them to get things done in a reasonable time.

Here are some time management tips teachers can pass to their students:

• Set aside “known time,” such as time in school, at games, at practice and traveling, to see what is left
• Use travel time to study
• Plan a weekly schedule at the start of the week
• Use the weekends to work ahead
• Avoid procrastination, which will ruin a carefully balanced schedule.
• Use study halls and extra class time to work ahead

As learners outline their schedules, they often find they have more availability than they originally thought that they can dedicate to their schoolwork.

5. Watch for warning signs

For some learners, balancing sports and academics is too difficult. Teachers need to know what warning signs to watch for that indicate a potential problem. These may include:

• Sudden drop in grades
• Lack of motivation in the sport
• Poor attitude in the sport or in school
• Making excuses to skip practice or games
• No desire to play sports
• Physical illness when it’s time to participate in the sport

It sometimes feels like an impossible task, but they synergy between teachers, learners and parents are the recipe for success. There is nothing that can’t be achieved with proper communication and you will find that life balances out itself. Suit up teachers, you made it this far. The end is in sight and we salute you!