35- Days Off

I took a Personal Day today. A Personal Day is when you tell the school that you are not coming to work that day and you do not have to give any reason why. I love this perk to the job! I have 11 Personal Days left; the days can either be used for Sick, in which case I call in at the last minute, or the days can be used for Personal, which need to be requested two weeks in advance. Your days can accumulate from year to year, but you can never accumulate more than 90. If a teacher retires from our specific school district, they will get paid for the days accumulated. If you quit, or move, or find a new job, teachers get nothing for the days they’ve accumulated.
My plan is to accumulate a few and use up a lot- not because I do not like my job, but because I want to avoid becoming overworked and burnt out. Today I slept late, went to the gym, watched three hours of television, ate half a pint of ice cream, and never did one bit of school work. It has been heaven.
When it comes to taking days off, there are three different types of teachers: The Proud Teacher, The Unfortunate Teacher, and The Realistic Teacher.
The Proud Teacher never takes a day off. She comes to school no matter what the circumstance. The Proud Teacher is usually smug when she brags about never missing days, although she can offer no good reason for her actions. She thrives on the ability to say she’s never been absent and feels proud of herself, despite the numerous times she has come to work sick and infected dozens of others with her contagious illnesses. The Proud Teacher will reach her 90 accumulation cap and will still refuse to vacation.
The Unfortunate Teacher is the opposite of The Proud Teacher. The Unfortunate Teacher has missed so many days of work- The District has to deduct money from her paycheck. There are many ways to become The Unfortunate Teacher, most of which are avoidable. The number one indicator is laziness. This teacher feels so tired in the mornings, she is unable to get up and so she calls in sick. Unfortunately, many Unfortunate Teachers have kids, and those kids get sick and force the teacher to stay home. Unfortunate Teachers also tend to become pregnant at inconvenient times in their lives; they are always able to collect maternity leave, but are often forced to remain out of work longer than expected.
The Realistic Teacher knows when it is time to take a break. She is able to rest in a balance between excessive absences and excessive attendance. The Realistic Teacher values her job and recognizes the importance of her presence in the school. She also values her life outside of the workplace and recognizes the importance of personal well-being. This teacher will think nothing of taking a “Mental Health Day” off, in order to nourish her personal life. The Realistic Teacher is also smart enough to save enough Personal Days to accommodate for any unforeseen emergency.
Of course, I like to see myself as The Realistic Teacher.