Transcript

 Hey there, teacher friend. Welcome back to the Teacher Support Network. I'm your host, Antoine McCoy, and today we're digging into another one of the Seven F's: Family. But we're not just talking about a traditional definition. We're talking about who you call family, who supports you, who you support, and how all of that impacts your life as a teacher.

So let's start here. What does family mean to you? I mean, for some of us it's blood. For others it's chosen. Maybe your family is your spouse, your children, your siblings, or maybe it's that ride or die group chat with your friends, your small group at church, and so forth. Whatever it looks like, you define it for yourself. 

Let's talk a little bit about that tightrope between balancing family and the emotional marathon that sometimes happens with teaching. I mean, I get it. Personally, I'm in this wild season of showing up for my wife, raising a teen daughter, and caring for my mom in her eighties on the other side of the country. All while running a business and pouring into educators.

I love it, but sometimes it's hard to balance. I've learned that intentional time, those daddy-daughter dates, those phone calls with my mom… They're not optional, they're essential and they fill my cup when the job tries to empty it out.

And that intentionality also shows up in the family vacations we take sometimes or short getaways. Maybe in little walks or hikes that I enjoy with my wife. Those moments allow us to reconnect and breathe in the middle of all the madness. 

So what does that look like for you? What does intentional time look like for you with family? Maybe it's a weekly family dinner. Maybe it's a no grading Sunday or just a no work Sunday where you just don't worry about school. It could be a group text that lifts your spirit midweek. Whatever it is, find what works for you. 

And let's pivot real quick.  Do you have a “work family?”  What do I mean by a work family? Well, some of y'all, you might have that one teammate who just gets it. Some of you might feel like you're on an island, but here's the thing. You don't have to do this all alone. Even if you can find one good colleague, one lunch buddy, somebody in your text thread that can give you encouragement throughout the week, that can really shift everything for you. 

It's not just about collaboration, but it's about connection. Real connection. When I was mentoring full time in my former school district, I had a group of instructional mentors who were my mentor family. We met formally each week to plan together, share wins, and troubleshoot challenges that we had with our teachers that we were supporting. It was nice to just be real with one another, even when we're really struggling out in the field.  We even ate meals together, celebrated birthdays, and marked significant life milestones together.

And in the midst of our full schedule and my full schedule, my mentor family really gave me life. They were a reminder to me that I didn't have to carry it all alone and neither do you. 

So let's land it all here. How do you want to show up for your family right now in this season? What kind of presence, energy, and attention do you want to offer?

And what's one small change you can make this week to start doing that more intentionally? And the key word is intentionally, because sometimes it just doesn't happen when we're busy. So maybe it's putting your phone down for 30 minutes and being present with others. Maybe it's writing a note to your kid “just because.” Maybe it's finally having that heart to heart with your spouse or checking in on your parents.  You don't have to do it all. Just take one step, teacher fam. 

Being a teacher doesn't mean sacrificing your people. It means learning how to carry both the classroom and your responsibilities at home and doing it all with grace. 

And speaking of support, if you're working on building better collaboration with your colleagues, especially when it comes to supporting students with disabilities, make sure, if you haven't already, to check out the show notes in the resource section, I have a free guide, the Gen Ed and SPED Teachers Collaborative Conversations Guide.  It's designed to help spark the kind of honest, helpful discussions that bring real change in the classroom and puts you and your colleagues on the same page. 

So this week remember to prioritize and get some intentional time with your family. Until next time, bye for now.

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