Just like my two kids are completely different from one another, so were my two job share experiences!
Job Share Experience #1
When I had my daughter, my husband and I decided I would stay home for one year because we couldn't afford daycare and she had such severe allergies that we felt it best I stay home with her. When her allergies didn't improve into her second year, we decided to make a huge sacrifice financially and have me job share instead of go back full time.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would job share during my teaching career! Before my daughter, I could never, ever imagine relinquishing control and sharing my classroom with someone. It just never seemed like something I could do. I had no problem collaborating with others, but I have never liked having "roommates" and when you think about it, job sharing is really like having a roommate in your classroom.
Since I only wanted to work 1-2 days a week, I had to give up my position at my school and find a teacher willing to take me as their partner. I went from not wanting to ever have a roommate in my classroom to trying to find someone willing to have me in their classroom! It's amazing the changes that happen to you both physically and emotionally once you have kids! Luckily, I found someone who was willing to teach with me and it worked out fine. It was definitely an adjustment because I was coming into their school and classroom.
Overall, it wasn't the best experience but I did learn a lot. I was able to ease into teaching after being out for one year and I learned a lot about the importance of collaboration and communication. I also learned a lot about the importance of consistency with the students. As hard as it was for me to adjust to my partner's teaching style, I knew it was the best thing to do for the kids. Luckily, my partner also had an open mind and was willing to try on some of the teaching strategies and procedures I used in my own room. But because she taught the majority of the week, it made sense for me to adapt to her way of running the classroom. It wasn't easy ... but I knew I was making a sacrifice in terms of my work life to benefit my family life.
Job Share Experience #2
After job sharing for one year, I was eager to go back full time. I felt rejuvenated and had an energy that I was lacking right before I went on maternity leave. I had really burnt myself out my first 9 years of teaching and the time I took on leave and job sharing was the best thing I could have done for my family and my teaching. I taught 2 years full time before I got the itch to have another baby!
Unfortunately, all the time I took off with my first left me with very little vacation time to take off with my 2nd. So when it came time to figure out what I'd do once my son came, I knew I did not have the same luxury of staying home for a year. It really broke my heart not being able to provide my 2nd child with the time I was able to give to my first but like they say "it is what it is."
Luckily, I was able to do the next best thing. After taking my 8 weeks off to recover from my C-section, I was able to job share 50% for the year. I taught Mondays, Tuesdays, and every other Wednesday with the most amazing partner!
This time around, I was the teacher looking for someone to job share with me. I had the chance to interview and choose my "roommate" and I hit the jackpot with my partner. Most of the time, job share partners learn to work together and it takes years to really find your groove with one another. My job share partner and I didn't go through this at all. From the moment we met, we clicked ... I had never met someone with the same energy and teaching philosophy as me but here she was! I had found my teaching soulmate lol When I look back on it, I can't help but laugh at all the times we would literally finish each other's sentences OR think of the same exact things to do with our students and lessons.
This past year job sharing has been amazing. I learned so much from my partner and was able to balance both work and family because I found a job share partner who I really enjoyed teaching with. We both understood the importance of family, but also wanted to provide the best experiences for our students.
All in all, I learned a lot from both job share experiences. It wasn't easy making the decision to job share, but I'm glad I did. If you are thinking about it, I have some tips below about how to make it work with your partner.
1. Shop Around
I've been on both sides of the job share experience. The first time around, I was the teacher hoping someone would want to take me in and job share with me. The second time around, I was the one that got to pick who worked with me. However, both times, I made the decision to go with my gut and only work with someone I felt I could truly work with. I've seen too many job share situations not work out because both teachers were not willing to compromise or collaborate. So the first thing I would say is DON'T SETTLE! Job sharing is a lot of work...it sometimes felt like more work than working full time...so really think it through before you commit to job share with someone. Just like moving in with someone is a big deal...so is job sharing. If you wouldn't want to live with this person and share your "home" with them...then you definitely wouldn't want to share your classroom with them. Let's face it...our classroom's are our homes away from home. Make sure the person you job share with is someone you are willing to "live" with and make compromises with for the school year.
2. Compromise and Collaboration is KEY!
When I first walked into my first job share partner's classroom I knew right away what kind of teacher she was. I could tell that her style, management, and philosophy were different than mine, but I was ok with that BECAUSE she had told me she was willing to try new things. Had she not been willing to make some compromises I don't know if it would have worked. However, having said that, I also understood that she would be the one teaching the majority of the time and I was willing to compromise too. With my second job share partner, we clicked so well that making compromises and collaboration just came naturally. It was amazing to have someone to collaborate and brainstorm with. We definitely helped each other "lighten the load" in terms of figuring out best teaching practices, prepping for lessons, planning and figuring out how to best meet our students' needs.
3. COMMUNICATION IS HUGE!
I learned a lot about the importance of communication during my first job share experience. My partner was extremely organized and had job shared for several years before I became her partner. As a result, she really understood how important it was for us to make time to communicate how our days went with the kids. She was more comfortable talking on the phone and leaving written notes which worked out fine since I only taught 1-2 days a week.
For my second job share partner, we had to figure out how to communicate daily because we were teaching 50/50. Since we have little ones, we also needed to figure out how to do this efficiently. Thank goodness for Bloomz, texting, google docs, and google drive LOL My partner and I were able to share our lesson plans on google docs which made planning so much easier! We also texted each other daily and used Bloomz to communicate with our parents. It was always awesome telling the kids that we would text each other to tell them how proud we were of them or to send a photo of students' work. It really send a message to the kids that we were both their teachers and worked together to help them succeed.
GOOGLE DRIVE was a lifesaver too! On my days off, I would create activities for the kids and share it with my partner so she could print it out at school and vice versa. Technology definitely helped us successfully communicate!
4. GO WITH THE FLOW
If there is anything that becoming a parent has really taught me and has carried over into my teaching it is learning to just "GO WITH THE FLOW AND LET IT GO." When you teach full time you are already having to make adjustments on the fly. Well ... the same goes for job sharing... if not more so. If you decide to job share, you will have moments where things don't go perfectly and that's okay! You and your partner will figure it out. Just like you learn to adjust to a new roommate ... you and your partner will also need time to figure out what works best for the two of you.
Job sharing hasn't always been the easiest for me. I'll be honest and admit some days I felt like it was more work than working full time. BUT I will tell you this....NEVER EVER ... NOT EVEN ONCE did I regret it. Job sharing gave me time with my family I will always cherish. I don't think I'll ever look back and say "Gee...I wish I worked full time that year so I could perfect my teaching." Teaching is always evolving and we are always growing as educators. I know that I will always have time to stretch and grow in my craft. BUT I will never ever be able to get back the time that I've been able to have with my little ones now. I'll always look back at the years I job shared and feel grateful I had this time with them.
Well, I don't know if this blog will help you. I just wanted to share my experience with you. Being a teacher is never easy ... we make tough choices everyday ... I hope that what I've shared with you will help you in making the right choice for you and your family.
Happy teaching!
I've been on both sides of the job share experience. The first time around, I was the teacher hoping someone would want to take me in and job share with me. The second time around, I was the one that got to pick who worked with me. However, both times, I made the decision to go with my gut and only work with someone I felt I could truly work with. I've seen too many job share situations not work out because both teachers were not willing to compromise or collaborate. So the first thing I would say is DON'T SETTLE! Job sharing is a lot of work...it sometimes felt like more work than working full time...so really think it through before you commit to job share with someone. Just like moving in with someone is a big deal...so is job sharing. If you wouldn't want to live with this person and share your "home" with them...then you definitely wouldn't want to share your classroom with them. Let's face it...our classroom's are our homes away from home. Make sure the person you job share with is someone you are willing to "live" with and make compromises with for the school year.
2. Compromise and Collaboration is KEY!
When I first walked into my first job share partner's classroom I knew right away what kind of teacher she was. I could tell that her style, management, and philosophy were different than mine, but I was ok with that BECAUSE she had told me she was willing to try new things. Had she not been willing to make some compromises I don't know if it would have worked. However, having said that, I also understood that she would be the one teaching the majority of the time and I was willing to compromise too. With my second job share partner, we clicked so well that making compromises and collaboration just came naturally. It was amazing to have someone to collaborate and brainstorm with. We definitely helped each other "lighten the load" in terms of figuring out best teaching practices, prepping for lessons, planning and figuring out how to best meet our students' needs.
3. COMMUNICATION IS HUGE!
I learned a lot about the importance of communication during my first job share experience. My partner was extremely organized and had job shared for several years before I became her partner. As a result, she really understood how important it was for us to make time to communicate how our days went with the kids. She was more comfortable talking on the phone and leaving written notes which worked out fine since I only taught 1-2 days a week.
For my second job share partner, we had to figure out how to communicate daily because we were teaching 50/50. Since we have little ones, we also needed to figure out how to do this efficiently. Thank goodness for Bloomz, texting, google docs, and google drive LOL My partner and I were able to share our lesson plans on google docs which made planning so much easier! We also texted each other daily and used Bloomz to communicate with our parents. It was always awesome telling the kids that we would text each other to tell them how proud we were of them or to send a photo of students' work. It really send a message to the kids that we were both their teachers and worked together to help them succeed.
GOOGLE DRIVE was a lifesaver too! On my days off, I would create activities for the kids and share it with my partner so she could print it out at school and vice versa. Technology definitely helped us successfully communicate!
4. GO WITH THE FLOW
If there is anything that becoming a parent has really taught me and has carried over into my teaching it is learning to just "GO WITH THE FLOW AND LET IT GO." When you teach full time you are already having to make adjustments on the fly. Well ... the same goes for job sharing... if not more so. If you decide to job share, you will have moments where things don't go perfectly and that's okay! You and your partner will figure it out. Just like you learn to adjust to a new roommate ... you and your partner will also need time to figure out what works best for the two of you.
Job sharing hasn't always been the easiest for me. I'll be honest and admit some days I felt like it was more work than working full time. BUT I will tell you this....NEVER EVER ... NOT EVEN ONCE did I regret it. Job sharing gave me time with my family I will always cherish. I don't think I'll ever look back and say "Gee...I wish I worked full time that year so I could perfect my teaching." Teaching is always evolving and we are always growing as educators. I know that I will always have time to stretch and grow in my craft. BUT I will never ever be able to get back the time that I've been able to have with my little ones now. I'll always look back at the years I job shared and feel grateful I had this time with them.
Well, I don't know if this blog will help you. I just wanted to share my experience with you. Being a teacher is never easy ... we make tough choices everyday ... I hope that what I've shared with you will help you in making the right choice for you and your family.
Happy teaching!
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