Eric Baylin's
Songs to Brighten
A Teacher's Day

Do you often feel at this time of the year as though your professional life, at least, is spiraling out of control? So much to do in so little time and so much pressure to do it! To make matters worse, it certainly seems as though "the hurrier you go, the behinder you get." What will you do? Hopefully, like Eric Baylin, you'll get used to it!

It's mid March. We're solidly into the year with summer still a bit too far in the distance to seem like a reality. The frantic pace and unrelenting busy-ness of the days have become -- well -- almost normal. We dash off to school and into the fray of the classroom. If we're lucky, we find a few minutes to gobble lunch before dashing back to class. The quickened pace, the flood of e-mails, the mountain of unfinished details have all become a way of life. Not to worry! My system has adjusted. I've grown accustomed to the stress.

I've grown accustomed to the stress
Of always more and never less.
There's never time for simple things, my desk is such a mess,
My neck is tight, but I confess,
I've grown so used to sleeping less,
So used to always saying yes.
I used to find a quiet moment for a simple game of chess.
But now it's even hard to take a bathroom break. I guess
I've grown accustomed, nonetheless, to all the busy-ness;
Accustomed to the stress.

I've grown accustomed to the pace
Of always running in a race.
I've got a meeting during lunch, some parents I must face,
And worn out shoes I must replace.
Well, I have learned how to embrace this hurried, harried, hectic chase,
While I can barely check my e-mail, and there's no time to erase
The messages from yesterday; they just pile up in place.
But still I know that I can face
The unrelenting race,
Accustomed to the pace.

Song lyrics copyright 2005 Eric Baylin