A blog post by PhD in Education for Social Justice Student Ambassador Tiffany Cunningham

A week in the life of a teacher/mother/fiance/doctoral candidate is a bit chaotic – to say the least! But it is do-able, with a lot of flexibility. 

The first day of our week is Monday and the chaos begins immediately. I run mornings solo as my fiance is already at work by the time the kids wake up, but we’re in the golden age of independence and my kids can make their own breakfasts while I pack their lunches. We’re all out the door and off to school in time for the kids to hit the playground before class and I have a quiet drive to work. 

I teach high school science and am very strict that when I leave campus at 3:10, my work stays there. But this also means that I am running around during the day, using my prep periods to grade and plan as fast as I can and typically working through lunch. 

Afternoons mean my fiance and I run around with the kids, from dance lessons to baseball practice to music lessons to softball practice, trading kids back and forth – and somehow making sure the kids eat dinner, take showers, and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

And when it’s finally night, kids are asleep in bed, and all is quiet, then I can study. I spend 1-3 hours per night, Monday – Thursday, working on school work: reading and analyzing articles, writing papers. It’s my quiet “me” time.

We have a very usual routine during the week, with nice breaks on Friday nights to relax with family and friends: cooking dinner together, movie nights, video game nights, or walks around the neighborhood when the weather is nice. 

Our Saturdays are full of baseball games, softball games, dance performances, or local festivals or parades. And Sundays are our prep days: I’m back to studying and writing while my fiance preps groceries and meals for the week and the kids clean their rooms (or at least they claim to clean!) and play in the yard. We all take a break Sunday evening to spend time together and cuddle before going to bed. 

Our typical Sundays

When I wake up in the morning, the chaos starts all over again!