One mother’s back-to-school story

I decided to return to school this fall while continuing to work. It’s a decision I made with my heart, and one that I know will have a big impact on my life. I’ve been back at school almost six months now, and despite the initial fears I may have had, everything is going well. There are three main things that helped me make the transition.

Choosing to go back to school when you’re a parent can bring its share of questions and doubt. How will I balance work and family? How do I make sure my kids feel supported both personally and academically? Identifying and keeping sight of the main reason behind your choices will help you make decisions and overcome challenges more easily. In addition, before taking the leap, it’s important to consider every facet of your life—personal, professional, social, family, financial, etc. For example, a single parent who lives far from the rest of their family might want to study part-time from home, while a parent with a strong support network as well as the financial means might choose to return to full-time, in-person classes.

The second aspect was making sure to set realistic goals. A very popular method of doing this is through SMART objectives, where SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. In my opinion, the most important elements when it comes to returning to school are the last two. To determine your goals, you need to look at every facet of your life and consider your family situation so that you have the flexibility and resilience to deal with the unexpected. You can’t predict the moments when you’ll need to press pause on studying to take care of your kids, so it’s essential to be able to adapt in order to avoid frustration, burnout, and any other difficult situations. 

Tools for coordinating family activities can make a huge difference when trying to establish the best possible conditions for achieving your goals. For example, you can create a digital calendar specifically for scheduling family events and homework or study time and share it with your family members. Then, everyone can set custom reminders. Meanwhile, a wall calendar makes it easy to see your family’s schedule for the day, week, or month in a single glance. You can use it to check for scheduling conflicts and to coordinate each family member’s responsibilities.

Not everyone reacts to periods of transition the same way. If you want to make them go more smoothly, allow yourself to really experience them: acknowledge whatever emotions come to the surface and communicate your fears and worries in an open and caring way. Doing so will ease the burden of challenging moments on everyone involved. Of course, this is easier said than done, but you’ll succeed if you allow yourself to be human and make mistakes.

Deciding to go back to school as a parent is more than an individual choice. It’s a choice that must be considered carefully because it involves the entire family. If you’re considering a life change, my advice is this: give yourself the time and space you need to make an informed decision and to find solutions that will meet both your children’s needs and your needs by considering every option available to you.

Wishing you all the best with this major endeavour!