Teaching is an incredible profession!

The highs are so HIGH, and the lows…so low.

There are nights we stay up worrying about  students, tough adult interactions, questioning our own instruction…yet they seem to balance out with the moments we connect with a kid, when they say “this class went so fast!” or come back to visit and say “thank you”.

At some point, a few of us decide the classroom isn’t enough, or we are ready for a change, and we are off to admin. school.

That was me at 28, and while I wasn’t completely sure it was my path, I had a dynamite admin team that showed me how much the captain of the ship can affect morale and job performance “below deck”. I learned SO MUCH in my degree and my internship, I was forever changed.

And suddenly,  despite my respect for the profession, teaching no longer felt like enough.

Fast forward a few years, and I was a very new principal struggling in several aspects of the new position. Work never ended, and I didn’t stick it out long enough to gain confidence or skill because of a true miracle: I found out I was expecting my child, which I really never thought would happen. I left the position, and in a complete 180, I stayed at home for two years as a mom. I had MANY moments in which I felt ashamed I didn’t hack it in the admin world, juggling pregnancy, the career I wanted, and more. Some moments I felt really sad, but surprisingly (even tho I cherished my time with my son), I really missed teaching! The kids! The lessons! The teachers!

Those two years were a great time to reflect on what I loved, my career, and my craft. When I returned to work as a long term sub (interestingly, in the same school I had been principal!), I was OVERJOYED to be around kids, teaching again. The challenge of planning lessons, helping kids learn to speak a new language, collaborating, having teacher friends (yay!) and just being around kids was magical. It is such an incredibly difficult job – and I wonder… why I ever felt like it wasn’t enough for me?

Present: I moved to a new town, I am in the classroom, making more teacher friends (yay!), pushing myself to create my best lessons every day. I cannot say I will never end up in admin again, we all grow and change so much over our career. But one thing is for sure:

I am a PROUD classroom teacher! My heart swells when I tell people my career – I am so proud of what we do. It isn’t always easy, it isn’t always lucrative, but it is always rewarding. With teacher appreciation week upon us – thanks to all you folks who work with today’s kids, care for them when other adults do not, teach them even tho they struggle, and challenge them to do great things in the world. Happy teacher appreciation week – BE PROUD!