Why I do what I do!

Why did I choose to become an educator? This is a question I usually ask myself from time to time. I need to take the time to look back and reflect upon why I do what I do. It certainly is not for the wealth or fame. We all know what it is like to go for a quick shopping trip to the mall or out to eat and have our students working at every other register or serving our food! When I think of why I do this, I always come back to this one thought--education truly is our last bastion of hope for society at large. Plus, it is the only variable I can control.

Our students come to us as they are. Yes, there are some that are prepared to learn, coming from supportive families. These children read with their parents and are exposed to all sorts of educational learning experiences. These are the lucky ones. What about the kids who arrive at our schools with little experience with learning and exploring. Unfortunately, many, many children come to us with this background. They do not have the supports at home needed to succeed. We are it. We are their hope for future success. Education is the last string of hope many of our kids have. It is a mighty task, but we DO have the chance to make an impact and provide what is needed for that child to succeed. This is why I keep coming back more than anything else. It is our responsibility to provide a sound educational program for all children.

You Want to do What???

Before I get started, let me give you some background on my short career. I started teaching at South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida. I taught American History and loved it! I then was asked to start a technology program at the same school and that really began my dip into technology (Not really sure how history and technology meshed, but hey, why not?). It was a great learning experience and I think I really grew from it. My former principal then urged me to consider school based administration. I really did not know what to think. When I started my career I knew I just wanted to teach and never considered administration. However, we know sometimes our plans are tweaked, changed or just left aside. To get to the point, I became a high school assistant principal at SPHS. I really enjoyed working at the high school level. Sure, the hours were long (and I mean long!!) but there is something about the magnitude of high school. There is so much involved in running a huge school. I am also a huge sports fan and there is just something about Friday night football games and hammering down the logistics to make the evening safe and enjoyable for a couple of thousand people. It hard to say why I wanted to venture to the middle level, but I did.

I always found myself saying, "If I only had a chance to get to this child earlier." I often felt that by the time the child (or young adult) reached high school it was almost too late. If the child did poorly their freshman year, which many do, it put them in a huge hole. The odds are so tough from that point, and this is where we lose many of our students. I felt I needed to do something--I pondered, "How can I reach these kids earlier, before it is too late." Naturally, I thought of middle school. When I was a substitute teacher, I once took a half day job at a middle school. I made it through the day, er, 4 hours, and vowed never to step my foot in a middle school again! It just seemed like a different world--plus I wanted to be in a high school. I received my first job at SPHS and did not look back. Well, not for a while anyway.

As I went along day to day, I began thinking more and more, why not middle school. Usually, the thought did not last long and I came back to reality. However, the more I thought about it, the more I began to really consider middle school. Would I really have more of a chance to make an impact? Can I help in some small way to set them up for success in high school? Never one to back down from a good challenge, I decided it was time to make the move.

All of this happened as some big life changes were occuring as well. My family and I always talked about moving to the Carolinas. For one reason or another it was always delayed. I was involved in a pretty major car accident that left me at home for about 6 weeks. My family realized that if we wanted to make this move, we needed to do it now. Why wait? I ended up getting a job at a Middle School (Yikes!) in the district that I had my heart set on. I was ready to go. I would like to think I had a fairly successful, although brief, career as a high school assistant principal. Now, I would take these ideas, visions and plans and set up shop at the middle school. This would be easy. I could just do what I did at the high school on a smaller scale and I would save the day! This was going to be way to easy.......

When I arrived at my new school I spoke about the instructional programs I designed and about how we were going to do all of these great things (I did not tell them I already did this at the high school and all we had to do was scale it down--that was my secret!!). They must have thought I really knew what I was talking about! Then the students arrived. Actually, the first day was flowing along smoothly....Lunch time came and I was meeting and greeting all of my new 6th graders. After they eat, we allow them to go outside for about 15 minutes. I do not think I even gave this a second thought--I just assumed it would look like a high school--the kids would hang out and talk about whatever the hot topic happened to be that day. Again, everything was on track and I was thinking this was definitely the right move. Then I went outside with the kids. It is hard to put in words how I felt. I still can not do it justice. The first thing I noticed is they liked to RUN, Run and then RUN some more. There was more movement on that playground then I had encounted in 5 years at the high school. I truly could not believe their need to run and move. I started to think, "Was this the right move?" Can I do this? Can I get my old high school job back????

At this point there was no denying I was in for a whole new experience. My well thought out plans were crumbling as I ventured to the middle. I quickly realized this would be different than I thought and I needed to change my plan. As the year progressed I realized many of my preconceived notions about middle school were totally false. The kids at this age are different. I quickly learned that I needed to learn about the child at this age. What makes them tick...What made them shell up... I came to the realization that worked in high school will not necessarily work in middle school (at least not without major modifications). I wonder why I ever thought that.

The school year pressed on and I grew each day. The kids at my school are great and the teachers and staff I work with are wonderful. They all guided me through as I made the transition from the big kids to the kids who want to be big but are stuck somewhere in between! I really began to enjoy working with the middle school students. The challenges are different as are the rewards. I have only been at the middle school level for 5 months but I love it. I have the chance to reach students at an earlier age. Is it what I thought it would be. Honestly, no, not at all. It is different in so many ways. Do I love it? Yes, I do. I just had to reset my previous thinking. I am excited about the upcoming year and what lies ahead.