Reflection: A Year of Professional Changes - Part 1

The past year has been the most challenging, and in many ways, traumatic year of my professional career. It has brought me to two different states and three different districts. COVID-19 craziness aside, I have had to adapt and change in more ways than I have had to in all my 7 other years of teaching.

Since teaching from home, I have had time to reflect on what the last year has been like. It has given me time to focus on the parts of teaching that ignite passion and separate the parts of teaching that, in the words of Marie Kondo, do not bring me joy.

A few days ago, a Facebook Memory popped up that I so badly wanted to share, because it had pictures of colleagues I miss dearly; however, the post showed so much naivety for what my journey had in store, it no longer seemed appropriate.

So I'm writing here. 

I'm going to break this into several parts, since I am using this as a cathartic way to let out all of my thoughts and experience and send them into the void. This post will be a brief overview, and the others will be linked below, expanding on each experience.

Part 2 - More About SHSE
Part 3 - More About MMHS

To keep everything professional, any names I will keep to a capital letter, and schools will only be noted by an anonymous acronym.

Here's my journey. 

A year ago, I was teaching high school science - mainly biology courses, but also some chemistry - at PHS in Georgia. I had some of the best coworkers - a true support system in a state where I had no family aside from my husband. My administrators were truly supportive. Although every staff will find something to complain about, the administrators were truly some of the best I have worked with. I also had the opportunity to work at the district level and meet some amazing teachers from other high schools in the district and instructional coaches who pushed me to be the best science teacher I could be.

So why would I leave? 

We had no family in Georgia. We knew we wanted to be closer to family, to start a family, to have more longevity in our home. Georgia did not provide those things.

Ultimately, we moved to Michigan. The hiring timing is very different in the south, where school starts in early August, and in the north, where school starts after labor day. I was anxious about finding a job, since I was the breadwinner for our family. I networked as fast as I could and took a job at a high school before any large districts had even posted their openings for the next school year.

In hindsight, this was my mistake. I should have waited, but my anxiety took over and I wanted the stability in our move knowing that we would be financially okay. The pay was good and our big move seemed more realistic.

As a teacher at SHSE I felt undervalued, underappreciated, and belittled on a daily basis. My years of experience seemed like they did not matter. The knowledge of my content seemed like it did not matter. I quickly questioned - why pay a seasoned teacher when you could pay a sub less? A huge piece of teacher retention is ensuring teachers feel valued, heard, and appreciated for even the smallest of victories they have in their classrooms. Everyone has room to learn, but when a teacher is coached, it is just as important to boost the positive areas as it is to support the negative areas.

I spent Winter Break thinking whether or not the job was worth it. It hadn't even been a full semester, and it had taken a serious toll on my mental health and I could see myself becoming a worse teacher. I was losing my passion and joy for teaching - a job I loved so much at my previous school.

In January, I applied to an opening at MMHS and was offered the job. I put in my two weeks noticed, but was forced to resign the day I put in my notice. It was the most terrifying week of my life as I waited in-limbo between jobs. I took a pay cut to switch jobs, a financial move I wasn't sure we could totally adjust to, but my husband assured me that my mental health was worth it. I took the job not even knowing exactly what I would be teaching, or what my schedule would be, or what supplies I would have... I was walking into the unknown just hoping for reprieve from SHSE.

And it was. MMHS reminded me so much of PHS in terms of coworkers, administrators, support... Within a week I could feel my love of teaching coming back. Even through the COVID-19 distance teaching, I find myself enjoying teaching again, finally, a year later.