End of an Era... with Teaching
When I started teaching in the Fall of 2011, I didn't think I'd still be teaching seven years later. Being a teacher was a job I fell into, and while the choice wasn't made haphazardly, if I am being honest, it was made mostly out of desperation.
I started this blog in 2010 after I was fired from my job as an editorial assistant at CURE magazine (I still feel it was somewhat a wrongful termination and that my inexperience was taken advantage of, but not the point of this post). I was lost, I was disillusioned, I felt like a failure and was positive I'd never be able to lift my head up again and take pride in the work I did.
I spent the next year applying for jobs and getting very little responses of any kind. I wasn't qualified to receive unemployment, someone called Immigration on me (joke's on them, I'm a citizen), I took a myriad of tests to figure out what color my parachute was or whatever, I applied to a bunch of MFA programs. I volunteered with church, helped read and edit a friend's novels, wrote a little bit myself (including some freelance blogging and copy-writing about erectile dysfunction to make a few bucks; that was a bit painful). Ended up working part-time at the YMCA and Huntington Learning Center, and eventually was able to student teach to get my teacher's certificate.
I really still wanted a job in the publishing world (ideally with books, but with two degrees in journalism, I was still primarily looking at media outlets), but I also needed to pay bills. My two part-time jobs weren't even covering my rent (which I also couldn't even make enough money at one time to afford to break the lease on). I had student loan debt looming over my head, as well as credit card debt from the post-graduate school unemployment before I began my job at CURE.
And then post-student teaching, I got a job working with Teach for America's Houston Institute, which ultimately led to my job at YES Prep. I was thrilled. Not only was I employed again, but I believed in the YES Prep mission and education has always been an important value to me.
I thought I'd do it for two years, and then I'd maybe go back to journalism. But on June 1st, I ended my 7th year of teaching. SEVEN YEARS. And on June 2nd, I got to watch most of my very first group of 6th grade students walk across the stage and graduate from high school. And with a lot of trepidation, mixed with a lot of excitement, I decided I was going to "graduate" too and leave YES Prep.
Okay... I had officially made the decision back in January when I had my mid-year meeting, and had already submitted my resignation back in March. And if I'm honest, the decision was one I had started ruminating over after my second year of teaching, began seriously considering during Year 5, and Year 7 is just when I decided to take the plunge.
Seven is a good number. For many, it's a lucky number. In religious theology, it's the number of completion. In Harry Potter, it's the number of years you spend at Hogwarts. At YES, it's generally the cycle of a class within our school buildings.
Teaching has been good to me. I built a lot of great relationships with students and their families, as well as with my coworkers. I got to travel to six of the seven continents over my summers off (generally with students, but that added to the fun). I got to learn new skills, push myself constantly, create amazing resources, write a few blogs.
Teaching has also been very hard--one of the hardest things I've ever done in life. There were lots of days I stayed at school till 9pm or later, had my weekends consumed with grading 167+ papers, felt bullied by pre-teens and teenagers and had a few breakdowns in the staff lounge or bathroom, felt bullied by parents and managers and had a few breakdowns in my car. It was exhausting being teacher, counselor, parents, disciplinarian, etc.
As each year passed, it just felt like less and less of a good fit for me. I was only really enjoying about 25-50% of the work I did. I realized that I loved the opportunities I had outside of the classroom a lot better, like curriculum writing and development, helping teachers problem-solve, planning extracurricular opportunities like travel, the Spelling Bee and talent shows.
And ultimately, I had old dreams that were unfulfilled and felt like now would be a good time to pursue them. And so that's what I'm going to do.
In some ways, I'm taking a blind leap of faith here. I am currently back to being unemployed (slightly stressful after having lived that life once), but I do have a clear plan...
To simply the re-telling of the plan, here's what I shared on Instagram:
I may return to teaching some day, or at least to the education world, but right now I feel like I'd be a pretty bad teaching if I stayed where I was. It'd be doing what was easy and safe versus taking a risk and following a passion--something I try to encourage my students to do all the time.
So, here's to an end of one great thing and to the beginning of something new!
I started this blog in 2010 after I was fired from my job as an editorial assistant at CURE magazine (I still feel it was somewhat a wrongful termination and that my inexperience was taken advantage of, but not the point of this post). I was lost, I was disillusioned, I felt like a failure and was positive I'd never be able to lift my head up again and take pride in the work I did.
I spent the next year applying for jobs and getting very little responses of any kind. I wasn't qualified to receive unemployment, someone called Immigration on me (joke's on them, I'm a citizen), I took a myriad of tests to figure out what color my parachute was or whatever, I applied to a bunch of MFA programs. I volunteered with church, helped read and edit a friend's novels, wrote a little bit myself (including some freelance blogging and copy-writing about erectile dysfunction to make a few bucks; that was a bit painful). Ended up working part-time at the YMCA and Huntington Learning Center, and eventually was able to student teach to get my teacher's certificate.
I really still wanted a job in the publishing world (ideally with books, but with two degrees in journalism, I was still primarily looking at media outlets), but I also needed to pay bills. My two part-time jobs weren't even covering my rent (which I also couldn't even make enough money at one time to afford to break the lease on). I had student loan debt looming over my head, as well as credit card debt from the post-graduate school unemployment before I began my job at CURE.
And then post-student teaching, I got a job working with Teach for America's Houston Institute, which ultimately led to my job at YES Prep. I was thrilled. Not only was I employed again, but I believed in the YES Prep mission and education has always been an important value to me.
I thought I'd do it for two years, and then I'd maybe go back to journalism. But on June 1st, I ended my 7th year of teaching. SEVEN YEARS. And on June 2nd, I got to watch most of my very first group of 6th grade students walk across the stage and graduate from high school. And with a lot of trepidation, mixed with a lot of excitement, I decided I was going to "graduate" too and leave YES Prep.
Okay... I had officially made the decision back in January when I had my mid-year meeting, and had already submitted my resignation back in March. And if I'm honest, the decision was one I had started ruminating over after my second year of teaching, began seriously considering during Year 5, and Year 7 is just when I decided to take the plunge.
Seven is a good number. For many, it's a lucky number. In religious theology, it's the number of completion. In Harry Potter, it's the number of years you spend at Hogwarts. At YES, it's generally the cycle of a class within our school buildings.
Teaching has been good to me. I built a lot of great relationships with students and their families, as well as with my coworkers. I got to travel to six of the seven continents over my summers off (generally with students, but that added to the fun). I got to learn new skills, push myself constantly, create amazing resources, write a few blogs.
Teaching has also been very hard--one of the hardest things I've ever done in life. There were lots of days I stayed at school till 9pm or later, had my weekends consumed with grading 167+ papers, felt bullied by pre-teens and teenagers and had a few breakdowns in the staff lounge or bathroom, felt bullied by parents and managers and had a few breakdowns in my car. It was exhausting being teacher, counselor, parents, disciplinarian, etc.
As each year passed, it just felt like less and less of a good fit for me. I was only really enjoying about 25-50% of the work I did. I realized that I loved the opportunities I had outside of the classroom a lot better, like curriculum writing and development, helping teachers problem-solve, planning extracurricular opportunities like travel, the Spelling Bee and talent shows.
And ultimately, I had old dreams that were unfulfilled and felt like now would be a good time to pursue them. And so that's what I'm going to do.
In some ways, I'm taking a blind leap of faith here. I am currently back to being unemployed (slightly stressful after having lived that life once), but I do have a clear plan...
To simply the re-telling of the plan, here's what I shared on Instagram:
(by the way, the typo was fixed in an update, my Kindle just never updated!)
I may return to teaching some day, or at least to the education world, but right now I feel like I'd be a pretty bad teaching if I stayed where I was. It'd be doing what was easy and safe versus taking a risk and following a passion--something I try to encourage my students to do all the time.
So, here's to an end of one great thing and to the beginning of something new!
Congratulations..
ReplyDeleteFirst that's super cool!! Second I really like your blog design. :)
ReplyDeleteNabila | Hot Town Cool Girl