FACT: There Are No Easy Jobs in Education

Sometimes when I write a post, it is something that I had worked on for a while in order to bring it to fruition. It isn't timely or imperative, but rather a thought that I thought was fun to share. More often, however, when I sit down to write to you, it is because I have a thought or have had a recent experience that I just cannot contain. Today's post is like that. I need to share!

THERE ARE NO EASY JOBS IN EDUCATION

There, I said it. As a new school year begins and new schedules, class lists, school rosters, etc...are realized, if you listen closely, you will hear the buzz...

"She got student-x. It's going to be a long year for her."

"It's not fair that he got such an easy schedule while I have x, x, and x."

"I wish I could sit in an office all day..."

"Good luck with that combination of students."

The list goes on. Compare, compare, compare...

Hall Duty

Large Classes

In School Suspension Duty

Small Classes

Lunch Duty

Extra Prep

Covering for a colleague

You get the idea. But I want to pause those thoughts to make it clear...Just as no two jobs in education are exactly the same, it is also true that no job is easier or harder than any other. The feelings of "hard" or "easy" are judgements that are in your control. Each position, each role, each new year's roster has its challenges and its balances. And each can hold the promise of joy or misery. That's the piece that is up to you.

Often after chatting with someone, I leave them with the words, "Have fun!" It can be the end of the workday or the start. They can be on their way to a sporting event or cafeteria duty. Maybe they're headed to their favorite class or least favorite. It doesn't matter, because the choice to enjoy is always theirs, and I wish and hope that they choose to "have fun". 

Education is not an easy profession. There are no easy jobs in education. But how hard a job feels is in the power of the person living it. Unwrapping the gift of the year ahead can reveal so much, and the power of that revelation is yours as an educator.

Will you unwrap the year and feel slighted by what was given to you?

Will you unwrap the year and be grateful for the joy it holds?

Same gift given to different educators will reveal different perspectives and different feelings. I hope your year looks promising to you! I hope you open this year with excitement and curiosity about what it holds for you. Most of all, as you open this year and move forward, I hope you recognize that the choice is yours, and you choose to HAVE FUN! 

Enjoy reading what I write? Copies of my book, Connections Across the Student Desk, are available on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

Wish I could come speak to your staff and colleagues? Give me the topic, I'll make it come alive! Contact me: School2HomeConnections@outlook.com

Swampy Water Doesn't Stink Until it is Stirred: A short reflection on potential

Swampy water doesn't stink until it is stirred.  The potential, however, is palpable. Think about that statement for a moment. Is your initial feeling one of positivity or negativity? Does that statement fill you with the idea of potential or dread?  I am guessing that the strongest feelings it invokes would caution, "Don't do it!" because you know the consequences. You know that when you stir that swampy water, the immediate stench released will be unpalatable and irreversible. 

Potential is an amazing thing. It's so powerful, yet it sits in waiting until it is enacted. Once released, all the little pieces that had settled into position, all the small habits and practiced responses, are invited into action. Stirring up clean, clear pool water does not invoke the same dread as that idea of stirring up swampy water, and rightfully so. Clean, clear pool water has not packed the same energy, the same potential, the same habits, into its waters. 

This year I am inviting my students to first monitor and assess their small habits before they set off attempting to set larger goals for the year. Study habits, homework habits, social habits, mental habits, eating habits, exercise habits, sleeping habits, you get the idea. All those little pieces they have habitualized. Those are the sediment or the chlorine that fills their waters of potential. 

To be sure, we all are filled with potential! This new school year is filled with potential! Being aware of what will be released and adjusting small habits in need of adjustment, will ensure that when we stir the waters of our potential in an attempt to reach our goals, the consequence will be success. 

Enjoy reading what I write? Copies of my book, Connections Across the Student Desk, are available on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

Wish I could come speak to your staff and colleagues? Give me the topic, I'll make it come alive! Contact me: School2HomeConnections@outlook.com