Teaching: Getting there, your first year, and beyond

BLOG POST #3 - Teaching: Getting there, your first year, and beyond

This week, I gave a speech to a group of college students at Western Michigan University. A friend and former colleague in Kalamazoo Public Schools asked me to speak at the event. The purpose of the event was to help current college students as they progressed towards receiving their college degree and moved on to next steps in their educational career. During the event, the participants heard from different people, including myself, about what do in the following areas:

1) how to prepare for their future now while taking classes at WMU,

2) what to remember for job interviews, and lastly (my portion)

3) what to do once you get that teaching job you worked so hard to get

My notes that I jotted down before arriving to give my speech that night are below:

After our speeches were finished, we sat on a panel comprised of that night’s speakers and teachers so the audience members could ask questions. I was able to use this experience as a way to reflect. I learned a few things about the generation of students joining us, and who have already joined us, in the field of education based on the questions they asked.

First, I realized that our college students in the education sector, as well as our current educators in the field, are anxious about the views that society has and publicly vocalizes about educators (mostly as a whole). They already feel somewhat belittled by society and the legislation that keeps popping up about educational decisions. Many remain nervous about people making the decisions they think are best for our students, when they don’t know what we do: what our students need. Some of these individuals making these decisions have never even stepped foot into a public school building. They aren’t the people preparing by furthering their education to be part of this profession.

The next thing I noticed as I listened to the questions and waited my turn to speak was this: we are teachers not only in our classrooms, but we also have the capability to spread our knowledge, support, ideas, and even stories to help be a teacher to a stranger in the crowd. After the panel, one of the teachers who served on the panel with me approached and said she was glad she got to hear me say that it was also a tough decision for me to switch from being an educator of students to an educator of adults and adults. She had a similar educational background and experience I had and was having little luck getting a job beyond classroom teacher in the district I just left eight months ago. In fact, she reminds me of myself before joining the team at Ryan Intermediate last August. A person who was content and truly enjoyed teaching, but began looking to expand her experience and take those next steps to become a school administrator.  She had executed her plan of obtaining a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and was ready for what came next. I assured her that it was okay to have applied for that job and not gotten it. There is something else out there waiting for her and I wished her luck, reminding her not to get discouraged if she had to apply many times for different positions. She knew that applying and interviewing was experience in itself and seemed satisfied with knowing her time to be a school administrator would soon come.

The last take away from my experience was a sense of comfort. I know that this group of students is transforming themselves into a group of talented, thought-provoking leaders and educators. (I mean, the thirty or so WMU students did show up to a voluntary event to hear from educators on a beautiful evening in April!)

As current educators and leaders, let’s vow to support these students as they venture forward in their journey. To them, I say, “Kudos to you...to you and the hard work you’ve put in to get you to this next chapter in life...the career you've prepared so diligently for in college. I look forward to having you join this team of amazing educators who truly make a difference!”