I had a lot of emotions reading this, Father. I too had a really rough student teaching experience (in 1995), and thought about quitting, finding a new profession. It played on my confidence, on my weaknesses, on my very heart. That persisted into my first year as a high school English teacher, which was equally rough. But by my third year, the sun rose. I started to come into my own, and found I loved the students. That grew, and for the next 14 years I loved my job, I loved being with the students, I loved teaching Shakespeare and Twain and even grammar. I left it to become a principal--which was a whole new bucket of frustration--but I'll always remember fondly my teaching days.
I've had similar experiences going from a Sergeant to a lieutenant in the army. At first, of course, I was nervous about teaching my new recruits, but eventually, I became skilled at it, and it started to become enjoyable. Then, as one does, I ranked up to become a lieutenant, and there I was faced also, saying it in your words: "faced with a whole new bucket of frustration".
Why do we do this? Why cant we just enjoy something when we have it?
A good question, Elia: Why can’t we just enjoy something when we have it? Which brings me back, in my own experience, to Don’s move from teacher to principal, since the three principals of the school that I’ve now worked for for 20 years have had such profound effects on my own experience of work.
I was hired at my school by a principal whose focus was primarily on assembling a team of good people. His approach meant that when I was almost failing in my job in my first year there because I was wearing too many hats (I was the English/Social Studies teacher, the grad coordinator, and the school’s “tech guy”), instead of firing me, he reevaluated my workload and hired someone to take one of my roles, which made all the difference. My second principal there was a brilliant organizer and micro-manager and, under her leadership, the school grew from about 400 students to well over 1000, and my role shifted again until I found myself moving from teacher to full-time “tech guy” to being the school’s “Head of Technology” and a middle manager in charge of a three-person tech team.
The shift to being a mid-level manager was difficult for me, especially as I tried to manage my team in a way very similar to that of the principal who put me in that position, and I’m just *not* a micro-manager. She was great at that, but I’m not. My third (and current) principal had yet another approach, and has focussed on organizing the school so that people do what they love, so he has encouraged me to move back into teaching and blessed my decision to rename my position “Tech Team Lead”. While I still use my “Head of Technology” title in correspondence with those outside the school, shifting my own management style to being a “team leader” has made all the difference: as members of a team, my “subordinates” and I work together and cover for one another, taking on the responsibility for fulfilling our various roles, which plays to my strengths (I always enjoy being on the “front lines” as a “tech guy”) and allows me also to focus on the teaching that I love.
Leadership and leadership styles make a huge difference to those under them. I deeply appreciate all three of the principals I’ve served under in the school that I work for, and each of their leadership styles have had different strengths. They’ve made a deeply broken educational system significantly less broken, each in their own way, and have made my work both enjoyable and challenging, each in their own way.
Given my experience, I think it is possible to “just enjoy something when we have it” - at least it is if we are given the freedom to re-work what we have in a way that plays to our strengths and enables us to focus on doing what we love.
Wonderful post; thank you for sharing such insightful thoughts. It helped me understand a great deal about my current situation and why it never seems to get easier...
I had a lot of emotions reading this, Father. I too had a really rough student teaching experience (in 1995), and thought about quitting, finding a new profession. It played on my confidence, on my weaknesses, on my very heart. That persisted into my first year as a high school English teacher, which was equally rough. But by my third year, the sun rose. I started to come into my own, and found I loved the students. That grew, and for the next 14 years I loved my job, I loved being with the students, I loved teaching Shakespeare and Twain and even grammar. I left it to become a principal--which was a whole new bucket of frustration--but I'll always remember fondly my teaching days.
I've had similar experiences going from a Sergeant to a lieutenant in the army. At first, of course, I was nervous about teaching my new recruits, but eventually, I became skilled at it, and it started to become enjoyable. Then, as one does, I ranked up to become a lieutenant, and there I was faced also, saying it in your words: "faced with a whole new bucket of frustration".
Why do we do this? Why cant we just enjoy something when we have it?
I never considered military leaderships as analogy, Elia. Thank you for that!
A good question, Elia: Why can’t we just enjoy something when we have it? Which brings me back, in my own experience, to Don’s move from teacher to principal, since the three principals of the school that I’ve now worked for for 20 years have had such profound effects on my own experience of work.
I was hired at my school by a principal whose focus was primarily on assembling a team of good people. His approach meant that when I was almost failing in my job in my first year there because I was wearing too many hats (I was the English/Social Studies teacher, the grad coordinator, and the school’s “tech guy”), instead of firing me, he reevaluated my workload and hired someone to take one of my roles, which made all the difference. My second principal there was a brilliant organizer and micro-manager and, under her leadership, the school grew from about 400 students to well over 1000, and my role shifted again until I found myself moving from teacher to full-time “tech guy” to being the school’s “Head of Technology” and a middle manager in charge of a three-person tech team.
The shift to being a mid-level manager was difficult for me, especially as I tried to manage my team in a way very similar to that of the principal who put me in that position, and I’m just *not* a micro-manager. She was great at that, but I’m not. My third (and current) principal had yet another approach, and has focussed on organizing the school so that people do what they love, so he has encouraged me to move back into teaching and blessed my decision to rename my position “Tech Team Lead”. While I still use my “Head of Technology” title in correspondence with those outside the school, shifting my own management style to being a “team leader” has made all the difference: as members of a team, my “subordinates” and I work together and cover for one another, taking on the responsibility for fulfilling our various roles, which plays to my strengths (I always enjoy being on the “front lines” as a “tech guy”) and allows me also to focus on the teaching that I love.
Leadership and leadership styles make a huge difference to those under them. I deeply appreciate all three of the principals I’ve served under in the school that I work for, and each of their leadership styles have had different strengths. They’ve made a deeply broken educational system significantly less broken, each in their own way, and have made my work both enjoyable and challenging, each in their own way.
Given my experience, I think it is possible to “just enjoy something when we have it” - at least it is if we are given the freedom to re-work what we have in a way that plays to our strengths and enables us to focus on doing what we love.
Wonderful post; thank you for sharing such insightful thoughts. It helped me understand a great deal about my current situation and why it never seems to get easier...