5 year mission

I've quite deliberately spend the last several years without a so-called 'five year plan'. I made this choice in the aftermath of my seperation and divorce as a way to give myself some much needed space to reconnect with myself. So much of my time during my 20s was spent looking to the next big thing, planning for the future with my husband, or trying to achieve some self imposed goal. Part of what landed me in an unhappy marriage feeling miserable, was my lack of flexibility when it came to my plan, and what I thought I should be doing with my time. I felt that because I'd said I wanted something at one time, I was obligated to follow through on it. 

The intervening time, I've taken the opportunities that have come, and tried to learn more about being in the moment. (Still a lot of learning to do there). I've taken a job that wasn't what I thought I wanted, and found it incredibly rewarding and incredibly stressful, I've focused on my music in new ways, gone on adventures all over the nation, taken different approaches to my health, become engaged in my union, and had positive and negative experiences in every avenue I 've explored. I've become more secure and centered in my identity, but no less sure of what I want to be when I 'grow up'.

The time has come for a new 5 year mission. Mine's not as exciting as that of The Enterprise. Strange new worlds and new life are not what I seek, but it's time for me to stop just going with the flow and decide what direction I'm going.

There's a lot of things I don't know. But I want to start with what I do know. 

• I want to continue to work with young people in education
• I am passionate about serving students that are marginalized or otherwise under-served by institutionalized learning. 
• I do not want to be a classroom teacher forever
• I need to step away from the 'front lines' of teaching the most difficult students soon
• I am not done learning and expanding my skill set
• I am excellent at teaching my content, I have room to improve my communication with resistant and unengaged learners. 
• I am interested in learning more about restorative justice, culturally responsive teaching and trauma sensitive schools. 
• I am a union supporter, but I don't see union leadership as my path
• I will continue to be present for, and support my partner in his goals.

There are a few things I want to explore to help me decide where to go next. 

• Pursue Restorative Justice Training
• Consider the options for transferring to a comprehensive school for the 2018-19 school year
• Learn about what the process to become an administrator would entail
• Ask questions about what other career paths in education could look like. 

Finally, I've gotten a lot of good advice over the past few days as I've been considering my future. 

• Stay in the moment, be present. 
• Don't take things personally, especially not from students
• Continue to push myself to improve, regardless 

Any other words of wisdom as I embark on the next stage of my journey?

Early Career Leadership Fellow Collaborative

I'm finally starting to get some details about this really exciting collaborative I'm participating in. It's an initiative by the National Education Association and the Consortium for Educational Change to engage early career educators to grow as leaders, create plans for change, and activate them in their local unions. It's called the Early Career Leadership Fellow Collaborative (that's a mouthful).

This coming weekend I'll be headed to NEA headquarters in Washington D.C. for the first national conference of the ECLF. There's been a lot of uncertainty organizing the travel and details of this trip. It's all been on quite short notice. I applied for the program around the 1st of September, was accepted around the 10th. Early Saturday Morning, October 1st, I fly out to DC.

There's also been some uncertainty about what exactly this program is going to be. 'Leadership' is a funny buzzword that means a lot of different things depending on who's saying it and what the context is. In particular, as a woman, leadership can be a tricky tight rope to walk. As an aggressive and loud woman, bossy has often been a part of how people see me, but never the less I tend to gravitate towards opportunities for leadership.

I've been thinking about what the future of my career holds. I'd always sort of figured that after I got some experience under my belt, I'd go back to Eugene. That is where I see as home. But I've come to really like Salem, and in some ways feel more connected to some communities here then I ever did in Eugene. But, I think that is more about who I am now and my maturity in my relationships and interactions, then it is anything about the town. I bet if I were to move home, my renewed relationships with the community would mirror the relationships I've built here in Salem.

Eugene continues to not have a ton of openings for teachers, however, and I have grown to really love my position in Salem. I love working in alt-ed, and I have been so fortunate to have excellent relationships not only with colleagues, but also with administration. Why should I leave when I have so many good things happening here?

My mom got her first permanent teaching position at Elmira Elementary, and stayed there her entire career. She moved classrooms a few times, taught a few different grades, but essentially honed her craft of 1st/2nd grade to damn near perfection. I don't see myself taking that path. I love being a classroom teacher, but I don't think teaching the same subjects in the same school my entire career is for me. As I come to know more about what options and and opportunities there are in the field of education, my imagination explores many different possibilities. Not now, not next year, but perhaps in the next 5-10 years.

I see a major need for middle school alternative ed programs. I'm sure this isn't a unique need to Salem-Keizer. I could start a school or a program. I had an incredible mentor the last two years to assist me as I navigated my first few years of teaching (hell, I think every teacher should ALWAYS have someone available to them in that capacity!), I could mentor others in a similar way. There's district level positions to help implement policies and programs that address poverty, diversity, racism, behavior issues, ACEs, TAG students, the possibilities are wide. And of course there's always administration.

All of this is to say, the opportunity to develop skills and connections in the field of teacher leadership is a very exciting one to me. But my interest lies predominantly in the profession. I'm a union supporter, and am so grateful and thankful for my union, but I don't see myself pursuing the role of building rep, or being particularly active politically in my union, or in the labor and negotiation side either.

I'm excited to see what this Collaborative has to offer, I'm eager to pick up new skills, learn about what is out there, and work side by side with my union for the betterment of children, and the Education System in America, to be social justice warriors on behalf of children. I hope that ECLF isn't just about getting us involved in union leadership.

The schedule looks exciting, and the desired outcomes seem engaging. I'm thrilled to be going on this trip, and excited for the possibilities that it brings. Regardless, I will grain through this experience.

I'll definitely updating during the conference itself. Probably predominantly on Twitter and Instagram.