Year 10: Week 0 – Ten Years

There’s not a lot in my life that I’ve done for ten years. Yes, I’ve had relationships longer than a decade, my car is around 12 years old, but I’ve never been at a single school or job for this length of time.
Ten years is difficult to conceptualize. As Tanya Tucker sings in her new incredible song, “Bring My Flowers Now,” “The days are long, but the years are lightning.” I know there was so much work that I did, and so many things I went through, but it doesn’t feel like tens year’s worth of experiences. It somehow feels like less.

After year 3, there was a sense of settling, a sense that I knew what was going on, but I couldn’t leave well enough alone.  Somehow I always managed to find new challenges, even though at times these felt more like crises.

As the year has started, at time I have felt inundated with things I needed to take care of, but I’m determined to make sure that I see these as features of this job. We are annoyed at what we don’t accept, and problems can be feel annoying because they happen year after year.  This regularity proves they are features.  Does this meant that we can’t change things and make them better? No. True acceptance is not about not giving up on improvement, it’s about helping you become less emotionally involved and frustrated.

I learned long ago in my being right is overrated in personal relationships. I don’t lose anything by telling Diana that she is right and I’m wrong, and I don’t gain anything if I prove myself right in my mind to her but it leaves her feeling annoyed with me. This past week, I’ve applied this to my work and given up on being right and focused more on being effective. The interesting thing is that some of my most effective moves have been completely giving up the idea that I’m right.

It feels like a loss to not let someone now that they are wrong. However, if I do make it clear they are wrong and they shut down, than what was the point? Maybe it’s okay if I let them think the wrong thing if it means that we can move forward to fix a problem together. My words probably aren’t going to change their mind anyways, so what’s the point?

Like every year before there are unique challenges up ahead. I’m looking forward to working through things with others, enjoying lessons that I’ve done before, and taking the time to enjoy making things happen inside the classroom and in administrators offices.

I’ve made three professional promises/goals for myself.
1. Don’t work hungry, and eat more often (sometimes I skip meals).
2. Remind myself that the annoying tasks are helping students, and have a point.
3. Work to elevate others, faculty and students.

So here we go.  Another ride through this school year.