Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Staying Put

Last week I closed out another school year with my department, my fourth in my current district and my eleventh as an English supervisor.  Eleven years as a supervisor.  Forty years old.  I can hardly believe it.  Where has the time gone?

During the last eleven years I have hired and worked with dozens of educators.  While many remain in the classroom, several teachers I hired are now building principals or assistant principals.  Many of my supervisory colleagues are assistant principals, principals and even superintendents.  It seems as though my administrative peers move up the education leader rapidly.  There are always dozens of administrative openings listed in the Sunday paper.  Talented people come and go within a few years.  So in this culture of constant change, I am often asked what my next career move will be.

For years I struggled with this question.  What is my next move?  When should I make it?  Frequently colleagues suggest I seek a curriculum central office position.  A few months ago my own superintendent told me he just assumes I am heading towards a curriculum director job.  When an assistant principal job opened in district this spring, rumors spread throughout the building that I was going to "get it."  I didn't even apply.

My struggle with the inquiry about my next move is not due to any need to move up in the hierarchical construct of school.  My struggle is because I just don't want to make a "next move."  I want to stay put.

People have varying reactions when I say I don't want to make another move.  Most ambitious administrators respond with an uneasy, "Oh."  Some ask, "So you're going to be an English supervisor for the next twenty years?"  Honestly, I don't know where I will be in five years much less twenty.  But I do know that I love my job.

OK, I probably have a love/hate relationship with my work right now.  My frustration rests squarely with the bureaucracy.  My state government has added so many requirements to my position that it actually makes it tough to do my job.  I spent much more time reviewing spreadsheets, rubrics and data than I did working with teachers.  However, the time I spend with teachers is, well, magic.  I love coaching them, brainstorming lessons, designing units, developing assessments, and offering feedback.  I help them integrate technology, address parent concerns, and celebrate their successes.  This year I counseled teachers through personal issues, consoled them in time of great loss, and met their wonderful families.  I delivered bad news.  I delivered really great news.  I watched teachers set and reach their professional goals.  I saw students do the same.  

This February I had a lesson plan meeting with a novice high school English teacher.  He was designing a poetry unit for his class.  For over forty minutes we discussed various teaching strategies and dozens of poets and poems.  After the teacher left the office, I had a moment to reflect.  I realized I am doing exactly what I love.  Why, then, should I be concerned with others who find it odd that I don't want to move up?  I am happy right here.  I can talk about poetry, reading and writing all day with really smart, dedicated teachers.  What's not to love?  

Maybe someday I will find myself as a curriculum director or in an English education professior.  Maybe someday I will return to the classroom full-time.  But maybe, just maybe, in twenty years I will be retiring from my position as an English supervisor.  Wherever my career takes me I know now that I must do what I love.  And despite all the legislative challenges, I still love my job.

So I am staying put.