that pre-school-year teacher type of tired

Photo by Ian Schneider

Starting a new job is always filled with anxiety, all the new faces, names, buildings, routines, expectations, unwritten rules, culture, leadership, tone, titles, etc. And even when you are an experienced educator, when you move to a new district you are a new teacher because each district is a pocket of the education world. You may be familiar with the lingo and acronyms, the content, but I promise that you are not aware of the nuances of that district because it isn't in the brochure, wasn't in your contract, and cannot be googled. One of my fellow new peers described being new to a district as a 3 day jam-packed staff meeting where all the information is pushed onto you with smiles, bathroom and lunch breaks, and bad coffee.

Allow me to explain: as a new teacher, you start in-service three days before everyone else returns. During these days, you + however many new teachers are flooded with the ways of the district, structures, expectations, pep talks, and breakfasts with board members and chamber members and the mayor and superintendent.

It's a whirlwind.

I say all that to say this: never in my life have I experienced the welcome wagon like I have at McKinney ISD. The energy is an educator's dream. At least this one's, and apparently thousands of others because for the third straight year it is a Dallas Business Journal Best Place to work.

Education can consistently breed complacency. We all know "those" teachers who show up when the contract hour starts, teach the same thing they've taught for the previous decade, resist new approaches, and leave five minutes before the contract day is complete. I am not that teacher. Which is basically the answer I gave when asked by my instructional coach in my interview, "It looks like you're in a kind of cushy gig over there in Southlake teaching GT English I and writing your own curriculum, what has you wanting to leave that set up?" It was an end-of-the-interview we are all vibing toss up question with a prefaced statement of "you don't have to answer this at all, but I'm just curious."

Now that I look back on it, I think I chuckled a little bit out of nerves - because hello it is a challenging question. There's no space in any career field for bashing your current employer to gain a new one. But my answer was simple, I want growth and challenge and support. So these advancing two weeks before school is everything I bargained for and more.

Immediately after those three first whirlwind days, you are joined by the entire staff on your campus as they are forced to abandon summer and take up their arms to prepare for the upcoming school year with you. But you are all warmed up, and slightly worn down only because of all the excitement. You press on meeting new people, getting swallowed up in the crowd, and each day trekking home becomes more and more of a pilgrimage.

fellow team member & new bestie tells the truth

I literally cannot accurately express the drained feeling. There is so much that I am processing at the end of each day, and maybe it's because I am coming from a very different district so really allowing myself to shift gears 100% into a new world takes energy and effort 24/7. It's energy I desperately want to expend.

Despite my body and mind's better efforts to convince me to collapse into my sleigh bed at 6 PM each night, my heart and soul continuously win out each night. McKinney High is my new home - there's so much to do before next Monday when my first group of MISD students walk through those front doors. And I don't mean monotonous paperwork or meetings - I mean creating the best most welcoming and inclusive environment, ensuring that I am fully equipped through trainings to reflect MISD mission to serve every kid, and preparing my classroom library to engage and invite students to dig into books again.

Here's the thing: I'm a passionate educator. It's been five years of tip-toeing around "this is the way we do things" and insecure new teacher pressures, but here there is an openness to new ideas, innovation, growth, progress, and collaboration. How refreshing!?

Passion is my lifeline right now. It's why I am suddenly popping up at 6 AM when I've spent the last two months without an alarm. It's why I am thrilled to discuss lesson plans and content with my new team. It's why I will hobble around in my walking boot pushing full bookcases to a different wall. It's why I bought all new lights for my room without windows.

It's why I commit each choice to serve the needs of my students. They are why I teach.