Discovering Yourself as an Educator

For so many of us, the pandemic has shaped our views, opened our eyes, inspired new ideas, and made us rethink many aspects of our lives. It has also brought forth many issues within our society and has especially shaken up our education system and created what is now being coined The Great Resignation.

Like many educators, I’ve considered leaving the teaching profession, but was hesitant because I’m not quite sure that I’m truly done teaching. Perhaps I just needed a change? Watching numerous educators resign, quit, and retire around the nation made me really ask myself, who am I as an educator? How do I want to be remembered when I retire one day? Most of all, what do I exactly want out of my career and is it worth the sacrifices?

When I graduated college, I was very inspired by my high school band director and the music program I grew up in. My goal was to be a high school head band director and to create a program that was successful and recognized at the state and national level. As I started teaching, that was the path I set myself on, but that changed for me as I got married and we started a family. I had to ask myself, was that path still worth it as I recognized the sacrifices my high school band director made to make our program happen?

I’ve now completed my 11th year in education and have been a head director for Band, Choir, Orchestra, and Theatre. I've also taught other music and non-music courses, and am a published music composer. As I finished this past school year and was on the brink of leaving the profession due to challenges I faced like many of you, I had many deep discussions with family, friends, and colleagues. I still kept coming back to the same questions, who am I as an educator? How do I want to be remembered when I retire one day? Most of all, what do I exactly want out of my career and is it worth the sacrifices?

I realized through many discussions and reflection, that I will never be a specialist in one particular field. My career has been based upon directing all fields and building or rebuilding programs. That’s not a bad thing; in fact, it’s very marketable. And you know what? It’s who I am and am finally embracing it. I get the pleasure and joy of moving around, teaching students various subject matters, and building up their programs for them. I also realized that I want to be remembered as someone who loves teaching all facets of music (and now Theatre), who enjoys making students smile while achieving something special, and someone who impacts lives even if it’s in the smallest bit.

Because it’s important to be with my family and watch my daughter grow up, my once ambitious goal has morphed and that’s okay. To have a national and state recognized band program, it takes a lot of sacrifice and for me, I don’t believe it’s worth it in the end. Your legacy will only be remembered amongst those you’ve impacted and then it will fade as new directors come and go. To me, that legacy cannot replace time nor being there for my family and daughter.

So now, you may ask, what do I exactly want out of my career? This question is not easy and will take time to develop depending on the paths in life you choose. For me, I’ve decided that I want to become a Fine Arts Director in a small district, as well as continue being a published music composer. As I do so, I want to maintain a great work/life balance because that’s very important to me. I guess what they say is true, having a child does put life into a much greater perspective for you.

Discovering Yourself

Obviously, this is only my journey and my perspective. This pandemic and movements like The Great Resignation are all challenging us in our own unique ways. It’s reshaping careers, providing new and different opportunities, causing us to reinvent ourselves, and giving us opportunities for self-reflection. No matter what your situation is, know that you’re not alone.

I encourage you to reflect on and reassess your career as well. For me, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey has guided me a lot throughout my career, and Jen Sincero’s “You are a Badass” is very helpful as well.

In regards to “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” I focus a lot on a few of the habits: Being Proactive, Beginning with the End in Mind, Put First Things First, and Sharpen the Saw. For being proactive, always recognize that you’re in control of your career and your career goals. It’s up to you to make things happen for yourself. This world won’t do it for you! There’s no need to feel "trapped."

Beginning with the End in Mind is vital because this one requires you to re-evaluate your progress, growth, and goals constantly. Where do you want to end up when you retire? How do I want to be remembered when I retire one day? What do I exactly want out of my career and is it worth the sacrifices? How am I going to achieve my end result? Sometimes I feel like most educators float around mindlessly or become complacent and lose sight of the end result.

Next, Put First Things First is all about priorities. For many, this will vary based on where you are at in life and what’s important to you. Individuals that are single tend to be very career-driven while those that are married tend to be family-focused. This all matters because it will determine what sacrifices you’re willing to make and why. It will also determine your career goals and how they may change.

Finally, Sharpen the Saw is all about not causing burn-out and taking care of yourself mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially/emotionally. This is the area that educators feel guilty about taking their local and state days off whether it’s because of internal guilt or due to how the administration treats it. Nationwide (and probably internationally) the pandemic has caused a lot of stress and burnout and is a huge driving-factor behind The Great Resignation. This habit is more important than ever to us as many aspects of our lives and society are constantly changing and we’re adapting as the pandemic progresses. It’s also imperative to not only take care of yourself, but your various relationships with friends, family, spouses, and significant others. Oftentimes, we’ll sacrifice those relationships as we begin to isolate ourselves from the burnout we’re experiencing. Jen Sincero’s “You are a Badass” integrates well with “Sharpen the Saw” because the book deals our emotional aspects and our personal image.

To my fellow educators, I hope you find my perspective and these resources to be helpful during these difficult and ever-changing times. As I close, my final advice is this: set and evaluate your career goals, prioritize what’s important to you, don’t be afraid to take time and care of yourself, and don’t fear change, but rather embrace it.