What comes to mind when you think about stepping stones? For me, it’s what our family nicknamed Blue Slide Park, a park we frequented as kids that had, you guessed it, a big blue slide. The narrow strip of parking spots was separated from the park by a creek, and you were invited across by a small covered walking bridge. But the real fun was cutting just to the right of the bridge and down to the creek, where you could hop from stone to stone and navigate your own path across. Some rocks were more permanent and stable, while others were often moved, by water or by kids building dams. Every once in a while, one of the rocks would shift under your weight, sending you into a wobble. Your hands would fly out to the sides, helping you to balance while you looked around for your next landing spot.
I found myself in that wobbly dance this past year at work, feeling the familiar pull to make a change. I had been an instructional coach for seven years, and was in the classroom for 10 years before that. Over the course of my 10 years in the classroom, I taught two different grades and for three different districts. I started thinking about why I made these changes, hoping it might help guide my next step. I shifted grade levels when there was a fluctuation in section numbers, I moved districts to satiate my curiosity about teaching in an urban setting, I took a job in a new state to be closer to my family, I applied to be an instructional coach to take on more of a leadership role. I couldn’t see any parallels among the motivations for change, and yet the feeling was familiar. Could the signs that help us recognize the need for change be the commonality worth exploring? I dug deeper to identify some of the signs that led me to change in hopes it might help someone else embrace a next step, too.
What to notice?
The Blame Game
There is no denying that jobs in education are, and always will be, hard. But we chose this career despite that—and maybe because of it. However, when we find ourselves in need of a change, we often resort to casting blame. “I could do my job better if x, y, and z were different.” “The structures in place at my building or in my organization prohibit me from doing my job well.” It’s hard for me to admit, but I can get stuck in this place. It was the first common thread between some of my career changes that I recognized.
Autopilot
Sure, using cruise control when driving on a long stretch of highway can be convenient, but let’s consider its purpose. We use these autopilot features as a means of getting us from point A to point B more easily, and ideally without any speeding tickets. These features don’t make us better drivers or make our journey more fulfilling. So when our jobs as educators start to feel too comfortable, letting us coast through day to day, I’ve found that this is a hint to seek out a new challenge.
Your Why Doesn’t Align with Your Values
This is an exercise I’ve done several times before making a professional change. I start by asking myself what I value about teaching and learning. You’ve probably answered this question in an interview at some point in your career, and there’s a good chance your answer has remained constant. Next, I reflect on my why for continuing in my same position. Lastly, I look at the alignment between my values and my why. When these don’t correlate, it’s been a sign for me to pursue a new opportunity.
Health Changes
I want to begin by clarifying that I know our health is determined by a great number of factors. But, writing this article pushed me to examine the health parallels between my past and current experiences. Over the last year, I noticed some negative shifts in my overall health, an experience similar to the one I had right before moving back to and taking a job in Ohio. Perhaps a coincidence, but more likely my body’s way of nudging me to make a change.
I used to think that career changes were unilateral, working your way up to higher leadership. In fact, I believed this to be true as recently as when I stepped into my instructional coaching role seven years ago. But I now find myself thinking about that creek at Blue Slide Park, and hopping back across the stones toward our car. Stepping onto one of the same stones as earlier that day wasn’t a step back. Instead you stepped upon the same stone with a new perspective, looking toward your future.
This realization, this shift in my thinking, needs to be shared. Because it is with this perspective that I am confident that purposeful career changes are multidirectional and perhaps what help us find our best selves. So, now as I step forward into the role of classroom teacher, a role I’ve held before, I know it’s not a backward move. Instead, I proudly step forward with intentionality and a new perspective.
Recognizing the need for a change is the first step, but then what? Here are some ways you might change your role within education.
- Teach a different grade
- Move to another school or district (maybe even be part of opening a new building)
- Assume a support role within your building (literacy/ math support, EL, etc.)
- Work in a district position
