In my last post I said I was glad to see 2010 come to an end. If that’s true, then it’s true that I’m looking forward to this new year.
My commitment to Teach For America will come to an end in May and I will officially become a TFA alum. In August of this year, I will have my Masters of Education and will be staring down an opportunity to obtain my administrative certificate.
The question that Laura and I are dealing with is, Do I stay on and continue my work in St. Louis Public Schools or put my resume out there and see what other school districts have to offer? As I’ve explained it to many, I’m highly invested in the students I work with at my school. However, SLPS has done nothing to solicit my investment in their system. I’ve heard there are school districts that work hard to invest their employees. I wonder what it would be like to have copy paper supplied instead of having to supply it myself. (A shout out to those who have helped me with school supplies. You rock!) I wonder what it would be like to have enough textbooks for each and every student. I wonder what it would be like to have quality technology. I wonder what it would be like to receive a pay increase that equaled your years of experience and your academic work. I wonder what it would be like to be around really good teachers who could teach me a thing or two about the craft of teaching.
But if I made a move to a district where teachers are taken care of; where teachers are invested in the school system, would I be as invested in the students as I am here in SLPS? I really can’t express how much I love my students. I love their collective story: no one is giving them a chance in hell to make it out of their life situation. I am a sucker for underdog stories and my students are real life underdogs. More than likely, working for a system that values its teachers would mean working with students who were born already on second or third base. I just don’t get jazzed thinking about teaching, well, my daughter and her peers. Who knows, I could totally love it but my investment level with my students now is really, really high.
Of course, this whole dilemma may be all for naught as teaching jobs aren’t exactly plentiful these days. However, it’s on the mind. I bring this to you, faithful friends, to see if you have any wisdom to pass along. What do you think? Stay put? Seek something elsewhere? What say you? I’m genuinely looking for your advice.
Filed under: teaching
You would be a great teacher anywhere because of your heart and your desire to see your students succeed. I say put your resume out there and see what develops. There are wonderful districts out there who would value your input. And maybe you’ll find that staying in the Lou is the best. There are other districts there as well. Put your decision in God’s hands and know that He will put you where you need to be.
Joe – if anyone understands your predicament, it is me, myself, and I.
I find myself in my fourth year of teaching highly priviliged NYC children who come to school with nannies, private cars (or even a helicopter, in one instance), and plenty of money after spending the first 15 years of my career with students who lived in $10 a night hotels, homeless shelters, and the projects.
I miss my ghetto kids. I love them dearly and am still invested in many of their lives. I find myself wanting to go back on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. But I had a different scenario than you. I was in a district that had money and was able to provide me with supplies and support I needed to help those kids.
There are districts out there that have the same kinds of kids you have now but have the tools to make you an even better teacher. I would definitely, if I were you, look around and see what other districts have to offer.
Let me also just say: I went from one extreme to the other and did not think I would be as “jazzed” about teaching privileged students like I was about the not-so-privileged. But it’s given me an opportunity to teach these somewhat sheltered children about the “real world”. They now have heard what it’s like for some of my former students – about my boy whose mom is a prostitute and dad was 12 when he had him and is now in jail, the one who never had one person from his family come to his school orchestra concert except for me, the one who got pregnant at 15 and went back to finish high school. And hopefully, with my stories, advice, and experience, these over-privileged children might, just might, have a little more compassion for those in different circumstances.
It’s a hard decision to make, believe me. When I took this job after moving here, I was originally supposed to be teaching in Bed-Stuy (“Bed-Stuy, do or die”). When I made the decision to do this instead (mainly for financial reasons), it was probably the most difficult one I had made in a while.
It’s proven to be a wonderful experience and I have learned a lot (believe me, privileged children also have some SERIOUS baggage, sometimes worse than others), but I can pretty confidently say that I won’t be there the rest of my career.
The ghetto is calling me.
Sorry for going on, but I get it. Believe me.
No VALID opinion on this, Son. Just know how blessed your students are that you care about them…whether they’re on third base or just coming up to bat. Please, please, please keep up the good work. Our country (especially our children) need you.
Love much,
Mom/Gram/Glo
I find it really interesting that there aren’t scads of replies to your question, “What should I do?” I keep checking in, waiting for someone to give the magic answer that will make perfect sense of your experiences over the last several years of preaching and teaching; your calling from God to serve the world with your expansive gifts; and your obligation to care diligently for your own children as a special case of love that trumps the more general (and still very demanding) neighbor-love that your vocation fulfills. Hmm.
Could it be that we’re all just kind of blown away by the possibilities, Joe? That we have been so blessed to observe, to bear witness to, the mighty power of God in your life and the life of your family, that we don’t want to risk messing it up by lending our own opinions?
I don’t know. I know that your life has been singing God’s praise for a long time, even when it sang in the minor key of lament. I trust that the next verse will trumpet God’s glory again.
Have you considered seeking a spiritual director who might help you discern? I know you’re busy. But find a nun, or a priest — those RCs are crazy about vocational discernment. And meanwhile, the rest of us will stay quietly in prayer and wait to see.
peace — Katie
oh dear Joe…my response will not be the ‘magic’ that Katie knows isn’t out there. However, following your passion seems like the what you will need to do to survive. Not everyone (I wish!) has the passion you have …and so they can accept and work life in much more practical ways. I haven’t picked that up with you.
St. Louis Public has more of a chance now than in recent past. There have been 4 superintendents in my short life span here (6 1/2 years). Adams is the only one to have stayed more than a year and he is committed to change. It is and will be slow. And your passion may run out before the change gets to you …but it might be worth some time to see if you can be a part of his leadership’s hopes and dreams.
First, everytime Katie opens here mouth or touches her keyboard, I am blessed. She has such a gift for capturing elusive things in little pinned-down sentences. Thank you, Katie.
Second, Joe, I think you are a champion for underdogs and will be more fulfilled when you are fighting for and alongside them than in a more valued teacher experience. Yes, that work is harder on the surface, because the challenges are so blatant instead of being buried like the challenges lurking in wealthier school systems. You are a gifted leader, and while it may not be fun, it may be that you are the guy who is stepping up the game around you by sharing wisdom and sharpening other teachers instead of being in an environment where someone is doing that for you.
Because you are a God-chasing man, He is going to pour blessing out wherever you work. I think it might be worthwhile to go with your heart on this one for a little while longer.
Joe,
I left SLPS for a charter for the same reasons you listed (resources, being valued as a teacher, etc.). After being here for 4 months, I’m still struggling with a “grass is always greener” complex. While the things that bothered me the most are gone, new problems have surfaced which I had never even envisioned. My advice to you is that if you decide to leave, think long and hard about what your daily life will look like at that new school. Ask questions and do your best to truly understand what the position will look like.
Regardless, I know you will be successful anywhere!
Joe – I’ve always admired the fact you seem to take the less traveled road. At the same time one has to feed one’s family – right (mortgage, college, ice cream w/cherries on top). If you went to the school system with the richer tax base couldn’t you go back to SLPS down the road if the kids and their parents in the new school system turned out to be a bunch of jerks? Also, I bet there are a lot of kids who could use a good role model in whatever school system you go to.
Joe, my two cents for what it’s worth. I taught in a school system that was very committed to its teachers and provided all that we needed to create a positive learning environment. And within that system, I taught in one of two schools where the students were almost all living at or near the poverty line, with parents in prison and kids raised by grandparents or living in shelters. Just to say – there are good districts out there doing the right stuff and still serving children in great need. I just wish SLPS would realize that supporting good teachers is half the battle in turning things around.
Joe,
I’m a bit late to this post, but I think Katie is wise to tie this decision into the broader trajectory of your vocational discernment. Those of us in ministry and education are working with institutions that are in disarray and need leadership – and yet, that reality has real costs financially and emotionally for us and our families. I could totally see you working a few years in a different kind of district, then coming back to “the ghetto” like Cynd. But whatever your decision, I think discerning your intention is all to the good, whether that’s with a director or in the solace of your own heart.
We all look forward to seeing where you land.
Peace – Chad
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