ALWAYS REMEMBER...You wanted this job

I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. It was 18-years ago and I was just finishing up my first week as a brand new assistant principal. I had been preparing myself for the job for years and I had finally landed the job I so desperately coveted at the time. The excitement of the job was overwhelming and I was overjoyed that I was finally going to be able to put the theory of my Educational Administration and Supervision degree to work.

Then, the first week on the job hit me. The reality of what being a school administrator was hit me in the face. Between attendance checks for 600+ students, three out-of-school suspensions, the reality of a student disciplinary hearing staring me in the face, and a few phone calls to parents that didn't go quite as I had planned them, I questioned myself for the first time about why I left the classroom for this gig.

I didn't know what to do. I had a great gig as a classroom teacher and coach. I was able to build awesome relationships with my students and was teaching two subjects (English and PE) that I absolutely loved. I didn't understand why kids viewed me differently now that I was an administrator. Did I make the right decision? I have to admit, at that moment, I finally found true meaning in Robert Frosts' words, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by." 

As I sat in my office after the first week, my mind raced with notions of doubt. It was at this time that my principal walked in to my office and asked me how things were going. I had him shut the door and then I went off on how everything was not going as I planned it. I went on and on and on for about 30-minutes as he just sat there listening. When I was done, I don't know if I felt any better other than the fact that I was able to talk to someone about my frustration. It was right then and there that something magical happened. My principal stood up and walked out of my office without a word. The guy had just sat through a 30-minute tirade and didn't say a word. He just stood up and left. What was going on here? No words of wisdom from a guy that had been in the business for 30+ years? Nothing.

Then it happened. As I sat in disbelief about what just happened, my principal came back and peeked around my door and gave me 10 words that will forever be forged in my memory. He said, "Always remember. You wanted this job. Have a nice weekend!" When he said it, I could feel his brilliance. From that day forward, I have never questioned my decision. And that is where Robert Frosts' last line of the poem rings true, "And that has made all the difference."

So, as the school year churns on, whether you are a veteran teacher, new teacher, veteran administrator, or new administrator, things are going to happen that make you question the road that you have chosen as a career. There are going to be meetings that you think are pointless, parent conversations that don't go as well as you planned, more work that time will allow, and people that you just cannot stand. This is just part of the job in education and to think that it will be different is ludicrous. We all just want to teach and do our job, but in the words of a superintendent I admire, "There are GET TO'S and HAVE TO'S in this job. If you focus more on the GET TO'S, you are going to have a pretty awesome experience." It is okay to vent about all the crud and question whether or not this life/career is for you, but at the end of the day, always remember, you wanted this job. Have a great weekend!

#OwnYourEpic