Do you feel stuck?

This year I packed up my twenty-fourth classroom and decided not to return next year.  I submitted a letter of resignation and I'm currently looking for a job outside of education.

This wasn't the first year that I considered leaving public education.  About nine years ago I went to my first retirement seminar to see what options I had.  At that time I decided I needed to teach five more years to reach twenty years of service.  Each year after that I found a reason to keep teaching.  This year I knew by September 12 I had had enough.  I progressed through the year with the goal to make this year the best possible for this group of fourth graders, and simultaneously I made an exit plan.

My first attempt at this blog post was whiny -- detailing all the things I believe are wrong in public education, but I am not really a whiny person.  I like to take action.  I have decided to share in several blog posts how I have decided to move forward.  There are plenty of blog posts encouraging teachers to stay in teaching.  I want to share what happens when you know it's time to move on.

 

This spring I read a book called Do Over by Jon Acuff.  I was encouraged by his four areas of assets people have as they consider a career move: relationships, skills, character, and hustle.  Working through the book, I could see how many abilities I have that will transfer to a different industry.  I am enjoying reconnecting with friends and family.  I am taking an accounting course to learn some new skills.  I have the next few steps of a plan.



Notice that I wrote I have the next few steps.  I'm not completely sure where this path will take me.  What I know for sure is I have peace for the first time in a long time.  I don't want to discourage the teachers who know that education is still their calling.  I want to encourage those who just feel stuck.

I plan to keep blogging this next year to share the ideas that I have collected over the last twenty-four years.  I invite you to keep reading.