Best teachers ever!!!
My first year teaching was in Arizona, teaching 4th grade. I was an AWFUL teacher. Awful. I was set up for a shit-show from day one at this elementary school. I took over for a beloved 4th grade teacher who had been at this school for YEARS. I imagine this lady was a lot like my wonderful grandma or Mrs. Hahn. Several PTC parents requested that their children have this teacher, so I'm sure they were not pleased that she decided to move up to 5th grade and give a brand new teacher her classroom. I was in a pod of three other 4th grade teachers. Three of us were new to the school and two of us were BRAND NEW teachers! The fourth teacher, God love him, was about to retire. He was the epitome of burnt out. When I asked for a curriculum, I was told to talk to Charlie. When I asked for a math book, I was told there wasn't one. When I asked for a curriculum map, I was told to talk to Charlie. Much like John Snow, I knew nothing. Charlie's response to my inquiries for help was to give me packets he used in class which was definitely not helpful. I'm sure the guy felt dumped on by administrators who sent three new teachers to him for all of the answers, so I didn't ask him for help often. We were told in college that we should refer to the Curriculum Map and the Curriculum to create lesson plans. These documents apparently didn't exist at this particular school, so I was spinning.
Without the help of Pinterest (because this was in 2001) or any sort of helpful mentors, I really did try my best. I would go home, try to plan lessons, grade, papers, and take care of my infant daughter. I would talk with the sweet new teachers who shared my pod trying to glean a sense of direction from them because they didn't seem like they were drowning. I was lost. I had one of the WORST experiences of my teaching career at this school. I did however learn how to CYA big time and from AZ forward, I documented the heck out of any and all communication with parents/students. I used to send home weekly reports for all of my students, which was freaking nuts. Do not do this unless you're a daycare teacher who is documenting wet & dry diapers. Despite documenting that one of my darling (I seriously did love this child) 4th graders was not doing her work, and despite calling home to speak with her father about the lack of work completion, I was called into the principal's office along with a very disgruntled mother, to talk about what I had done wrong. Mom and Dad DID live at home together, but Mom apparently felt Dad was a moron and he couldn't handle information coming home from the teacher. Really? I was asked to make copies of all of the notes I sent home (in the girl's planner and on my weekly notes) and I was asked for dates/times I called home to speak with someone in order to prove my competence. Despite being able to show all of this documentation, I was told that because I didn't speak with Mom instead of Dad (with nothing being in the system saying this was required), I was not doing enough. Top this beautiful conversation with two of the PTC moms removing their children from my classroom at Christmas break, and you've got the reason I was D.O.N.E. with teaching. I was not worthy of teaching in my opinion. For Pete's sake, I had no clue what I was doing and removing kids from my classroom WITHOUT explanation from a principal was proof of that. At the end of the year, I was ready to move back to Missouri (ASAP) and I was ready to say screw teaching. My father, who along with my mother, paid for my bachelor's degree, had other ideas. He told me I needed to try teaching in MO before giving up on something for which he and my mother spent quite a bit of money! Begrudgingly, I applied for teaching jobs in MO. I was offered two teaching positions, which was AMAZING considering where I had come from in AZ. I can't imagine my references from AZ were outstanding. Seriously, no one cried when I resigned. Had I not resigned, I would not have likely been welcomed back the following year. I sucked and I knew it.
The job I accepted was at Barnwell Middle School. I was a late hire, so maybe that's what helped me secure the position given my experience in Arizona. Dr. B took a chance on me and from the time I interviewed with him I immediately felt better about what was to come. He asked me questions about education that led me to believe he really knew what he was doing, which was awesome. The school district had a mentor program where they assigned new teachers to veteran teachers for their first year of teaching and I got the BEST mentor in the world, Connie Hahn. While this was not my 1st grade teacher (Wilda Hahn), that last name must only be bestowed upon wonderful women because I learned SO much from both. Connie sat with me weekly and we went over the course map & what she would be teaching. She would literally give me her lessons and materials and we would discuss how I could change things up to fit my style/needs. THIS job was an absolute God-send! After teaching with Connie for a year, we would still meet up to chat about our lessons and she would take things from me and I would take things from her. Our district was one of the first in MO to work on the PLC (Professional Learning Communities) model. They knew that teacher would be better versions of themselves if they collaborated. Not only did I have a great support with Connie, but I had some pretty kick-ass teammates. I taught 6th grade English, Jim taught social studies, Laura taught math, and Lisa taught science. I LOVED these people! We met weekly to discuss our children and any issues they might be having. I was finally a part of a tribe of people who were phenomenal educators. Turns out I didn't suck at this teaching thing as much as I thought I did when I was in AZ. I read books by Hal Urban and got sent to Ruby Payne seminars. I was soaking it up and loving it. I found that I related well to the kids who were often under performing or getting in trouble and I was given those kids for a remedial reading homeroom and later Read 180 classes. Teaching Read 180 was my absolute favorite time as an educator and I kick myself every day that I left, sort of. I have nothing but fond memories of Barnwell and my time there. I would love to go back and teach Read 180 again.
After 4 years of teaching at Barnwell, I felt a calling to move up to the high school as a school counselor. At first, the job was GREAT. I worked with some phenomenal educators who were open books and some of the most caring individuals I've ever met. My department chair, Tom was SO SMART. Another counselor in my office, Debbie, taught me to assert myself and that I was a strong advocate FOR the kids as a school counselor. So many wonderful counselors and teachers taught me SO much. I was able to work for another amazing building principal and let me tell you, building principals totally set the climate for everything that takes place in the school. Dr. J was a powerful woman who led our school with character and purpose. I'm not sure when it all changed, but I'd venture to guess it was within the last 4-5 years of counseling when things just really started going downhill. I LOVED helping students on career planning, on individual planning, and on problem solving. We didn't do a lot of group counseling, but we did teach lessons on interpersonal topics, so I did feel like I was able to keep my teaching chops. I was able to help students who were upset with brief counseling and referrals. As the years went on, there was less and less career planning and more and more major mental health concerns. Solution Focused BRIEF therapy can only take you so far in the school counseling world of today. I found that I had less and less time to get all of my job requirements done because I was spending a large chunk of my day navigating teenagers who really needed some major mental health support from medical professionals. I was often babysitting behavior problems just so principals could "take a break" and get some of their duties accomplished. (I don't blame them; they were overwhelmed too.) I had one former student pass away from a heroin overdose and another one die from a tragic car accident. It wasn't until the last year that I truly knew I was done. I was SO crabby at home and at work it was not good for anyone. We had a principal take over after Dr. J retired and during my last year, he filtered out our college & career planning to one counselor in our office, so all of that career planning I loved so much was gone from my repertoire. I had teenagers ridden with debilitating anxiety that I could not help. I had a "special" pair of teenagers who told me that they wished I had wrecked on the way to school so I would have died, all because I told their parole officer some details about their behaviors at school. I had central office telling us that we had to build up our 504 case loads and we had to go through a testing process with the 504 candidates that would take even more time that we didn't really have to offer. School shootings were all over the United States and we had our fair share of scary incidents and scary students that made me believe it was truly a possibility that a horror like Columbine could happen at work. Kids were coming unglued and teachers/counselors were feeling undervalued and judged worse than any other time I had ever experienced. The only parts of my job I enjoyed were coordinating with the Career Center for Tech Ed (because technical education is awesome), coordinating with the Special Education Department (because they rocked and they were full of knowledge), and seeing my friends.
I have officially been out of a job for a year, and it has been freaking fantastic. Over this past school year, I have avoided my old stomping grounds like the plague. It's not because I don't want to see some of the lovely people I used to work with, but it truly is a traumatizing thought to think about going back. I can't explain it. I hated who I was when I was there and stressed beyond belief. I keep up with some of the amazing educators on Facebook and I'd love to see some of them out in public, but for now, I'm avoiding my ex-work environment completely.
This year, I have been able to volunteer as a coordinator for my 18 year old's Grad Night, I have been able to volunteer to read with kindergartners in my 6 year old's kindergarten class, I've been volunteering to work class parties, field trips, and field days, I've joined the PTC, and I've been able to keep my house running in a comfortable, non-grouchy pants way. It has been heavenly. I wish we were in a place where I could do this forever. Thanks to what I like to call, "Catholic guilt", I feel like I need to financially help my husband with running our household Long gone are the days when moms just got to stay home & manage the house, without guilt. I have a kid going away to college this coming Fall, so it's hitting home hard. A dear friend of mine, that I've known since 2nd grade, introduced me to BeneYOU. BeneYOU is a work from home option. Many BeneYOU employees work full time jobs outside of the home and do BeneYOU as a side-gig. As a teacher, I know that MANY teachers need side-gigs to make ends meet. Many more BeneYOU associates stay at home and work BeneYOU as a full time job. My dear friend, also named Rachel, had been working with Jamberry for many years and despite her recommending the company to me time and time again, I kept shooting her down. Once Jamberry sold their company to M Global, and M Global acquired Avisae, they became BeneYOU. The company's purpose (aside from making money) is to create "a better you". That is a vision I can get behind. I got into counseling to HELP people and now I get to do it from the comfort of my own home. I can help people who have the blues feel better with a recommendation to start B YOU (micronutrients) or our Soul M Stik. I can talk with people about antioxidants and anti-inflammatories in our Core AO Stik. I can talk about how gut health very much affects the serotonin levels your body. I can show someone how to pop on some non-toxic lacquer strips which have zero dry time (which is great when you're a mom who has kids who demand your attention the second you sit down to do your nails). These are products I 100% believe in and USE. I am a hard sell people. I did not jump on the "nail sticker" bandwagon years ago (when I should have) because I just wasn't that into selling nail wraps. I don't like to try new products UNLESS someone I trust assures me the products work, well. Like any start-up company, I'm not rolling in cash just yet. I do try to intentionally work MY business FROM HOME every single day. I have moved out of my comfort zone and my introverted self has started working vendor events where I talk with perfect strangers about our wonderful products. I hold parties in my home and travel to other places to discuss our products. I am not a salesperson. That part makes this job harder than it should be, BUT I am an introverted people person who wants to help others, which makes this job easy-ish.
Currently, I am on a break from my "full-time" job.
I'm not completely writing off education forever (unless I start making millions or hit that darn Mega Millions, seriously), but this BeneYOU gig is pretty great. I have learned SO much about business and marketing from my childhood pal Rachel. She is a phenomenal entrepreneur who really should be running a fortune 500 company. Granted, she IS running her own company and she's KILLING IT, from home. My BeneYOU business is being shaped and improved because of her coaching. This is not the typical MLM scheme that people think of when they hear direct sales. Part of BeneYOU is personal development (much like the professional development given to me with my previous school district). They want us all to run actual business and train our teammates. This isn't a company where people just sit back and collect commissions for doing nothing. We have outstanding home office support and direction and it is FAB-U-LOUS! I am stretching out of my comfort zone, but I still do not feel as worthless and incompetent as I did in my first year of teaching in an unsupported environment.
Check out The Guts and the Glam or hit me up if you're interested in a side-gig or full-time work from home opportunity. If you're not looking for employment, we have some life-changing products that I'd love to share with you. I'd also love to hear about your experience in education if you are a teacher, counselor, or educator in today's world. OR, if you WERE an educator and you left, what are you doing now? I'm ALWAYS interested in jobs former educators can do!
