Thursday, November 21, 2013

Ideal Teaching position?

It is so depressing to read back at my entries. I think that I get motivated to write in this blog when I want to vent. Because of that often being my motivation, this blog reads as if I have been in constant struggle for the last five years. In some ways, that's true. I feel like I have spent a lot of time wondering whether the school I work at now is a good fit for me. I wonder what it would be like working in another town - maybe somewhere in the suburbs. First, will another school inspire and make me feel like I am part of a truly professional community of educators and learners? Will I be actively fighting for social justice? Will I be at a school with a story and documented results. Could my school provide a national model for breaking the cycle of poverty? I am lucky enough to work at a school that meets those criteria right now. I've been wrestling with the idea of applying for other positions for the coming school year - and I still feel like it would be good for me to gain perspective, I worry that the process of applying may damage my relationship with my current principal, and also I worry that the appeal of having an "easy" job will be a grass-is-greener situation. If I take a job elsewhere, does it become a "job" not a career? Will teaching in the middle class suburbs make me complacent and not make me feel like I'm making a true difference if I'm merely replicating the status quo, moving society forward in the same direction it has been going. I'm conflicted.

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