Embracing Change

"Nothing gold can stay." 

Robert Frost did have it right.  Nothing stays the same.  Things are constantly changing, which can be invigorating, but also bittersweet.  Erin Watts' daughter recently celebrated her first birthday.  At the party Erin commented on how her daughter was walking everywhere and soon she wouldn't be a baby.  Erin's husband responded, "We don't have a baby anymore."  This provided Erin with an opportunity to reflect on this life change.  She was thrilled with the new milestones that her child had reached, yet it made her sad that those baby moments were fleeting.

Any parent can likely identify with Erin's feelings.  As educators we have a new group of students yearly.  The class size and make up of student needs are never the same year to year.  We have a choice to embrace the new and different behaviors in our classroom, as well and the new and different mandates that come to us from local and governmental agencies.  Embracing change can be difficult for some of us.  For others is comes easy.  Our high school is about to undergo another round of renovations this spring.  The result will be rewarding for students and staff.  The process may be messy.  Teachers may have to share rooms, or pack up their rooms and move to an alternate location temporarily.  This can cause great fear, anxiety, discomfort, and chaos. The key to all this is that it is only temporary.  It won't stay that way.

At a recent Professional Development Day, several high school teachers had the opportunity to hear Kim Vogel, Directional Coach and Consultant.

She had some great tips on how to help teachers embrace change and focus on things they could control.  It was evident her passion is helping people find and reconnect with their passion and spark. I was particularly moved by one of the things she said about externalizing things.  She mentioned that sometimes we need to talk about things or voice our frustrations, but sooner or later we have to let it go, or do something about it.  I applaud this thinking and it struck a chord with me. It is easy to be sucked into a blame session complaining about systems problems or why things are happening.  If I truly want to be a change agent in my school, and want to do what is best for students I need to let some things go and focus on what I can control.  Sometimes we all need to be reminded of the little things.  We also need to be mindful of the fact that all of us are going through something-- some type of change is happening to all of us---it's just different than what the person sitting next to us is experiencing.

Tracy Hopkins, a Linn-Mar High School English teacher, will soon be packing up his classroom to teach in another building while the high school begins renovations.  This is temporary, but could be between one to two years.   Tracy understands this may be a lot of work, but said he is looking forward to the move.  He has currently been in his room thirteen years, and has embraced this opportunity to work with individuals in a different setting, and refocus his professional development.  "It's like I've been sitting in a sauna for years, and having to move my classroom will be like going out into the snow.  I'm thinking I'll feel invigorated by the change."

As our high school is about to experience some growing and moving pains I leave you with this inspirational thought:

"All great changes are preceded by chaos." - Deepak Chopra