Two years into my teaching career, I was granted an honor of sorts that I did not fully understand or appreciate at the time. It was important in that it forced me early on in my career to engage in some long-range thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in education. I was a 6th grade teacher in an elementary school, something I was not well prepared to do, but that is another post at another time. I was one of two men on the staff of about twenty. My principal approached me about becoming an administrator. I did not understand or appreciate that I was being invited into a “good old boys club” and my principal was offering to sponsor me. The first time he mentioned it, I was surprised, perhaps mildly flattered, and I offered what I am sure was a somewhat awkward and non-committal response.

Over the next couple of years, from time to time, the topic was revisited. After each of these conversations in which he laid out the advantages, I reflected and considered my options. I began to explore why on a gut level I did not have positive feelings about the idea of becoming an administrator. These experiences led to a refinement of my beliefs about teaching/learning, the profession I had joined, and the roles I would like to eventually occupy within it.

I was a product of the ‘60s but not a wildly radical young person for the most part. I had always thought many things were wrong with schools and how they operated. From a young age as a student, I struggled to make sense of what was going on around me. The inconsistencies between the stated purposes, practices, procedures and rules and what I saw going on around me irritated but intrigued me. I think it started in kindergarten. We had rest time. We would take out our little rugs in the middle of the day, and all lay down to rest for a while. It just made no sense. Why would we do such a thing? We were full of energy and ready to engage the world. I resented it. That was one of the first of thousands of oddities that I noticed and sought to understand as a student and later as a teacher.

These experiences led me to draw some conclusions about teaching and learning. As I observed my teachers do their jobs, I began to think that if ever I were to teach I would do things differently. Occasionally I would understand and appreciate the skills my teachers possessed and used, but more frequently I was somewhat critical. I concluded pretty early on that I did not want to actually become a teacher. I saw too many rules and too many obstacles blocking engaged learning and inquiry. The whole system was problematic for me and one that I would not want to perpetuate, but as a student I was in it, and I could not help myself, so my reflection and analysis continued.

Thus, I became a kind of educational radical early in my life. From time to time I would envision myself in the role of teacher, hypothetically of course, just for the sake of thinking about it, not that I ever planned to actually do it. Because I was critical of the system but intensely interested in teaching and learning, I developed philosophical underpinnings that eventually would lead to my visceral response to and rejection of the administrative career path. After all, in my view the principals and managers were the system enforcers whose job it was to maintain all of those rules and obstacles that interfered with learning. By definition their job was to resist change and keep the status quo, not something that would appeal to a guy who wanted to see the system and practice of education changed.

So, let’s move to the other end of my formal education. I attended Drake University and majored in political science, planning to go to law school. In my junior year, as I looked at how to use my electives before graduating, I decided to minor in education. Just out of interest of course, not any real plan to teach. I found the coursework interesting. It focused upon pedagogy of which I had been an observer and informal student for my whole life. The interdisciplinary nature of it all appealed to me. Still, I did not admit that I really wanted to do it.

As I graduated, I recall that we were encouraged to write an essay for inclusion with our placement file. The topic had to do with why we wanted to be a teacher. I recall vividly sitting in Coles Library writing my masterpiece. In it, I laid out all that I saw wrong with the current educational system and practice. I concluded that the youth of America deserved better and I claimed to be one of those able to provide them with the rich learning experiences they deserved. I submitted it for inclusion in my placement file and moved on.

My student teaching experience was a very good one. I found that I liked teaching more than I anticipated. I also began to realize there were some elements of the teacher role that one can only understand by being in the role. I came to see that observing it had its limitations. My cooperating teacher was very good, and I thought we had a fine relationship. I actually subbed for him several times in the opposite half of the day from my student teaching.

A couple years passed. I dealt with a military obligation and took jobs I knew were temporary. Finally, I decided to give the teaching thing a shot and to apply for teaching positions. I was a little surprised that I was not immediately snapped up. Eventually, I interviewed in West Des Moines, IA. It was an excellent interview. I really connected with the superintendent and apparently he thought so as well because he broke the rules for me. The interview turned into a kind of mentoring session in which he provided information that he was officially prohibited from sharing with me. He did not hire me, but gave the information and advice that I needed to get hired.

At the end of the interview, he asked me to tell him more about my student teaching experience. I was glad to do so, because from my vantage point it was a glowing success. Then he probed with this question, “How was your relationship with your cooperating teacher?” I told him that is was good and that I regarded the man as a very good teacher and friend. He then read to me a couple things written by this teacher that would raise red flags to prospective employers. He told me that he thought I would be a very good teacher and that I deserved a chance to try it, but in order to do so, I needed to address issues in my future interviews found in the confidential recommendation/evaluation provided my cooperating teacher. One had to do with not controlling “off topic” conversations among “cell groups” when doing small group activities. He said that kind of comment would call into question my classroom management skills which are always a concern for administrators. He encouraged me to think about how to play up my classroom management skills in the interview… He then added one more piece of advice. He told me to remove my essay about why I wanted to be a teacher from my placement file. He indicated that while he understood the sentiments and admired my passion, I would probably never get a job with any administrator who read it. I remembered it, and instantly knew he was right. I went to the placement office the next day and removed it. I was beginning to understand that to have an opportunity to teach and to make things better from within the system, I would have to make some adjustments, at least in my rhetoric. This was the first of many such lessons I would learn about choosing my battles and being more strategic in my approach to change and the established system that was in place. Indeed, it is something about which I have to remind myself to this day.

Benefitting from that coaching session, I had two job offers within a couple of weeks; one in Omaha, Nebraska and one in Elgin, Illinois. I chose Elgin, where I would become a career teacher and teacher leader for the next thirty-three years. I will write many blog posts about those experiences as this site continues, but for now, I want to offer some new teacher advice related to the pieces of the story I have just shared. Here it is: as you are becoming a teacher and struggling with all of the day-to-day details that demand your attention and zap your energies, set aside time to consider the place you want to occupy in the profession by leading and changing it. As you see things that are wrong or could be so much better, reflect upon how it could be different and how you might be a part of making it happen. If you stay in teaching, what will you do to change the myriad factors and forces that stand in the way of the teaching and learning activities?

My first principal’s invitation to join his club and become an administrator prompted me to engage in serious reflection about what was important to me. It led me to consider how I might be able to make a difference not only in the classroom but also beyond without compromising my beliefs and values. It caused me to conclude that while I wanted to teach, I also wanted to do something to improve the system about which I had been a life-long critic, but to which I now belonged.

For me, the chosen path to teacher leadership turned out to be involvement in the union. It provided me with opportunities to prod the system in ways I could not have done from within the hierarchy of the system. Today, there are more rungs on the career ladder with hybrid positions providing increased alternatives to remain a practitioner, and also be a researcher and leader. As a new teacher, lift your head, view the horizon and consider where you want to go to help build your profession. Recently, I read a book that would be a great resource to use in doing so. It is Teacherpreneurs: Innovative Teachers Who Lead But Don’t Leave . Its authors frame and share their paths before introducing the cases of eight teachers who stayed in the classroom but also found ways to lead and shape their profession. I highly recommend it, especially for early career teachers mapping out their careers. It has suggested activities to follow after each chapter to assist a teacher in sorting out their interests, setting goals for assuming leadership roles while remaining in the classroom.

The book places greater emphasis upon National Board Certification than I would give it based my experience. They perhaps give unions, at least progressive unions and unionist, too little credit for their efforts to lead change and to empower teachers. While the authors are critical of the singling out super star teachers, the examples they chose for th book may have some of the same impact upon teachers just beginning their leadership journey. Leadership is needed at all levels. Big, bold high-profile leadership like most of the examples given ought not to be held out as the standard to be met. All teachers can look for and find ways to provide influence that is grounded in their experience adding the practitioner voice to the planning and policy making processes that reach beyond their own classrooms. We do not need a few people doing big things, that will always happen. We need virtually every teacher engaged in change working collaboratively within their local setting. I recommend that you read the book and do the activities, but set expectations that are doable for you at this point in your career.