I Thought Teaching Was My Life’s Mission

Have you ever said that teaching was your life’s mission? Or it’s what you’re called to do in life? If this is something you’ve said to yourself, then stick around because this episode is for you!

Today, Ali and JoDee are tackling the topic of if teaching is your life’s mission! Together, they’ll share their thoughts on the types of individuals who go into teaching and why, why a part of you will always be a teacher even if you are no longer in the classroom, and if teaching really is a lifelong mission in today’s world.

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Chapters

• 15:55 [Ad] Screen Deep
• 16:33 (Cont.) I Thought Teaching Was My Life’s Mission

Transcript

Ali  0:06  

Teachers are natural innovators, entertainers and problem solvers. They dream of growing old into the profession, teaching their kids kids. But sometimes career goals shift, and that makes opportunities outside of the classroom seem intangible questioning, who am I if I'm not a teacher? I'm your host, Ali Simon.

JoDee  0:28  

And I'm your co host, JoDee Scissors.

Ali  0:31  

And this is Teacher Shift.

Happy 2024! We want to thank our listeners for tuning in last year 2023. We had a great year with new guests and topics. With your help we're streaming in the top 25% of all Buzzsprout podcasts, with over 33,000 streams. We'll share on our socials the top five episodes of last year. In 2024, you'll notice we're moving to bi weekly episodes. We have some exciting new guests who you will hear from this year. As always, we welcome your recommendations for guests on the podcast, you can recommend a guest by filling out a form on our website, teachershiftpodcast.com.

JoDee  1:22  

Today, our episode is centered around a topic we discuss here often: Is teaching my life mission? Many teachers go into the profession believing it's their calling. However, through life, school or institutional changes, some teachers find themselves questioning that belief, whether you've made the shift or not. 

Ali  1:45  

A large part of what we hear, in addition to the word calling or mission, part of the narrative has to do with confidence or self esteem associated with being able to do something other than teaching. Teachers, I'm guilty of it too, often feel like they won't be able to move into a different profession. And they'll always be seen as just a teacher. So JoDee, how has your view of teaching changed throughout the years?

JoDee  2:11  

It's changed a lot. I think when I was in my 20s, I was just so sure of a lot of things that I'm sure someone older than me would have said, Oh, they think they know it all. 

Ali  2:27  

Right?? 

JoDee  2:28  

Yes. Because I can reflect back and think, Oh, my gosh, I didn't know anything. And I can see, you know, young people that age, young adults who are into the profession, just having a lot of enthusiasm about the profession, but also kind of identifying with this mission that they have to live out, or they feel a calling to. And so I would say that it's changed, because I've changed. I am not the same person that I was when I started teaching. I've had a lot of life events happen that have changed the makeup of who I am. I've learned a lot of professional tools and strategies. And that has changed what I know about education. So I think when I first started, like, I just thought that I was infinitely that person. And as I grow and know now that you know, I probably couldn't even tell you where I'm going to be in 10 years, other than the basics of; I want to be happy, I want to be healthy, I want my family to be healthy. I want you know, to live a sustainable life. Those like basic living concepts. But in terms of career, what would I say I want my profession to be? How do I identify as you know, a manager or director or a teacher or whatever it might be. It's just changed. Because I've changed. I don't know. What do you think? Like, do you think that we change over time, and our views of that mission evolve through time?

Ali  4:07  

I do. And I had a thought popped into my mind when you were telling you know, the way that you've been feeling about this. And I think it's that part of what makes teaching so comfortable is that it in theory provides you with a roadmap for what your life could and should look like. Because when you're in that profession, there's only one road and you just go down it. And so I think when I hear you say like I don't know where I'm going to be in 10 years, except that I want to be happy, healthy and you know, live a certain type of life. For some people that's scary. Like for someone like me, I'm such a planner, that I think that's actually why I gravitate towards work that seems mission driven because it's like more concrete and so I do better in that type of a setting. But I will say that's something that I've challenged myself on a lot in the last couple of years. Like uncertainty is okay. And not knowing where you're going to be in a year is okay. It's harder for some people like me than it is for others. But I think that all teachers went into teaching for a reason. Some of us it was the kids. Some of us it was the calling to, like, do something profound with our lives or to make a difference. And I think that we all did that we did make difference. You're the one who got me to realize that, that, you know, even though I only taught for seven years, and I coached a lot of extracurriculars, like, the lives that I touched, like, I still keep in touch with my students. 

JoDee  5:39  

I think about them all the time. There are just little things that make me think of not just students, but just families, too, that I really connected with. But, you know, going back to what you were saying about this path, I think something I was really naive about when I started this mission of teaching was, you know, it did have a path. But there were things along the path that I didn't see or that someone didn't make me aware of. And it's that I was hired by my first school. I knew the principal. I knew the assistant principal, had a really great team. And through time, my team started to change. And then I went to different schools because we moved. And so, something that was consistent on my path was that I was an elementary school teacher. There were variations of that though. I was a bilingual educator. I was an ESL director. I was a second grade teacher, because there wasn't a bilingual position. So I changed. And through that, I changed teams and leadership changed. And so even though these kind of basic concepts of, I'm a teacher, and I'm on this path, and I'm on this pay scale, and I have these teacher benefits. My day to day, I think it was that change of not having curriculum that inspired me, sometimes having challenging teammates to work with, or even a leadership that, you know, wasn't amazing to work for. Fortunately, most leaders that I worked for were really great, but it can, you know, make or break somebody's experience if they don't have someone that inspires them and keeps them motivated. And you know, pat's them on the back when they need a pat. That knows how to coach them up when they need to be coached in a certain area. So those type of things, I do think can change the trajectory of someone's career. 

Ali  7:39  

Yeah, and I would agree with you on that completely. I think that I also had a lot of transitions like you did, because we moved around. And so I would teach at different schools. And with teaching, if you're not jiving with a leader, if your team isn't supportive, or you're not feeling like you're getting what you need, you can't just leave and look for a new job. If you're in a traditional school district usually have to finish out the whole year. You may even have stipulations on your contract. Like when I was new to a school district, I had to be at my first school for three years, before I could transfer to another school. And so there are actually like limitations that ever put on you with what you can and can't do. And in the outside world, if something isn't working professionally for you, there are some ways for you to make a change. And I felt like it was harder in education to make a change. And I did feel really restricted and stuck in some of the places that I was at, kind of for what you mentioned, like if the leadership or if the.... I didn't love the curriculum, but that was what I had to use. And then there were Standards of Learning exams that were tied to that. So one thing I appreciate, especially being a military spouse, is in the civilian world or in the outside world, we've make shifts and changes. And we don't have to wait till our contract is up or like my husband telling his team gets to his, you know, 20 year mark or whatever to make that change. We can do it whenever we want. And I think you and I have both made several shifts outside of the classroom.

JoDee  9:11  

I've seen so many teachers I've worked with make shifts within the district that are a reflection of how they've grown as a teacher. It's a reflection of what their personal lives look like, what they desire in life. And so we know that these shifts can happen within a school district. There are linear, but there are also some upward mobility opportunities for teachers as well. But I just kind of wanted to pick your brain for a minute. Like do you think it's actually realistic for someone to just commit to this mission in year one and expect the same type of like return in year 30? 

Ali  9:56  

All right, I'm processing that so I think in your one, you know we go in, we feel called, and we feel like our mission is to educate people, but you shared, we change as people. Right? We are developing, we're growing. And so, I mean, I do think it's unrealistic to think that in year 25 or 30, that we would still have that same mission drive. A lot of things will have changed in that time period. I mean, we do see teachers, we've interviewed teachers who've made it to 20 something years, and that's no longer the place that they want to be. But I think the problem is that a profession only sees it that way, like in the long term. And I think if we could reframe it to, this doesn't have to be your forever. Like, while you feel like this is your mission, or while you're in a place where you want to be doing this great. But to elevate educators and make them feel valued inside and outside the classroom is really important. And I think also to realize that most professionals do not stay in the same field for 25 years anymore. Even the people that we've had on the podcast, who were never teachers, but just are cheerleaders for teachers, or, you know, their companies hire teachers, they have not been in the same profession for their whole careers. And so I think it's this antiquated notion that someone who's 20 something is going to enter into this field and feel fulfilled for forever. And I'm not saying there's, there's ways that you can shift what you're doing within education. Like for me, I picked up coaching Speech and Debate later on into my career. And honestly, I feel like that was my calling. Like, I wish that I would have found it sooner. So I could have done it for longer. But I think there's ways to make it more meaningful. But then I also feel like a lot of those things that happen also burn you out. Like, right?

JoDee  11:53  

Yeah, I also wonder, and I'm going a little bit off script right now. But do you think that women are more likely to be drawn to these professions that say, it's a calling, it's a mission, it's my duty? I just feel like I hear it more from women than in men. And I don't know if it's like a dialogue that we make amongst ourselves, or if it's like this social construct. But you know, like, I don't, I don't hear my spouse saying, It's my calling to be a financial adviser. Or my dad saying, It's my calling to be a builder. I just don't hear that type of language.

Ali  12:37  

So I do. I agree and I disagree. So my spouse does have something like that in his career, right? So a lot of people who serve in the military feel called to serve, right? To serve their country. You know, it's their duty. But that is a largely male dominated profession. There's not as many females especially when you go into leadership and things like that. So I think when you're looking at education, and also other professions that are female dominated, like nursing, these are all caregiving roles, right? They're nurturing roles that, I think that does have a lot to do probably with how we are socialized. And I will say, for me, a large reason why I did choose to go into education was that I thought it would be a good career for raising a family and for being a mom. Because that's kind of how it's pitched, right? You're gonna have the summers off. You're gonna have breaks. You're gonna have the same schedule as your kids. And that is part of how I drink the Kool Aid. You know, I wanted to be mindful, having had a mother who owned her own business and worked a lot and wasn't always able to, like, take me to dance practice and things like that, to be able to do that. What I learned when I became a teacher is that it's not always like that, and you don't have the same schedule as your kid if you're not teaching in the same grade level. Like if you're not an elementary school teacher, your schedule is not going to match elementary school schedules and things like that. And there's not the things in place to allow you to be able to do that. Like I couldn't find before care. So I agree with you that there is this narrative that exists. And I think women are largely, you know, we're subscribing to that. We are. 

JoDee  14:19  

Yeah, I think that anybody like in my family would have said, it makes so much sense that JoDee was a teacher. Like, just the way I was always extremely nurturing person. I always cared about other people's feelings. I always wanted to make sure there was equal opportunity for everybody. I always wanted to make a social impact. So I don't think it was like anything surprising when I decided to go that path. It was honestly probably very surprising when I decided to veer off that path. But once they heard why it made a lot of sense to them. But yeah, I do think that some people subscribe to it. And it makes sense that your spouse kind of had that similar calling. It might, it might be those type of like servant leader type of professions that have that calling, and maybe, because I've been so immersed in teaching and education that I associate so much with women in the profession. But yeah, that does make sense. 

Ali  15:23 

So when you and I both decided to leave teaching, we knew that it was, you know, going to be a difficult transition, like we were going to be leaving something that we felt this mission or this calling to do. And I have to be honest, that, I think partially because mine was pretty abrupt, that when I left teaching, I felt like something was really missing. I felt empty at first. And I'm wondering, did you ever have to deal with this feeling of withdrawal like I did from teaching?

JoDee  15:56  

I don't think as much as you. I think my withdrawal, and I feel it sometimes kind of come up a little bit, is just watching kids learn. Seeing the impact of your instruction, and how your hard work impacts someone else. And so those type of results are a little bit different in the line of work that I'm doing right now. Because I'm not seeing a child or a young adults being fulfilled by the work that I have done. I'm just seeing kind of like a product, which is really nice and fulfilling. But as someone who really values relationships, and who believed in building strong rapport with all of their students, there was a little bit of emptiness there. Because now I have to shift those relationships to the adults around me, that I'm working with, to kind of get that reassurance or that connection that you have with your peers when you're working. And I know that that can be like really hard for a lot of people that are working remotely or hybrid. And so just maintaining that kind of like positive relationship with the adults around me. And just fostering the relationships I have with all the students before that. But that was really the only emptiness I guess I would say I felt. And I don't really feel it too often. I would say... I could tell you like the triggers are when I go into my daughter's school, and I see kids. And you're watching their personalities, and their their mannerisms, or you're watching them to your their performance or their presentation. And I just feel this sense of like happiness. And man, I would have loved to have taught that or something. 

Ali  17:49  

Yeah, I think, you know, along with the, I guess the emptiness or just the withdrawal for me of missing teaching, one of the things that you know, comes up a lot in conversation is just chasing the dream of the teacher breaks and winter break, summer break. And what I keep reminding myself because I have struggled lately, like should I go back to teaching? It's you know, it's always something I thought I'd be doing when my kids got older and went to high school. But knowing that, in reality, while I might have had more days off during those certain buckets of the year, like summer, spring break, etc, my day to day life would be so much different than it is right now. And I would not have any flexibility, a few sick days off a year. That's it. And it would be a different level of stress. And so I think it's just for me, when I think about the way that I see my life has really, it has shifted, and the priorities that I have are different. And as I as I get older versus like 22 year old me, I value my day to day life. Like I want a life where I enjoy waking up, and I'm excited about my work. And I'm not stressed out and I'm not having, you know, the Sunday Scaries or whatever. Like I'm not having that every week and every day. That's a trade off for me. That I know that I won't have as much paid time off during... actually summers are not paid time off. We're only paid for the 10 months that we worked when you're a teacher.  

JoDee  19:16  

Common misconception among the regular population.

Ali  19:20

Yes, yes. But I'd have this trade off because I want my everyday life to look different. And that's most of the days of my life as opposed to those pockets of break. So I'm making it work. I do still think about it and I think it's okay for for teachers or former teachers to know that you don't leave the classroom and then just forget about everything. It's not like something that you never think about again. 

JoDee  19:44  

Yeah, and maybe just like rethinking, if I had to say what my life's mission, if I was asked that. I do think that education is part of my life's mission, whether that is me as a professional, or me as a parent, or just me. Always kind of being centered around learning and teaching others. Because it is literally everywhere. It is an every single collaborator that I work with. I have an educator centered brain. All the choices I make for my child. All the choices I make to better improve myself. They're all revolve around education. So I do think that there's a sense of like, heightened awareness of who I am, that revolves around the, like, key principles of being an educator. So, you know, it just kind of evolves and changes a little bit, but I can say that education is kind of that that sun. Yeah, I don't know. What do you think? Do you think that people are scared of facing that mission? And what do you think like, if someone's like questioning what's my mission, what would happen to them if they changed their mission? 

Ali  21:03  

Yeah, I mean, I like how we're using mission because I don't love calling because that almost, it makes you feel bad if you leave your calling. So I appreciate that we're using that on today's episode. But I think, let's think about what most people like your calling or your mission, what happens when that changes. I think it can feel selfish, you know, especially when your mission was to help people or to work with, you know, youth or to work with young people. It almost makes it feel like, Oh, well, you were doing this really great thing and now you want to do something for yourself. That's selfish. I mean, that's what I hear from our guests from our listeners. 

JoDee  21:41 

That's why we see so many people trying to shed the guilt, because they're so attached to that.

Ali  21:47  

Right. And so I think, you know, let's call it what it is. Like, plenty of young professionals and older professionals change what they want to do with their lives. And teachers can too. And it does not mean that you will cease to be a teacher. It's always a part of who you are. Just like it is... you explained it so well JoDee with how like education is fundamentally a part of your life and who you are. And you know, the same thing with me, like I was a teacher. I was a Spanish teacher. Those things are to the core, like who I am and what I want in my life. It's why you know, I'm raising bilingual kids. It's, you know, why I've chosen to like move to places to have these schools for my kids. It's just, you are who you are, but your career doesn't have to define you. And I think that as teachers, we let our careers like define us, and they hold us hostage sometimes. Because we're worried about one, maybe the guilt about being selfish. And then also, we're nervous about change. And change is really, really scary. I mean, even changing a regular job for someone who's staying in the same profession, like, that's scary, because you're leaving a company that you might know, you have good benefits.

JoDee  23:01  

You have every right to be nervous or scared about those things like, totally, and it's not irrational. It's just like, those are really important aspects of your life. And stability is important. Just how do we navigate to get to another place where we feel comfortable and confident and what we want to do next?

Ali  23:23  

And knowing that risk is one of the ways to lead to reward. Like, if you don't take a risk, you're not going to be able to change. Whatever... however your life is, now it's going to stay the same unless you're taking some type of risk. Trying something new. And I think also, you know, we've touched on this before, but this is really important, because we're talking about maybe goal setting in the new year, or what we want to do in 2024, is knowing that it's okay to fail and that you're not going to maybe get it right the first time. That's something that's really, really hard for us to think about. But that's also something that it's okay, take those risks. Know that every one of them will not always lead to that reward. But that, that's practice, and you're going to improve. So whether that is you know, looking for jobs outside of the profession, whether it's revising your resume or your LinkedIn, whether it's reaching out to people to find out what their job looks like in the day to day. You know, maybe trying to have coffee or connect with someone about their profession. Like, if you don't ask or you don't try, you will never have any results. And that's something that I've even had to push myself to do as I, as I made my shifts out of teaching. Like I went into one space and I was very comfortable there. And then I had to go into another space and now I'm very comfortable in my new space,

JoDee  24:46 

Well if any of our listeners are like me, like I'll put a scenario in my mind and I just escalate it, and escalate and escalate. And I get myself worked up. And it's never how I escalate in my mind ever.

Ali  25:00 

And it's never as bad as we think it's going to be. So I really think that, you know, in this new year, we are ready for you. We have a whole new year of episodes, and you can stay up to date on our socials. Listeners, we're excited to tackle a lot of the topics that we've already tackled, but in more meaningful and deeper ways with new guests. So get ready for Teacher Shift 2024.

Are you interested in suggesting a topic for Teacher Shift? Being a guest or recommending a guest? Please see the episodes page on our website to make a submission. And if you'd like to write for us, see our blog page. If you liked Teacher Shift, give us a five star rating and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Apple podcasts, Spotify and Amazon music. Today's episode was written and recorded by me, Ali Simon and my co host, JoDee Scissors. Executive produced by Teacher Shift. Produced and edited by Emily Porter. Original Music: Emoji by Tubebackr.