Sometimes I look back on my life and wonder exactly how I got to where I am, because some of it certainly isn't where I intended to be.
I was the painfully shy kid in school. I took zeros in high school rather than do speeches because the very thought of public speaking sent me into a panic attack, but have worked for the past 16 years in high schools getting up in front of younger humans on a daily basis. Heck, now I even give presentations at conferences to rooms full of awesome people I have never met before.
I said I would never get married, yet here I am going on 10 years of marriage. (And I never thought this suburban girl would marry a country boy. In fact, if you had pointed to my husband when I first met him in his cowboy boots and belt buckle and said he would be my future hubby, I would have laughed in your face.)
I said I would never be a department head or anything of the sort, but here I am, head of my department going on 6 years or so now.
I used to never take my students to a computer lab. But now I've taught in a 1:1 classroom for almost 3 years.
Being married to an administrator and watching what he has to deal with every day, I told myself I would never, ever be one myself. Not even after getting my administrative certificate did I have even the remotest interest in being one.
Never say never.
Admittedly, I have been a little restless for the past two years. Classroom teaching is my first love, and the only administrative position that piques my interest is one dealing with curriculum, instruction, and assessment. So, when someone told me of a small nearby district that was looking for someone to fill a similar position, I threw my name into the ring for consideration. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I told myself. I also told myself not to get my hopes up, because I'm just some nutty high school teacher with crazy ideas about how learning should be done. (And, since my husband attended this school district, he warned me (jokingly) that there might not be positive connotations over in that area for someone with my last name.)
But, to my surprise, they offered me the job. And I accepted.
Next year, my official title will be Director of Teaching & Learning. It's a new title at this district, created so I can make the position my own. It's a big job (it's a K-12 district), with big responsibilities and an equally large learning curve for yours truly. From what I've been told, I am to act as a "hub" of sorts for all of the building principals, work with and provide professional development for teachers, and be a part of all things curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
I have to be completely honest and say that I am very excited about the new challenges coming my way, frightened at all of the unknown I will face, and sad that I will no longer have a classroom of younger humans to call my own. But, as a wise woman once told me, "You'll touch so many more students this way."
And that's the main reason I accepted the position.