We know that those teachers who are committed to a long career in the classroom must seek new challenges if we expect our 20th year of teaching to be as engaging as our first as well. We see that this doesn’t necessarily mean changing jobs or grade levels—opportunities abound for those open to them as well. We ask isn’t teaching hard enough already, they ask? Why take on something new is the question they get mostly? We see that teaching is exhausting, especially the parts they can’t avoid we see that grading papers, attending staff meetings, and preparing students for another standardized test as well. But if they focus on things that drive our passions for teaching, they can stretch ourselves and energize our careers as well. They can use the App to teach online as well and keep the learning on. We see the growing importance of school safety such as teachers today must help administer lockdown drills, realizing that they may have to one day put themselves between an active shooter as well as their students. We see that there can be the mounting pressure to be everything for students and not only teachers but also psychological counselors, conflict mitigators, as well as standardized test preparers and administrators, parent liaisons, safety monitors, culture translators, as well as even a provider of materials for students who can’t afford them. Do we see that managing education technology in the classroom should there be technology for all? Do we see that the teachers can be wired into Google Classroom? We ask how important is video learning or gamification as well? And we see who in the school is responsible for teacher training as well as for fixing technological glitches? We see that the competition with charter schools such as Public schools has felt the effects of the growing number of charter schools, as those schools compete for both the best students as well as the most funding. Finally, we see that people urge them to challenge themself—but don’t take a lot of stress. We see that taking on new experiences as well as opportunities should be energizing, not exhausting. We see that the attempt is just one new initiative at the time as well. They can plot out the hours they estimate it will take out of their week or month and then think about where that time will come from as well. Is there an old commitment that can be jettisoned or passed on to someone else is what they must ask? Can they cut back on their TV time or get up half an hour earlier once a week as well? Don’t be afraid to admit if they find that they’ve taken on too much—if a commitment becomes overwhelming, as well as find a way to step back or find help from colleagues to make it sustainable. They continue to feel energized and passionate about teaching even though they have been teaching fifth graders or other students for 20-plus years. They love kids and they love their job, but they think they would lose some of their passion if they didn’t continually find new opportunities and new outlets for my creativity as well as energy. They hope they find ways to do the same as well. We see that maybe instead of financial help they need a partner to make a new opportunity worth pursuing as well. We see that a collaborator makes the unknown less scary—as well as hopefully more fun. They must just choose their partner wisely. Does their personality mesh well with their own? Do their strengths complement each other? They couldn’t take the headaches of planning our school science fair without my co-chair, so they keeps them laughing and is always ready to divide up the tedious tasks. We see that a partner should bring positive energy to a new project as well as make everything a little bit easier. We see that just as they need lesson plans for the classroom, they need a strategy that helps them keep their level of inspiration strong. We see that without consciously making your strategy a priority, they can fall by the wayside, due to the constant influx of other demands as well. They must revisit their story which means not only remembering why they became a teacher but also thinking with a focus on the goals that inspire them for the future. They must also celebrate a teacher that was important to them, What made him or her special when they were a student? Can they enumerate things that set this teacher apart? Can they regain focus on those same elements in their work? They must also network with colleagues and find informal and formal ways to connect with others like them. They must also make sure to take care of them as the teachers are notoriously resistant to helping us out. We see that self-care is one of the first things that slips away when we feel overwhelmed, but tending to ourselves makes us more able to deal with the pressures of the job as well. They must also create a resilience plan as well as we know that this is a system of trying out some of the above, noting what works, as well as making it routine, as well as addressing obstacles. We see that perhaps they will rekindle their passion for education away from their school building. Adventures are waiting for teachers willing to spend precious personal time away from family as well as friends. We know that teaching strategies and methods are always changing so therefore instead of feeling stressed out about the constant changes, they must try and embrace them. They must make sure to take a look at it from a different perspective. They must work to set themselves up with a learning plan and other stuff and find the best app to teach online as well.
