Living is growing

Hi {FIRSTNAME],

I didn’t choose teaching because it was the only thing I was capable of.

Looking back almost 20 years, I think my reasons were partly legit, and partly… “I don’t know what else to do?”

I really didn’t know what I wanted to do at the age of 26 (and I already felt “behind”… 🙄 We live in a culture of “hurry up and figure out your whole life!” But that’s another story).

• I knew I loved kids and that I was good with them.
• I knew I didn’t like working in the summer (but naively didn’t understand that “summers off” wasn’t really a thing for most teachers)
• And I had seen enough “dedicated teacher reaches previously ‘unreachable’ student” movies to make me believe that I too could save lives simply with my compassion.

And I did. Or at least I know that I impacted many students’ lives.

What I know now that I can see it all more clearly, is that outside of my super human patience and compassion for kids, I was good at teaching because:

• I’m good at explaining complex ideas in ‘digestible ways’
• I care about impact
• And I know how to think about people, motivation, and outcomes

And I’m betting that’s at least part of why you ended up in classrooms too.

In fact, that’s a big part of what your degree and all of your experience has trained you to do.

Somewhere along the way, though, it’s possible that you (or those around you) began to interpret your training as a “limitation” instead of an asset.

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​Limitation in the form of:

“I spent years and money on this degree—I should stay in the classroom.” (this was me. I was STILL paying those student load debts)
“If I leave, it means I am wasting what I worked really hard for.”
“This is the only thing my teaching degree qualifies me to do.”

But here’s the truth many teachers never hear:

Staying somewhere that no longer fits because of your degree doesn’t honor your experience…

Instead it begins to shrink what you believe you are capable of.

Your education degree didn’t lock you into a classroom for the rest of your life.
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It taught you how to:

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– design learning experiences
– communicate clearly
– influence behavior
– adapt on the fly when something isn’t working

Those skills don’t disappear when you step outside a school building.

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Instead, they finally get to stretch. They get to seep into the corners of your life you never knew or thought about.

And no—wanting to use them differently doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful, flaky, or giving up.

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​It just means you’re noticing that you’ve outgrown the container you learned them in.

And honestly? Stretching and growing is a REALLY NORMAL part of living. A necessary part I’d argue.

What would happen, for example, if we never repotted that growing plant? Never gave it a new container to continue to grow in?

When you think of it this way, it might feel more natural to allow yourself to wonder about what else is out there.

And that’s OK.
​Because you don’t need a perfect plan yet.

But you do need to stop telling yourself that your degree is the reason you can’t explore what else is possible.

And maybe some curiosity about what that means for you. (I promise it wasn’t curiosity that killed the cat.)
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So for now, just know this (maybe even say it out loud!):

You CAN grow out of teaching and STILL USE the skills that make you good at teaching.

If this is resonating, hit reply and let me know (an AMEN! will suffice 😂).

If it’s not resonating, I’d also love to hear why!

Hit reply and tell me what your biggest gripe is right now—where you’re feeling most stuck.

My goal is to make these emails as helpful as possible to you all!

Signing off from the Icy Tundras of Maryland (seriously is this ice ever going away??!),

Meredith

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