Remember being a first-year teacher in that charter school?

My first three years of teaching were at a tiny charter school in Minneapolis. This was a no-excuses, very strict type of school. DEEP. END. After three years, my wife got a far away job and a nearby school had an opening. It was bittersweet leaving. I cried at the interview, just knowing what it meant for the students that I was leaving. The school closed down after the following year.

I feel conflicting emotions when I think about my time at that charter school. It was so intense in so many ways.

On the positive side, the other teachers that I spent time with were like family. We had to hang together and solve problems, right now. We had each-others backs. My unsolvable problem became OUR problem and we solved it together. We didn’t have time or emotional energy for drama.

Our forever positive teacher-cheerleader would always as “What’s going great today?!” without fail, an intentional act that I deeply appreciate to this day.

I doubt that I’ll ever again have such a cohesive team around me when it comes to supporting each other.

I don’t think I would be the same teacher without those three years. Don’t get me wrong, it was rough. But I found my footing in the chaos. I felt like a leader my second year (high turnover) and gained so much confidence in myself.

All-in-all, just another path that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone else.

I still remember the students who told me that fell in love with science from my class.

A new vision for education

Get email updates & invites

I'm a full time teacher first, so it'll just be an occational email

If you get an error, please go HERE instead.

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *