Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Another Change

I decided to go in a different direction in my teaching career.  An opportunity fell in my lap the last day of the school year last year and I decided to try something new.  I've taught all different levels of English for 15 years (from English Language Learners to Advanced Placement Literature and Composition) and now I'm teaching Physical Education full time.

I always wanted to be a PE teacher since I coached two Varsity sports since the age of 19, but when I first started going to school to become a teacher, it was practically impossible to get hired in PE.  Everyone told me to get my teaching credential in a core subject (math, science, history, English) so I would have a better chance of being hired immediately (and be able to start paying off all of my student debt).

I always liked to read so I switched my major my junior year in college to English Literature.  I was hired immediately after finishing student teaching.

Throughout the last 15 years of teaching English and putting in so many extra hours with planning and grading (time I missed out on with Jeff), I kept dreaming about maybe one day getting a PE credential and teaching PE.  But there were rarely any openings and they were usually at schools I wasn't interested in.

I had to make the decision to switch from English to PE in less than 24 hours and was worried that I would regret my decision of switching.  Instead of a very controlled environment with 36-40 students sitting in desks in a classroom, I would have to herd 51 crazy kids running around like wild things and attempt to teach them how to play 8 different sports.  Would I be able to handle moving around and carrying all kinds of equipment in the heat in the middle of summer, and cold and rain in the middle of the winter all day long since the middle school I currently work at still doesn't have a gym?  How am I supposed to give quizzes to my students on the state standards that they are learning without desks and the other trappings of a typical classroom?

But then I remembered that the universe gives us opportunities and we can either refuse what it's offering or jump on board and go for it.  The worst thing that could happen would be that I would have a rough year and then apply for an English position again.  So I cleaned out my classroom of years of materials and lesson plans, gave everything away to some brand new English teachers who are just starting out and accepted what the universe was offering.

I regret nothing.

We are almost 9 weeks into the school year (I work at a year round calendar school) and I have loved almost every minute of it.  Don't get me wrong, we all have hard days and certain challenges that arise, but compared to teaching reluctant kids to analyze texts and write essays, let alone grade all of it, PE has been a dream.  It has definitely been a transition.  Giving my first quiz was rough and I have had to reflect and try different strategies.  The heat has been almost unbearable and I'm physically exhausted daily.  But I feel like I am "getting into shape" and leave work everyday tired but with a smile.

People on my campus are still coming up to me surprised that I made the switch and I am still getting emails for help with all things English related.  They all say how sad it is that I am not going to be teaching English anymore because I was such a strong teacher, but I don't see it that way.  I'm still teaching and I'm still a strong teacher.  I feel like in PE I've been able to connect with the students more.  They engage with me and I get to know their personalities better in PE.  I smile and laugh a lot more and am not as stressed out.

I'm sad that Jeff isn't here with me now that I am almost halfway through my career and have a lot more free time, especially since I no longer coach.  He was with me the first 10 years of my career when I was working 12-15 hour days creating curriculum, grading, and coaching after school.  He rarely complained other than his one ultimatum that I wasn't allowed to bring home any grading, but because I didn't bring anything home, I was rarely home before 7 pm and usually ended up staying even later on Friday's and going in for a full 8 hours on Sundays.  Jeff always encouraged me and didn't mind that I had to stay late for my job.  He was always so supportive and understanding.  I hope he is smiling down on me now that I've finally achieved what I always wanted in my career.

Change is always stressful and switching from English to PE was and has been a little stressful but I know in the long run, this change is going to be a good one.

And even if it's not, I can always go back to endless essay grading if I needed to.




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