Better Than You Thought You Could Be

This is my box.

A box. Our box. We all have it. It is something that is unique to each of us. It is our source of safety, comfort, success and reinforcement of what we do well. My box was built around my successes not only as a teacher, but as a friend, mentor, colleague and role model. I built relationships with the most at-risk, the most diverse, the most challenging, unlikeable, most-likely to fail students. I thrived on the fact that students who failed across the board, succeeded in my classroom. I could get through to them. I liked them. I took time to connect, and therefore be able to reach them on a level others could not. I was in my element.  I was successful and I felt good. I had a fabulous teaching partner who not only shared my passion for teaching, my passion for our subject, my passion for struggling students, but also my brain. The way we finish each other sentences, the way we connect when we are not near each other, the way students take comfort in the solidarity of our relationship as we bop into each other’s classroom, the way we became not only co-workers, but the best of friends- my box was complete. I had everything I needed. I knew I impacted lives. I knew I made a difference. I knew I was good. And then, someone came and opened my box….

“Coming out of your comfort zone is tough in the beginning, chaotic in the middle, and awesome in the end...because in the end, it shows you a whole new world !!

I was at lunch on a Friday afternoon. I had a great morning, a great lesson and a great day with kids. I returned from lunch excited to finish the day and head to the football game. And then my box burst open before I even knew it. Waiting for me in my classroom was my new principal. Someone I didn’t know well yet, but knew was innovative, exciting and fast-paced. He had a light in his eyes and asked me if I would consider filling in as interim assistant principal if our current assistant needed a leave of absence. I was taken back at first, but of course said yes, not really comprehending what he was saying. Little did I know that within 48 hours I would be the interim assistant principal? What a change, what a shock! Immediately I was yanked from a world of familiarity, comfort, success and confidence into a world of Twitter chats, iTec conferences, policy change, and so much more. I spent the first few weeks in a tailspin continuing to ask “do I want this”, “do I enjoy this” and “why does he think I am capable of this?” Then it clicked, slowly I saw that without even realizing it, I was doing it! I was on the Twitter chats, I thrived at the conferences, I was thinking big picture outside of my classroom, I was excited about the opportunities to bring my successes in the classroom to a wider scale. How did this happen?? I had the best job ever- working with kids that I loved, great hours, my best friend next door- how did I get into a position beyond that and more importantly, how was I not only successful, but loving it???

Where did my box go??

It hit me, on one of the Twitter chats I never envisioned being a part of. I had someone who believed I could be better than I ever thought I could be. Why he believed in me, I don’t know. Did he worry if I would fail, I don’t know. Did he doubt me, I don’t know. What I do know is that he believed I could be better than I ever thought I could be. And so I performed. I stepped up. I led in a way I didn’t know I could. It felt good. It felt natural. I was making a difference on a much grander scale than what I had before. I was not only connecting with students, but I was connecting students and teachers! Whatever “secret” some teachers believed I had as the reason I was able to have success with tough students, I was able share! I admit, I did always believe that I had a unique gift to love other people’s children as my own, but now I saw that I had a gift to get others to reach out the same way. And by the time the end of the year came, I knew. I knew that my greatest gift was in getting students to believe they could better than they ever thought they could be. And thanks to one person who believed that about me, I knew my road was clear. I could have a bigger impact. 

So I started a new journey. I opened a new box. I became the assistant principal and I felt as though new life was breathed into me. I had new purpose, I had new energy and I had new goals. All of the sudden the world was wide open and the possibilities endless. It was scary. It was unchartered waters. But I felt ready. When I look back I know the reason I felt ready is because someone believed that I could be better than I ever thought I could be. That became my mission. That became my motto. I would make every staff and student believe that they could be better than they ever thought they could be. Set the bar high. Accept no excuses. Expect that everyone can achieve excellence. That unconditional belief alone is half of the battle.  And I saw it happening. I saw what happened when I had conferences with a student and teacher together because I believed that each wanted the best from one another. I saw what happened when I sent kids back to teachers they said “hated them” and to classes where they said “I can’t do this”. They slowly started to succeed. They succeeded because I did what was done to me- just assumed they could be better than they ever thought they could be. For the staff who came to me and said, “I have 30 students and too many special ed and ELL students, can you please fix the schedule?” I instilled the belief that they could do it. I just assumed they could be better than they ever thought they could be. The response I have got has been overwhelming. The pride I take in knowing that there are students, and staff walking around a little bit taller, a little braver and a little bit more confident is worth more than any box I ever had. Who do you know that can be better than they ever thought they could be? How can you take their box?