Are You Done?

A teacher, one of four teachers in an elementary school, is frustrated at work. This teacher, let's call her Carol, is one of four 4^th grade teachers, and is also the newest. She is finishing her first year in this school, and one of the other teachers (her name can be Sally) has been assigned as her mentor.

The three teachers keep their doors open, plan class activities together, and sit together at lunch.

Sally's approach to mentoring revealed itself early in the year. She introduced Carol to the others, and casually said that Carol could reach out with any questions. Sally and the other two teachers continued to plan joint class activities, and talk with one another. When Carol would join their group, she realized that the majority of their time was spent gossiping about other teachers – and Carol wondered if they talked about her when she wasn't there as well.

Carol's approach to teaching is a little different from the others. She closes her door, spends less time outside with her class, and uses teaching techniques that are slightly different from the other 4^th grade teachers – but in line with her pedagogy and prior teaching experience.

Near the end of the school year Carol confronted the other teachers about excluding her from planning the last event, something of a send-off for the students. The three other teachers had planned an event for their classes outside, and excluded Carol yet again. Words were exchanged.


Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

Here's some additional information.

• Carol's students outperformed the other classes by a wide margin in end of grade testing


• Carol constantly looks for new and innovative ways to approach the students


• Most of the students in all 4^th grade classes like Carol best

So because of these things Carol is different in a few ways. Saving the long conversation around group dynamics for another time (it's a bit obvious, I think), let's focus on something different: the other teachers are done, and Carol is not.

Think about when you purchase a home. The process of figuring out what kind of home you would like, how much you can afford, where to live, etc. You're investing a great deal of time and effort into the process. Even after purchase, you might find yourself painting, picking out furnishings, making a few changes you thought about during the buying process, maybe even working to make the yard look just so. You're even pulling your neighbors into the process, asking them about their yards, sharing suggestions, and probably giving some yourself (if we all used the same grass seed and aerated at the same time, wouldn't the yards look great?).

Then you are done. You may stop spending so much time in the yard, opting instead to just keep the grass reasonably short. There is no more furniture to buy, no more painting to do. There is a strong possibility that you find you actually use the rooms in your home much less than you anticipated, and rarely go into some of them at all. And who is the new guy that wants you to change your grass seed so the yards match??? He's probably painting the Sistine Chapel in his breakfast nook as well.

But I digress – back to Carol.

Carol's not done with her career. She is still looking for new and better ways to do things, ways to help the students grow, and thinks about what she'd like to be in five years or so. She knows she loves children and wants to continue to teach, and has a few ideas on how to reach millions of children and teachers to help them reach their goals sooner.

Sally and the other two are not bad teachers by any stretch, but they are done. The career has been established as solidly as the house was purchased in the previous note. The students in their charge make reasonable progress, the rooms are decorated as they were in the first year of their careers, and the curriculum changes only when some directive filters down that changes their environment.

Ask yourself this question: are you done?If not, here are some things to consider:

• You will have to continue to work harder than those around you who are done


• Your rewards will be greater and more meaningful to you than rewards for those who are done


• Those around you who are done will see you as a threat to their way of life / existence / way of doing things; and at minimum they will passively work against you

Being done is comfortable, just like eating chocolate. It also makes you mushy, just like eating chocolate. :)