a leap of faith

A couple of my students were looking at graphics on tumblr or some other site like that one day and they read one out loud.  "I don't care if Monday's blue. Tuesday's great and Wednesday too. Thursday I don't care about you. It's Friday I'm in love."

"I don't get it," one of them said to the other.  "Is it supposed to be a rhyme or something?"

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Made me think a little bit about the time a boy asked me how to make a cheetah.  Yes, how to make a cheetah.  That's gonna have to be a story for another day though.

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Years ago when I was working in another school, even another county I was offered the chance to go to New Jersey for a couple of weeks to participate in a corporate training for an advanced decision-making program.  The model is called Kepner-Tregoe and I took the class and learned a lot of useful strategies for problem solving and decision making.

It was a little intimidating being the only teacher in a room full of corporate big wigs but my principal assured me that this workshop and resulting certification equaled job security for me as a high school business teacher.  It was scary to figure out what to pack since I knew most would be in suits and I wear khakis and casual tops to school most days.

It was even more intimidating to be in a state that's miles and miles (500 to be more specific) away from home for two weeks without a car or a friend.  Therefore, I asked my mom to come with me. 

We enjoyed those two weeks together.  I would go to class during the day and Mom would work in the room or read by the pool.  At night and on the two weekends we would explore the town and one time we ventured into NYC.

It was good quality time with my mom.  It was a good learning experience for me professionally.  I don't know that it had any lasting impact on my job security or on my teaching career, but I do know this: I occasionally come back to the principles I learned in that course when I need to make a tough decision and it usually helps.

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Still, sometimes trying to make a decision can be a lot like that game on those front porches at the beach where you swing the ring that's dangling from a string and try to get it to catch on the hook fastened to the porch column.  You swing and you swing and sometimes it bumps against the hook but doesn't catch on.

Sometimes you swing too fast or too hard and it doesn't come close and the ring comes flying back at you so hard you have to duck.

And then sometimes you swing it with just the right amount of effort and aim and lo and behold it connects and catches on the hook.

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I loved my job last year.  I loved the school, the staff, and the students.  I especially loved being able to teach high school and middle school again.  I didn't love the scheduling and other logistics that came from working in one county while my kids attended school in another county.

Last month I interviewed and was recommended for two new teaching positions, both within the county that we reside and with the school system in which my children go to school.  It was a really tough decision to make between the three schools that I could chose to teach at next school year.  To continue my silly analogy let's just say I kept swinging the ring over the course of several different days.  In the end, I just went with my gut and made a choice.  I will be switching to a new school for 2013-2014.

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Change can be really difficult.  No one can tell me if this will be the best choice for me.  Only time will tell and I am pretty nervous.  Friends, please pray for my family and I as we navigate all of the twists and turns that this change will bring to our lives.

source

The bottom line is that sometimes we just don't get it.  I hope this time I did.

Have any of you had to make a tough decision lately?  How did you handle it?

Do you like your job? What are the ups and downs of where you work?

Do you like change?