Outside the sun is having a great time and I am suffering of sun allergy but…I am still smiling. Yes, there are those days that even bumpy and achy skin can not get me out of my good mood. Surely it helps that school is out and that the next two months my alarm will not tell me to snap out of sleep modus in order to educate children. So it is that time to look one final time over my shoulder before diving into my huge stack of summer reading that I carefully have been putting together.
School years are in a way very predictable they kind of follow the paste of the four seasons. September is like detox in disguise and by October you know that it is useless to fight back and that it will tire you out. In November you run to the pharmacy for a vitamin booster to make sure you make it into festive and hopeful December. January is full of good intentions that then in February seem to have been made up for the sake of nobody. March your body and mind might hit rock and bottom. April brings chocolate eggs into the mix and when May is on the calendar you suddenly are aware that your year planning might have been a bit too ambitious but the sun is out and the birds are back. And then there is JUNE that one month were all the other nine+two months are blending together into a intoxicating and addictive summer cocktail. Yes, I love my professional calendar but it comes along with very fierce and strong emotions that I sometimes still can not rein in.
Yes, it has been a very emotional rollercoaster ride the last school year and I can not deny that there are still certain sensations that will make me doubt if I did the ‘right’ thing and made the correct choices professional. In education there are not that many guarantees and that is something that especially people next to the sideline seem not think of when then vent their very outspoken opinion about what they think in a school should do for their children. Yes, I have read a lot about education over the last 10 months and no I not always have agreed with people have been tweeting or have been yelling on Facebook. Most of you DO NOT HAVE A CLUE. Sorry, to break the news to you but as long as you have not been within a room filled up with all unique young minds with aspirations, hopes, hidden talents, outspoken opinions, mood swings, never-ending energy, self doubt, fierce emotions and an ‘secret agenda’ of their own you do not know what it like out there. But that is okay…I am the one who signed up for this job.
This year I found out that it will be a never-ending educational adventure with destination unknown. The school year might be emotional predictable but all the rest is beyond my control. Therefor it is no wonder that there are still many educators who one day might wake up and have to show the white flag. If the circumstances in which you have to perform and have to give your best for all involved then some of us will run out of energy. If this has happened to you know that it is perhaps the longest battle you will have to fight. And even then there will be people who will question you why you suddenly have given up. But what if there is no sufficient answer to give to the people why you had the walk out of your classroom. Taking care of your self is after all perhaps the one thing that many of us consider rather easy but in reality it takes a lot of hard work.
I have been in so many fascinating places this year with or without anyone else. There have been those times that I was sure that I had figured it out and that I knew what changes to make to a lesson in order to make it better accessible for all the ones that I have under my educational wings. There were the days that it all fell in place and that it just made sense what we were doing together and that it felt like real teamwork. Yes, that is where I got my energy from and fueled up for all those moments that you were about to bin a lesson plan or even think that you have chosen the wrong profession.
In my educational hotspot I have found out that nothing will remain the same and that you will be ready to deal with so many unforeseen circumstances. And if you then not have people around you to support you then it all becomes a bit harder. We need each other in order to be better teachers. Those who assume that once you close the door of classroom we forget all those others that are involved but believe me we don’t. We take so many along on our educational voyage and the responsibility and stress that comes along with it most of us experience it. Oh yes, there are those teachers who seem to wear a hero cap and seem to be immune to it but believe me we are only human and once in a while we need a break and a shoulder to rest on.
I am a bit tempted to compare working in education to being a F16 pilot. Those pilots I have a very outspoken respect for and no that is not only due to Tom Cruise. These men seem to be cool once they get into their million dollar worth aircraft filled up with technology and weaponry but something essential happens when they are up in the sky on a mission. These pro have survived hard training and are willing to dive into very dangerous situations and even tough they have gone over a plan a thousand times they are fully aware that in a split second everything can change. When the slip into their seat they feel at home and they become one with the aircraft they have been granted control over.
Once they are high up in the sky they go into a very focused state of mind and even tough they get to fly over the wonders of the world they are still fully aware of their mission. They are not just flying over for the sake of flying…there is always a mission…ALWAYS even when they are in peaceful circumstances. They share their expertise with others and when they leave they will tear up because they leave something behind that has made so much sense that day they signed up for. And even tough they are all by themselves in that small space they are still surrounded by a framework of people who they can rely on. There are so many involved in order to bring a mission to the wished for ending. And then there are the wingmen flying next to them. These are the coworkers that look out for you, who are with you in the hardest times and who you can rely on when you might run out of ideas. See what I mean even these people need a team to make it work….
My last 10 months were again an unique mission and now that I am allowed to get out of my office/classroom for a longer period of time I also have to say goodbye to many great wingmen and wing women. They take a piece with them of me and they leave something behind of their expertise, wisdom, inspiration, drive, joy, passion, critical thinking, creativity, positivity and aim for excellence. Some them are after something else, some of them retired, some move on due to other circumstances and some did get an offer they just could not refuse. You all have your own very justified reasons to move on to greener pastures.
No, I don’t take for granted the opportunities that I am offered when I am working in education. It is where all the worlds collide and and I am finding out more and more that we teachers are the last line of defense. That so many seem to have a certain opinion about teaching, learning and education in general says it all. We are all have been touched by a teacher or two in our lives who made have the difference and not always for the good reasons. That we therefor then wish the very best for all when it comes down to education is so logical. Well, what seem so straightforward on the ground might be less straightforward when you once up on there high in the sky all by yourself.
That we teachers are then always looking out for experts to lead us back into the field and make us better educators is then not always a piece of cake. We also sometimes need to look within ourselves to find that force within us. So that many of us over the next two months will be leading a more carefree existence is for many something to be envious about but the thing is that during the coming 8 weeks are already preparing for the next major mission high in the sky where it all happens.
So I hereby I wish to thank all the wingmen/women who I got to work with over the last years and I had to say goodbye to last week. You will be missed and I wish you the very best in your next chapter. I do envy your future squadron that gets to fly into battle with you because the flights we had along side you were surely unforgettable ones in so many ways. You will still be up there with me in spirit.
And now bring on that first book…hmm what to choose ‘The Monkey-proof box’ (a book about curriculum design) or ‘De Bourgondiërs’ by Bart Van Loo… oh wait I have also that one book by Moriaty that awaits me. Oh and that bottle of prosecco and Saint Germain to prepare a great cocktail is also chilling in the fridge. Summer here we come...
P.S.: The songs I opted for are both lined to the unforgettable school year. The one by Take That we got introduced to by the amazing Y2 students who used it in their year group production, danced on with the whole school on our sportsfield and we wrapped the school year up with it during our last whole primary assembly. The flow of energy that I got experience during that moment was as if their was a force released that you wish to hold on for a very long time. The second on is rather an oldie and did one of our wingmen mentioned during his farewell speech. Yes, I am still having the time of my life when I am high up there in the sky but I do know more than ever that I also need some experienced wingmen/women next to me in order to stay safe, healthy, in good spririts and grounded. And you are always welcome to fly next to me....just bring along some Haribo it work do some magic.
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