Chasing Greatness

Yesterday afternoon, I ran into a teacher that I once worked with at another school. She has long since retired, but we have kept up with one another here and there. She started asking about things at school and I explained about the Read to Succeed law and RTI and PLC. She asked me if I had to go to those things now that I was principal. I was somewhat taken aback by her question. The first reason is surprised me is I hate the phrase “have to”. I love looking at life with the lens of “I get to”.   I don’t have to go to PLC or RTI meetings. I get to go to PLC and RTI. I get to learn right along with our teachers about best practice. I get to listen to the real struggles of helping students learn to read and how to provide small group instruction. I don’t have to go to every RTI meeting, but I want to be there listening to the struggles of our students. I want to hear the problems that some our students and quite frankly teachers are having and help discover ways I can help or listen to ways that others suggest to help the student through his/her struggles. 

The second reason that I was surprised by the question is that I WANT to go to RTI, PLC, IB training, Faculty meetings, and grade level meetings. I want to learn. It took me a while to understand when or how this desire to learn washed over me like a deep Atlantic wave. It certainly wasn’t as an elementary student. I have vivid memories of vomiting out of the back window of my Mom’s Ford Esquire station wagon on the way to school each day. I hated elementary school-partly because I was dyslexic and I could not read and partly because I had some teachers who would, well, let’s just say they would not be “highly qualified.” Once my dyslexia was discovered and my parents got me tons of help, and learning got easier, I didn’t exactly chase after learning either. Teenage stuff (which I will not go into since my teenage boys occasionally read this blog) was far more important than loving learning. While I did well in high school, I didn’t love learning although I did develop a love of reading in high school. My thirst of knowledge in my undergrad degree was more about maintaining grades for my scholarship and trying to get done so I could start my career. It wasn’t really about learning for the love of learning.

Then I started teaching. At first I was learning for survival. Teaching is no joke. It was hard and while my undergrad degree had me really, really prepared, I was so clueless. I learned from every teacher who would give me 5 minutes. I learned from my principal and my assistant principal and our curriculum coordinator. Then I started taking classes for my 1^st masters. I was in love with learning. I started SCRI (SC Reading Initiative) and I could not get enough.  Some 20 years later, I just can’t get enough of learning. I really had resounded that I was just a huge nerd, but I realized while talking with this former teacher yesterday that I love learning, not because I am a huge nerd, but because I want to be great.

My work in our schools is a huge part of my life- while I do manage to have a great family and a few friends- my work is a large part of my life. I want to be satisfied with my life. The only way to truly find satisfaction is to do what is GREAT. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. Do I love being an educator every minute? I don’t have to even pause to answer no to that question. I absolutely don’t love it every single second, but I love something about it every single day. And I will not settle until I am GREAT at what I do. I want to be great not because I want recognition or awards, I want to be great because our kids deserve me to be great.

So I chase greatness. How do I do that? I learn. I never stop learning. My husband says I am the only person who will argue with a book while reading. Most people read books to fall asleep. I start reading a book at night and find myself at 3am finishing it….I read blogs. I listen to others. I just can’t get enough. I will never be satisfied until I am done searching for greatness-which I feel will never be attainable.  IT is my greatest desire to work in a building with others who all feel the same way. Are you chasing greatness?