TL;DR:
- 10 tips to finding your people in education, including doing what is best for students, taking risks, being positive, planning and following through, and respecting others’ ideas.
- Having the support of colleagues can help encourage you to take more risks.
The absolute last thing that someone wants is be involuntarily moved to a new grade level.
Trust me, I know.
I had finished up my fourth year teaching Kindergarten, and I got the dreaded phone call in mid-June that my position was being eliminated, and I would have to move to third grade. AHHHH! I panicked.
Cue downward spiral and obsessive resource searching!
About two weeks later, one of our second grade teachers took a job closer to her home, and I decided to jump at the opportunity to take that job. I had done my student teaching in second grade, so I figured I knew at least a LITTLE bit about it. The only problem? I was going to be teamed with two educators who I knew nothing about and seemed to have both life and their classrooms figured out. How could I possibly contribute anything of value to a team that seemed in a good flow?
Once you find your people, hang on to them. Your people will be the reason you keep going on your worst day, your sounding board, the ones to call you out. They will make you better every single day. Click To TweetFinding Your People: Year One
I was the newbie and I was just trying to stay afloat. I took resources from both of them, contributed when I could, and eventually found a groove. That first year was a learning experience for sure. On a positive note, I knew the kids since I had had some of them in kindergarten. My favorite way to describe year one is as “the lost year.”
Then, something amazing happened: The Grid Method. Our curriculum director brought in an end-of-the-year professional development, and it changed everything.
Finding Your People: Year Two
One of our teammates had been moved to third grade, and now there were two.
We decided, as a team, to dive into The Grid Method. We were the only primary team in our district to do so. Scary! We planned, executed, failed, modified, and tried again, all year long. Everyone was skeptical, including parents, teachers, and administrators, and being the “crazy” second grade teachers to flip the norm and teach from a mastery based mindset was accepted with caution. The proof was in the pudding, and our students showed unbelievable growth with each grid.
Members of the Teach Better Team visited our classrooms and praised us for being a prime example of how this method could work in the primary grades. Before we knew it, we were being connected with primary educators from all over to talk about how it was working for us. We were invited to present at another school during a PD day, and we submitted a proposal for the Teach Better Conference 2019.
It was a whirlwind year. Parents, teachers, and our administrators began to believe in the system—and in us. Our proposal to speak at the Teach Better Conference was selected, and we were on cloud nine!
Finding Your People: Year Three
The group of students we were getting had been talked about since they entered Kindergarten. We wondered if using the grid would work for them. Very early on, we learned that we needed to modify our grids to meet their needs, as they were vastly different group of students from the previous year.
I was blown away once again. These students were responding tremendously to the grid. Motivated. Hard working. Excited. Committed. They bought in and did the work.
My teammate and I presented all about how The Grid Method could work in a primary classroom at the Teach Better Conference. Talk about an experience! That conference gave us even more crazy things to try, from Teaching Like a Pirate, to adding more technology into our classrooms every day.
We came back, ready to work. Then, after a few months of teaching and learning, the pandemic hit.
The shift to online learning was easy. You heard me. Easy. Not because all of the students had internet at home, because they didn’t. Not because we sent home endless packets of paperwork and did nothing along the way, because we didn’t. The Grid Method and the incorporation of tech tools like Google Classroom, Flipgrid, Nearpod, and more, made the switch easy.
How was all of this possible?
From year one to year three of teaching second grade, a huge shift occurred. I went from barely hanging on and stealing resources to contributing every day and trying new things without fear.
So how was this possible? A few things over the course of time contributed to my new found excitement and interest in teaching. Of course, finding The Grid Method was a big help. It completely transformed my classroom. You can read more about how the grid can work in a primary classroom here. I also became more comfortable with the standards and curriculum that our district provided. While learning more about my grade level and using mastery based learning in my classroom helped, something mattered much more.
I had found my person!
From the Grey’s Anatomy relationship of Meredith and Cristina, I learned the value of finding your person in the workplace. I had found mine teaching second grade.
My teammate, Maggie, was just the person I was looking for. As an educator, she complimented me in ways that nobody else had. Had I enjoyed working with my other colleagues? OF COURSE! But with Maggie, something clicked. I had found a teammate who was excited to try new things, break the status quo, and apologize after the fact. She brought me out of my shell and lured me into her world of “crazy” ideas and teaching methods.
Maggie and I have taken every step of our Teach Better journey together. From Grid Method training, creating and implementing grids, providing PD for others, and speaking with educators across the country, to presenting at the Teach Better Conference, becoming guest bloggers, and most recently, being selected as Teach Better Ambassadors, we did it all together. From the start, we have walked alongside one another. She has been my safety net, and I, hers. Celebrations, failures, the good and the bad—we have experienced it together.
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The Dream Team
It is so difficult to find people who make you better. I consider myself lucky to have found a teammate who roots for me every single day. I, and a few others, call us the dream team because of our ability to work together. Our administrators comment on how we complement one another, and the lack of drama coming from our team.
Why are we so great at working together? The answer is simple.
We do what is best for kids.
Dressing up in random costumes to introduce a new concept, pouring over grids to get them right, flexible seating, and providing rewards for hard work, to name a few, are things that we agree on when it comes to what is best for kids. We work so hard to provide the best learning experience for our students. Every day, we strive to be better for them.
Steps to Finding YOUR People
It’s simple. Find people who:
- Share similar values as a person.
- Do what is best for kids at all times.
- Are willing to take chances and try new things.
- Will have your back, no matter what.
- Gush positivity.
- Believe in every child.
- Has no interest in creating or fueling drama.
- Plan and follow through.
- Include and respect your ideas and opinions.
- Make you feel comfortable.
Once you find your people, hang on to them. Your people will be the reason you keep going on your worst day, your sounding board, the ones to call you out. They will make you better every single day.
I may be the luckiest girl on the planet to have Maggie in my corner.
Maggie is embarking on a NEW journey this year, teaching 1st grade in another building in our district, but I know that she is still “my person.” While I am sad to not be able to pop next door and share stories or ask random questions, she is just a call away. Our educational journeys will always be linked because of our love of coffee, Harry Potter, trying new things, and doing what is best for kids.
Whether she likes it or not, she’s stuck with me!
Find your people. Hang on tight. Never let go.
ABOUT AMANDA POST
Amanda is a coffee obsessed second grade teacher from southeast Ohio. She enjoys teaching littles and thinking creatively to help her students learn. Amanda thrives on collaboration with peers in order to someday achieve her goal- change the world, one student at a time! Amanda also serves as a Teach Better Ambassador for the Teach Better Team. She couldn’t do what she does without the support of her amazing family and her dog Lily.
