I love stories. They are great for lessons, they are great for analogies, and best of all, they are fun. So, I have opted to start this blog with a story.
A baby camel asks his mum, ‘Why do we have humps?’
Mummy replies, ‘We are desert animals, so they help us store water so we can survive.’
Baby asks, ‘and why do we have long legs and round feet?’
Mummy says, ‘So it is easier for us to walk in the desert.’
Then baby asks, ‘Why do we have these long eye lashes. They are annoying and get in the way.’
Mummy says, ‘They protect our eyes from the sand in the desert.’
Baby says, ‘So, we have humps for storing water in the desert, long legs and round feet for walking in the desert, and long eyelashes to protect us from sand in the desert, right?’
Mummy says, ‘Yes, that’s correct.’
Baby says, ‘But we live in a ZOO!!’
Teachers are specialised passionate professionals. But they are also individuals with very different characteristics, and sometimes they are just in the wrong place. This blog will look at recognising when it is time to leave and what to do when you can’t.
Get out of the zoo
There is no environment that is conflict free. In fact, environments that are ‘conflict free’ are often where the least amount of growth takes place, because while there is conflict under the surface, there isn’t enough openness to generate change and improvement. Don’t mistake conflict for being undervalued.
However, there are environments where your core beliefs are not valued. Or where you need to adapt your core to fit into a broken system. Or worse, an environment in which you are completely drained of love for a profession you initially chose. Those are the kinds of environments that, if possible, you should get away from.
There are some important aspects of moving on that are worth considering. I chose the camel story for various reasons. Sometimes, when looking, we are worried about the ‘grass is always greener on the other side’ and moving on might not be good. You’re a camel. You belong in a desert. Not somewhere with green grass. Find a place that fits you. A place where you can grow, develop, and deliver.
Making the most of the zoo
Sometimes, you can’t leave. Mortgages, healthcare, tenure, pensions, and family obligations keep many teachers firmly in their current ‘zoo.’ What now?
1: Don’t blame your tools. If you are stuck in an environment where you cannot leave, work as well as you can with the tools available to you. Validate your own skills even if the system doesn’t. And keep developing them.
2: Find a mini desert. This could be some extracurricular club, a classroom project with students, or even mentoring a new teacher (at your organization or somewhere else). If you stop using your skills, they weaken. Use what you have and actively look for places where you can use them. This might actually lead to opportunities where you eventually can leave.
3: Reframe your cage. Make the most of your environment. Your students don’t (or shouldn’t) know about your feelings. They still need you to deliver the best you can. Make the most of that and take comfort in that.
Looking forward
Your mental health, and your own satisfaction and purpose remain important aspects of who you are, whether you leave or stay. Set boundaries as much as you can and perhaps start this week with thinking of a boundary to set that will adjust how you feel. In any situation, don’t let your cage define you. Don’t let your cage convince you that you have lost your purpose. Don’t let your cage determine the usefulness or uselessness of your tools. You decide that.
The baby camel might not need its hump in the zoo. But it is a visual reminder of a very special survival strategy unique to it and the eyelashes keep out bugs, debris, and other things. So, as a worst case scenario, your tools might feel useless right now, but they should also act as a reminder that for everyone, there is a specific place where you belong.
