A Very Windy Road Ahead...Right?

Good morning, blog world!

Yesterday's meeting was quite a whirlwind. We spent 5 hours discussing new education legislation that was passed last week. It was amazing to see the raw emotion expressed by my fellow educators. Some of this new legislation is very drastic in the changes that will be forthcoming. There were many looks of disbelief and, in some, panic.

As I sat in that meeting my thoughts were constantly going back to my school system. I realized just how far ahead of the game my school system is in comparison to the rest of the state. I know NO school system in our state that has teachers that work as hard as ours do. There is no school system that has the success rate that ours does. Our teachers consistently have one focus in mind...the success of our children. We work before school, after school, on weekends, on vacations, etc. It is not rare to find a number of teachers at the schools on a Sunday afternoon.

Today I find myself preparing to write a letter to the entire school system to discuss this new legislation and what changes are coming their way. (Why me? I am the president of our school system's teachers' union.) I have to be the one who will reassure our faculty and staff that we will be just fine...there is NOTHING to worry about. I must assure our teachers that this new legislation will be minimally obtrusive, simply because we are already doing what is now being required in law.

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Why did I tell you all that? I am just airing out my thoughts. That what this blog is for, right?

In truth, I have been amazed at the path my life has taken in recent years. I surely could never have imagined all that I am involved with at this point.

I never expected to be involved in so many different organizations that require me to work with legislators, lobbyists, and governors. I didn't expect to be part of advisory councils that govern and oversee state education programs. I never would have guessed that I would be the president of a local teachers' union, and that I would become "the face" in our system. I am the one that the teachers turn to when they have questions, concerns, issues, etc. I am rebuilding relationships with the school board, the director of schools, and our union. I have been given the task to reunite us as one team. It has been an adventure.

I am not saying all this to boast or to feed my ego. Those who know me, personally, know will probably tell you that I put everyone else before myself. I am always the last person in my list of priorities.  I am simply amazed by the path I have been given.

After our state meeting yesterday, one of the state directors posed a very interesting question to me. She asked if I would be interested in running for the office of President-Elect for the state union. WHAT? That was my initial reaction. My hands shake just thinking about that. Why me? True, I have thought that someday I would like to be president of the state union. I could see myself in that role later in my life...but, in three years from now?

The president-elect is just another name for the vice president of the union. The president-elect is basically the one who will spend three years at the side of the president. Those three years would be spent training to ascend to the role of president at the end of those three years.

I have decided to pray about it and to also talk to a number of people across the state. I need more information and will have to spend some time weighing the pros and cons.

If I did decide to run for the office, and I was elected, I would have to remain as an educator. This job I have been seeking for the past few months would have to be turned down if offered. That is something I would need to consider first. Do I want to give up that possibility? If I do remain in the school, do I really want to remain at the middle school I am at now given the amount of stress I have with being there? Would I decide to transfer to one of the elementary schools in our system? How will this affect my life?

I will say this as just a final thought. Being the president-elect means requires a huge time commitment over the next three years. There will be a considerable amount of travel in our state and in our nation. I would be asking the teachers in my state to put their trust and confidence in me...all these people who don't even know me, yet.

What will be my decision? Where will this windy road ahead of me lead? What is His plan for me?

It is said that God only gives us what He knows we can handle in this life. My thought is simply WHAT DOES HE THINK OF ME?

Okay, enough of this little rant. Just wanted to share this new little twist in life. I am off to the school this afternoon to get some lesson plans done. We are out of school tomorrow for Martin Luther King Day. I plan on spending several hours tomorrow hiking in the Appalachians, so I need to get the school work done today.

Hope everyone is doing well. Hope to hear from or talk to some of you soon.

Take care,

- JC