Wealth of Experience

Next year will be my 30th year of teaching, and at 52 years old I've got at least another 13-15 years left before I even consider retiring, God willing.  While I have taught the same content for many years, I committed myself to getting better at teaching every year a long time ago, though I now understand that it's really about getting better at supporting my students, about getting better at creating an environment in which they can learn.  One of my favorite sayings is, "If you want to teach for 30 years, that's fine.  Just don't teach the same year 30 times."  I've said this for a while, and it's strange to me that "30 years" is now going to be a reality.

I have a wealth of experience, and I choose to spend that wealth on continual improvement.  I choose to learn from both the mistakes I've made and from the successes I've had, spending my wealth to become (or at least try to become) the teacher my students deserve.  I could choose to spend my wealth on my own comfort, recycling the same lesson plans and the same assessments year after year, just sort of phoning it in and enjoying the consistency and the reduction in stress.  Instead of focusing on my students and striving to become as good as I can be, I could choose to focus on me and remain as good as I have become.  I know teachers who do this, who use their wealth to purchase this entitlement.  But it's just not who I am.

So, how will you spend your wealth of experience?  Even a couple years of experience gives you a little spending money.  Will you spend your wealth on getting better, or on being comfortable?  Will you spend it on you and your students, or just on yourself?  Like everything, it's a choice.  Spend your money wisely.