The rules of positivity.

As I said in my previous post, I'm not afraid of hard work.  I'm not afraid of putting in a few hours extra work, of going that bit further to try make my life, my colleagues' lives, and the students' lives that bit easier in the long run.  As far as is possible by myself, that is.

This past year, trying to motivate the team I was working in to push things that little bit further was a challenge in itself.  It felt like I was the only one who actively wanted to make things better all round.  I know I make myself sound like some spoilt little school girl who wants to be noticed for her efforts.  But I can assure you, all I want - and all I've ever wanted - is an easy life.

I don't find it unacceptable to be expected to do something differently now and again; to work with others to improve the learning experience of our students.  And because I'm happy and willing to do such things, I expect the team I'm working with to be the same - accepting that things need to change and that we need to work together to change them.

That was the hardest lesson I had to learn this past year.  To avoid judging others by my own standards.  What took me a long time to get my head around was that I can only change things for myself.  I can't make anybody else change how they approach their work or how they communicate with their colleagues.  I can do my utmost to try to achieve this, but at the end of it all I can only try to motivate them to start thinking in new ways.  If they change things, it's because they've come to the decision that they want to change them.  And in my former department, that was never going to happen in my time there.  As an aside, I need to emphasise that I don't believe myself to have all the answers.  I believe that a team of people that communicate effectively and who are willing to go out of their way now and again to help out everyone (as opposed to getting themselves out of a sticky patch) have the answers.  And I wanted (and still want) to be a part of a team like that.

Deciding to leave my job was probably the hardest decision I've made in my career to date.  I was in such a tough place: trying to maintain a positive learning environment for my students; trying to stop bridges burning between myself and my colleagues; trying to uphold what I believe the purpose of education to be.  I started writing applications for any teaching position I thought I was suitable for.  And my confidence in my ability to co-operate, communicate and, at times, teach had been battered so much that I was looking for a sideways move.  Nothing more.  Luckily, I had some supportive colleagues in other departments who could see how frustrated I had become, and had a greater belief in what I can do than I did.

So, initially to try and prove them wrong that I should start looking for a promoted post, I applied for one.  And got the job.  In what is going to be a brand new department in terms of staff.  Just a result of the former members of the department moving on, and unlucky coincidence that they all left at the same time.  Well, not exactly unlucky for me.  I'm in a position now where I can make suggestions and be enthusiastic about trying out different methods in a vain attempt to improve progress in our students.  Some ideas will produce results, others will bite us on the backside.  But I'm more than positive that as a team we will face the challenge together and find our way through the educational forest of doom.

Positivity in education rules.  Until the delectable Mr Gove comes at us with yet another half-baked policy that takes us back to square one, that is.