What a Secondary Lead Teacher at International School of Aruba Wishes They Had Known Before Entering the Education Industry

I'll start with being a principal because that comes to mind sooner. I wish someone had told me before I started that you have to be very thoughtful about what you focus on. Your ability to affect change is limited due to innumerable factors outside your control.

In my first school, I had 500 or 550 kids, a huge amount for me. I also had 50 teachers. There were so many variables that for me to affect change required moving a whole bunch of people at all different levels. I think I was sometimes focused on too many things, or the wrong things.

Being clear on what is within your locus of control, what you can change, and the few high-leverage things you're going to push for would have really helped me. I needed to be okay with other things not working. My early struggles as a principal were because I was trying to fix too many specific things and was spread too thin. Though we made awesome progress in many areas, my energy wasn't always used as wisely as possible.

For being a teacher, I'll repeat advice I received. One thing I really internalized early on is that if something isn't working, it's probably your fault. This doesn't mean teachers are responsible for everything, but as a teacher, you have a high level of control in your classroom.

If kids are bored, misbehaving, not learning, or behind, or no one is doing homework, you have control and can fix it. It frustrates me when teachers say kids just don't want to learn. Motivate them, get them invested. I've had kids in my room who would step up, do well, get their work done, and be engaged, while other teachers complained about them at lunch. Having a high level of ownership over my classroom has been powerful.

This is a little sad, but I'll be honest: teaching is severely undervalued in our society. If we valued teaching, we would pay teachers what lawyers, doctors, and people in finance earn. You will operate within a culture where you are always undervalued. You have to find your own sources of validation and be comfortable with the financial remuneration you'll receive, knowing it will be low and probably won't change.

I love teaching, and I've taught for eight years. I've had to be okay with taking less pay, not being recognized for my work, and knowing this is work that is often unnoticed. You really have to be okay with that.