Second-Career Teachers

Answers by Heather Wolpert-Gawron

1. What did you do before becoming a teacher?

Just before I became a teacher, I was working in the publicity department at CBS, shuttling off tapes to the press, making clip reels for entertainment shows, and the like. Before that I was an assistant to some producers and a production assistant at Disney. I was at the bottom of a very specific ladder that called to many people, but it just never really called to me.

When I left college in ’93, the last thing I ever wanted was to do was return to school. In high school, I was an easy B student with some As and Cs peppered in there occasionally. I graduated college with a major in English for lack of any other bright ideas. I wasn’t lazy; I just had been bitten yet.

A friend of mine in my college a capella group (picture a glee club but with no cool costumes) had been in the teaching program, and she had spent her years far busier and more focused than I ever thought I could be. She made her lists that she crossed off diligently, and her organizer was dog-eared and covered with post-its. I always shook my head in awe of her precision.

I was never like that; yet so many of my teachers were. So it’s no wonder that it never occurred to me that teaching was in my future. I didn’t recognize that there were teachers out there who were anything but linguistic, organized, and precise.

What is clear to me now is that while I wasn’t any of those things for many reasons, the most important reason was that I just hadn’t found my calling yet. (Having found it, I’m still not very organized. But I like to say that my desk reflects my brain).

Then in my twenties, one thing became clear to me: I wasn’t content being merely content. I became antsy in my lack of passion.

I hate it when people look at their flaws, shrug, and say “that’s just how I am” or “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” or some such nonsense.  It’s just that they don’t want to change.  They haven’t been bitten.  But I believe deeply that if you haven’t been bitten by something, it’s that you haven’t looked hard enough or cast your nets possibility wide enough. In my case, since I wasn’t so into school as a student, it never occurred to me to look to school for a profession.  It took my own maturity to find it.

2. What made you decide it was time for a change?

I wasn’t happy. You can’t be happy while you’re stagnant. My dad was a game show producer so I grew up on sets with flashing lights and buzzers, and we played a lot of hard-core, speed-round Trivial Pursuit. Competing ran in my family, as well as the adrenalin that went along with it.

Dad became a screenwriter in his 50s (again, the appearance of this theme, “change can always happen if you work with change in mind”). When I graduated and I was mulling over my own future, I looked to our network of friends and family for inspiration.

Now, don’t get all “See? Hollywood IS about nepotism! I KNEW it!” Frankly, so’s selling shoes.

Let’s face it, parents try to help kids anyway that they can. My dad introduced me to those who would be my first employers, but I made the first impression. From there, I got my own jobs. I wasn’t sure which direction in entertainment I wanted to pursue, but I had a vague interest in creative writing and had won an award in college, so I figured maybe I should work in production and learn about screenplays and TV-scripts and the like. I got a job as a Production Assistant ready to climb that ladder, but…I stunk at the job.

I remember flooding Bette Midler’s offices one day. I kid you not. I had to do my bosses’ dishes, but I needed to pick up the dry cleaning by a certain time, and our office’s dishwasher was down. So I called over to her assistant and asked if I could use theirs. I heard her eye roll over the phone, but she sighed and relented. I don’t know, maybe I put in dishwashing soap from a squeeze bottle, but I got a call a few minutes later from this poor, scared, freaked out assistant screaming to get down here. When I walked in, it was like an episode on some bad sit-com: bubbles waist high, filling the room. Many of my days were like that. As I said, I really stunk at the job.

And it wasn’t that I didn’t WANT to do well, and I totally understood the concept of paying your dues. I expected to. But I just didn’t seem very interested in the light at the end of the tunnel. It just didn’t call to me.

3. How did you decide that teaching was the “right” profession for you?

As I said, I found that I wasn’t satisfied just paying the bills. I wasn’t driven in my work, but I soon became driven to find out what would give me drive. I found that I really needed to love what I did, because clearly I wasn’t good at what didn’t make me happy. So I sat down and in the spirit of my ole’ college buddy, made lists.

I made three lists. I made a list of what I liked to talk about, a list of what I thought I was good at, and a list of what I liked to wear. So began my quest to find something that made me happy, that allowed me to spend my day talking about things that stimulated my brain and made me smile. Something that allowed me to bring my abilities to the table and appreciate what I had to contribute. Something that allowed me to dress myself in ways that I felt the most comfortable. Don’t laugh.  I knew, after all, that I wasn’t a nylons kind of gal, and if my overarching goal was to be happy, why not shoot for my ideal?

The mythical arrow pointed to teaching. You could have knocked me over with a feather. In teaching, I could talk, laugh, draw, write, read, and most importantly, continue to learn. With eternal learning comes eternal growth, and that sounded pretty darn great to me. I could wear skirts with sweaters, or jeans with blazers. Heaven. I could talk Shakespeare and sports, movies and books, history and current events. And with any luck, I’d be amusing enough as a guide that I’d spend my day with the soundtrack of students’ laughter egging me on.

I called up a local ed prep program and jumped on the road. The first class I took was a Teaching Reading in the Secondary Classroom overview. I was hooked. I completely geeked out on the strategies, the activities, and the people. I was enveloped by the cause and by the importance of teaching. I was swept away by the indignation of the passionate members of the class, of their debate about linguistic vs. non-linguistic, the importance of multiple-intelligences, and the misinformation that there once a system that worked properly.

Here was a war I wanted to participate in. It wasn’t a war between us (the teachers) and them (the students). It was a war between those who were fine with the status quo and those who weren’t content with the underside of mediocre.

It reminded me of my own journey, of not being happy with just living. These teachers were dedicated to building up this profession and their students beyond what the past dictated it should be. They weren’t happy with the bell curve; that is, nobody in that room was satisfied that some kids were meant to succeed while other were an acceptable loss. All I knew is that whatever side these people were on, I wanted in.

4. What does it take to become a teacher when you have been out of school for sometime? Was it hard to balance schooling with other responsibilities?

When I first learned that I needed to be teaching, I was working at CBS full time. First, I started taking evening classes. Then, I got a part-time job as a nanny and tutor for an NBA star’s kid while still working part-time at CBS. So I had two part-time jobs while attending classes at night. Clearly, this was before online, distance learning opportunities were readily available. Sigh. Things would be so different now.

I finally got a full-time job at a progressive private school (The Willows Community School in Culver City, CA), which allowed me to be un-credentialed, but still get experience in the classroom. It was perfect. I received a rich education in multiple-intelligences, project-based learning, writers’ workshop, and 21^st Century skills. The teachers had created a collaborative community helmed by a great principal who knew every student’s name. They could afford frequent and innovative professional development, and encouraged learning in their teachers….It was a great place to learn the latest techniques with the most up-to-date tools. I will always be grateful to this school for allowing me such a teaching academy early in my career. When I got my credential, I took the knowledge that I learned under these nirvana-like circumstances and made the leap to public schools.

What advantages were there to becoming a teacher after having already experienced another profession? Were there any drawbacks?

I was cynical about wasted time. Who can afford it? But I also knew more, and didn’t go into things all wide-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Naiveté can be a plus: you jump in without thought of the rocky crags below. On the other hand, I’m glad I’m not new to the workforce thinking that my youth and enthusiasm is just what this profession needs to pull this country out of the educational trouble it’s in.

It helps, don’t get me wrong, to have boundless energy. It’s a job that needs a good dose of it. I remember the days when I had the limitless time (pre-marriage, pre-children) to stay late and come early, the ability to give the kids my phone number (as I did early on), and the extra funds to pay out of my own pocket for supplies. My previous experience helped me see that it’s really the knowledge and commitment to teaching and the commitment to support those teachers that will help this country.

Another advantage I had based on my experience at CBS is my ability to harness the power of the press. I always tell teachers that I mentor that they should learn about how publicity works. The reputation of our profession is currently in the hands of YouTube, and we, as teachers, should be going out of our way to scream our victories from the mountaintops. We have to let the world know of the great stuff that is happening in our schools.

Because I had actually loved teaching right from the start, it was easier to function in many ways compared to my other jobs. But because I really bit into it and chewed and chewed I found myself taking more on than ever before. I just learned from everything, and I found myself wanting to experience as much as possible!

There were, however, some disadvantages. It was hard going back to school with a certain level of knowledge of life under my belt, and I ended up with an ornery intolerance for subjective hoop-jumping. Education credential programs must move beyond the “hoop” category. Unfortunately, if you talk to many teachers, they are resigned to the fact that the ineffectiveness of education programs is a large part of paying your dues as a teacher.

It was also hard because past practice made it difficult for me to understand certain hoops that existed. For instance, I find myself confused by both tenure, and the lack of ability to earn more than teachers who don’t work as hard as I do. How can tenure, and the protection it affords, be given to just about any teacher without a tie to the highest of teacher quality? Tenure should be a precious thing, not afforded to just any teacher who makes the two-year cut. And why don’t I have a chance to work more and earn more? I still don’t get it, and I’m sure that comes from my family background as well as my professional background. There should be a value in being dedicated to improvement and the commitment to the students. The system is not set up to reward those who see needs beyond our contract. And it’s a profession where the desire to be rewarded is frowned upon.

I went from an industry of selfishness to one that has the expectation of self-sacrifice. Both philosophies have some level of repugnancy to me. One demands that we are all entitled to the most, while the other insists that we should be happy with the least.

Anyway, once I received my credential, I was able to seek out like-minded folk who wanted to collaborate and talk content and pull apart what didn’t work in education, seeking to rebuild it from our own classrooms on up.

6. What expertise and/or experiences do you use from your previous work in your teaching career?

I’ve been working throughout my life and each job I had has contributed in some way to my being a teacher now. Second career teachers should be tapping into their prior skills. Even just sharing their past can be a tool in the classroom.

At two years old I was a child-model for The Price is Right (my dad produced the show for awhile), and I now insert that factanoid in my “Find a Fib” activity to build community at the start of each new year.

Years later, I was a Production Assistant, running errands, and doing the schlop work for next to nothing. I learned that being at the bottom of a ladder does not give you license to slack off. It’s all about paying your dues.

I worked retail during my high school years and learned I never want to work retail during my adult years. It did, however, give me an appreciation for having more control over how I spend the hours of my day. I also learned how to set up displays. And, strangely enough, even this helps in the classroom, pitching realia in my classroom library.

When I worked in the publicity department at CBS, I was editing tapes and writing up cover letters for the press. With editing, you learn a lot about narrative and pacing, a skill that has a direct correlation to narrative writing. And cover letters help you develop a persuasive voice.

But the biggest lessons you learn are less tangible then all of this. The most important philosophy that I inherited from my prior positions is the deep knowledge that you should be paid for what you do and the quality of how you do it. You should work to get better at your job and evolve with an evolving profession. In return, those who work professionally deserve a professional level of pay.

7. How did veteran teachers react to you when first started teaching?

When I first started teaching, I was in a very collaborative atmosphere in a progressive private school whose mission it was to create a place teachers could make a difference and in which they would want to stay. But when I jumped to public school, I worked in a very downtrodden district, and it was a very different situation. Everyone was welcoming, but they were all clearly in survival mode. The doors were closed in more ways than one. It’s not that people didn’t want to help each other, it’s that we were all walking around with the panic of realization that there weren’t enough lifeboats on the ship. No textbooks, police tape in the kindergarten yard, broken windows, and a fluctuating population of students that allowed for no follow-through. I just remember having a conversation with another teacher where we agreed that at times the school year felt like it was about just keeping the kids safe during our shift. And while we would keep trying for more, we agreed that we couldn’t take the sadness home with us. An impossibility to be sure.

Brief note: I have since heard from many of the students from this first public school class. Many of them remember their year with me to this day. Their emails, Facebook friend requests, and occasional letters claim that they remember me as someone who pushed them, someone who cared about them, and someone who advocated for them. A parent from that class, tears in her eyes, even thanked me for expecting the most from the class, for treating them like the “regular” kids, because so many of their past teachers figured they could do no more then just show up.

8. What advice would you give to people who are thinking about changing careers to begin teaching?

I’ve blogged about this many times in the past because I think that if you find a passion for teaching, your next obligation is to mentor other new teachers.

To those who are thinking of changing careers, just remember these three things and think them through carefully:

• Summers off is a myth, as is getting out at 3:00.
• A good teacher not only knows their content, but also is a gifted communicator of that content. You must be willing to communicate in many different ways, not just the way that makes the most sense to you.
• You are never done learning how to teach. The profession evolves, and if you want to teach the kids in those chairs every year, you’ve got to evolve your strategies. That takes a willingness and acceptance that you will never be done being a student yourself.

But don’t let me dissuade you. If you are called to teach, there’s nothing I can say that will stop you. Just remember to take it seriously. It’s going to be the most important job that you’ve ever done. Students will know if it doesn’t mean a lot to you, and if they don’t mean a lot to you.

Teaching’s a blast. Truly, it’s fun, but I spend my day making more decisions then I ever felt possible. And it doesn’t stop until your day is over. Thinking hard and staying on your toes is a part of the job description. I spend my day elated and frustrated. Even still, I spend my day laughing and crying.

But when you find the school you love, the subject you love, and the staff you love, there’s nothing like it. You find yourself battling alongside some really amazing people who may be different than you, but who are all fighting on the same side for the same cause…student achievement.

9. What advice would you give to new teachers in general?

1. Start a classroom library as soon as you can (it doesn’t matter if you don’t teach ELA).
2. Learn about how the press works and get your victories out there.
3. Don’t work for free, it’s unprofessional. Sure, you have to pay your dues and show a school/administrator what you can do, but then let them know you’re not doing it again without receiving something for your effort.
4. Collaborate. Find staff members to learn from.
5. Learn from your students.
6. Learn a little about how the brain develops and how best to teach to your grade level’s brain (see Judy Willis).
7. Integrate technology because the writing is on the wall, and it is unavoidable. Using technology is their future, so you must also make it yours.
8. Find professional development that helps you to grow in the profession. You will never be finished learning how to teach better.
9. Take care of yourself. For me, it’s gardening and the occasional session of World of Warcraft (a video game) with my husband. Whatever it is that you love, steal time for you.

About Heather Wolpert-Gawron

By day, Heather Wolpert-Gawron is an award-winning middle school teacher in San Gabriel, CA. By night, she becomes Tweenteacher, a blogger of education policy and curriculum design. A regional California Teacher of the Year and the recent recipient of the San Gabriel Valley CUE (computer using educator) Outstanding Teacher of the Year award, Wolpert-Gawron is also a member of the Teacher Leaders Network and a staff blogger for The George Lucas Foundation's Edutopia.org. She also frequently writes for Imagine Magazine, a periodal written for gifted middle schoolers published by Johns Hopkins University. Her passionate musings about the educational world can be read at www.tweenteacher.com.