Purpose

Welcoming our new teachers this morning, as I begin year 19 of teaching physics and 13 years in SWEA leadership, humbled me.

When I was hired, principals needed to woo the teacher they wanted. Today, teachers take pay cuts if experienced and first-year teachers face uncertainty. And yet there they were - new South Western teachers. Full of enthusiasm, determination, professional knowledge and, for several, experience.

They will need it. Students today have more access to information and are able to communicate more easily than ever before and yet it seems they struggle, more than ever, to find purpose, relevance, and meaning in the world. How do we, as teachers, balance the external demands with the internal reality of what our students need most. Teachers are not paid for their time but rather for the continuous stream of decisions that must be made every day so that we do what is best, what is just. This decision making is both professional and personal, involving head and heart. There is no way to know what a teacher goes through daily - unless you are a teacher.

And so, I was humbled by those new teachers today. Humbled because teaching was different just 19 years ago. Humbled because America always spoke with reverence about teachers, 19 years ago. Humbled because these dynamic, intelligent professionals had so many choices of careers that would have elevated their status and supported a loftier lifestyle.

I am humbled because they have decided that purpose matters most and damn the rest.