5 Ways to Keep Your Teaching Career Moving Forward

I woke up this morning and realized that "the bar" has been raised for DCPS teachers. My thoughts are running wild. I was distracted by a lot of things lately: contract negotiations...red or green tier...my school did not make it to the AYP again this year in both reading and math (we must be doing something wrong in the past! and we have this school year to make things right)... so we will be in the restructuring status next year and all teachers will be on probationary status... so should I go on red or green because I will be under probation anyway (let's say the new contract gets ratified)?

Is this a good thing that we are now expected to perform like the rest of the 21st century workforce, so that we can get our students ready for the global competition? Am I ready for this? Or am I one of the targets to be terminated at the end of this coming school year? I immediately did a self evaluation...looking back and looking ahead...thank goodness I have prepared myself for the required skills needed of a 21st century teacher. I never thought that during the process of keeping myself informed, involved, and innovative, I have also armed myself and safeguarded my job no matter what is happening around me.

As if giving me an intelligent advice, I saw this article on the homepage immediately when I turned on my computer: 5 Ways to Keep Your Career Moving Forward.

- Keep thinking positive. "When you tell yourself something bad will happen to your job, something bad will probably happen. If you tell yourself that you are marketable and confident and that you will always be working, your words can make this true."

- Keep thinking ahead. "Look for trends and then train yourself in growth areas. Having the right skills at the right time ensures that no matter what is happening around you, you will be needed and employable."

- Keep your resume ready. "Even if you are not looking for work, your resume reminds you of the contributions you make on a regular basis, something you can easily forget when you are immersed in the day-to-day. Whether you are looking for a job, or you already have one, an updated resume is essential for your career."

- Keep cultivating your network. "If you start to network only when you need something, you will have a lot of catching up to do."

- Keep your eyes and ears open. "Rather than thinking, 'It cannot happen,' believe that what you want is possible and is within your reach. Then, make it happen."

Now, I feel better than ever knowing that I am on the right track! A proactive way of dealing with teacher issues: be informed, be involved, be innovative!