A Farewell to K-12: Advice from My Experience as an Educator

In June 2005, I delivered a graduation speech to my high school class that was a riff off of an infamous ‘graduation speech’ known as the Sunscreen Speech. At the time, I was more interested in leaving that place as quickly as possible than sharing any heart-felt wisdom. Now, as I take my leave from 12 years in the K-12 sector, it feels poetic to re-write this speech with my own life lessons and share it as a farewell at the end of my last year working in the K-12 system. I hope you enjoy it.
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Folks surviving the 2021-2022 school year:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own experience as a human and educator. I will offer this advice now.

Young teachers - enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Although odds are that you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until you’re much older and your slang is outdated. But trust me, in 12 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how your hope, energy, and enthusiasm is such an incredible asset to the field of education.

Don't stress too much about having a solid plan for the future. This does not mean that you don’t plan, but pause when you have something about 80% of the way worked out. I’ve found that the last 20% of your plan comes quickly once the moment to enact your plan has arrived. It also leaves you open enough for any unanticipated adventures that come your way.

Teachers - try new instructional strategies that interest and scare you. It can feel very risky to plan a lesson that fails epically, but you will learn more from that one lesson than years of always playing it safe.

Sing. In your classroom. In the hallways.

Know the difference between control and structure and what it looks like in your classroom, school, and team. The only person you have any right or power to control is yourself. However, structure is about support, is always open to conversation, and thrives on meaningful partnership with stakeholders. For teachers, this means you should always see your students as partners in your learning environment.

Smile. Especially during the first week of school.

Every single person you meet has a unique strength and perspective that is brilliant and valuable. Take the time to learn about each person you meet and find ways to cultivate and enhance that brilliance. It’s more fun and rewarding than seeking areas for improvement.

Remember the colleagues and students who inspired you and fill you with joy. Forget those that hurt you and brought you pain. If you succeed in doing this, let me know how you did it.

Keep your old notes, cards, and pictures from students. Throw away your old performance reviews.

Laugh often. Laugh more often if your laugh is contagious.

Don't feel guilty about the things you don’t get done. There is an infinite amount of work that is impossible to complete, especially in education. Make connecting with loved ones, hobbies, and self care just as much of a priority on your to do list for work. Don’t focus so much on productivity that you forget to live your life. Your task list will always be there.

Get plenty of sleep. It makes you more kind. You never know when someone will need the sunshine you can bring to a space.

Maybe you'll stay in the classroom for 30 years, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll stay in education, maybe you won't. The circumstances of whether or not you experience burnout is never an indication of your value, resilience, or competence. In an ever-changing landscape, we are all given different challenges during our time in education, many due to chance. Whether we are given challenges that allow us to remain whole and stay in the field are largely out of our control. Don’t judge yourself or others for the way their journey is unfolding.

Compassion and generosity are important not because they benefit other people, but because it makes you a happier, kinder person.

Diversity is essential to tackle the most challenging problems. This includes diversity in identity, perspective, strengths, struggles, and approaches. We all benefit when our workplace is a safe place to be ourselves.

Always have a dance playlist ready.

Just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean you should do it. Your talent is not an IOU to the world.

Make friends with people different from you. It makes you kinder and smarter.

Stay off social media. Or at least be very intentional about the way you use it. In an economy where your attention is money, be hesitant to let the companies stealing your time also profit from your pain. 

Personal development is anything but selfish. Those who do the best job supporting others know who they are down to their core. People and circumstances will come and go, but at the end of the day, you have to live with yourself. 

Get to know your students’ parents. They can be incredible partners. However, take the time to partner with your students and be transparent with them. You’d be surprised by how many times they have the best solution to support themselves.

Perfectionism is a self-destructive mindset. Learn to embrace all parts of yourself, especially your faults. It makes you more human and gives others permission to be authentic. Spaces where people can feel safe being authentic are priceless.

Live in the same city that you teach, but leave before it changes you in ways you don’t want. Teach in the neighborhood you live, but leave before it makes you jaded.

Never underestimate the power of emotions. They are essential to understanding our experiences as humans. Taking the time to build emotional literacy is a lifelong investment, but so incredibly worth it.

Respect boundaries, including those set by yourself. Revisit them periodically as your life changes.

Make decisions grounded in your values and goals. When in doubt, choose the option that maintains expectations for folks without sacrificing their humanity.

Love with a wide-open heart. The more love you give, the more love there is around you.

Be careful whose advice you take, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. Know by listening you are giving that person an incredible gift of making something old, new and valuable but it does not mean you have to take it all to heart. Times change and your new world may not call for the same wisdom.

But definitely trust me on the sunscreen.

​Original Source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/chi-schmich-sunscreen-column-column.html