As human beings, we become accustomed to routines and daily doings. Whether it is from what we eat in the morning to how we meet and greet people; routines are important. When things in our lives change, it has a ripple effect and often times those ripples effect how we do things. Having a routine keeps is moving, alive, and active.
Just recently, I started a new job at Princeton Public Schools as Supervisor of Social Studies and Global Education. It has been an amazing two weeks so far. I have had the chance to meet so many enthusiastic and phenomenal educators and see the great work they are doing for the students who are in their classes and attend their schools. I have also had the chance to visit with my staff here in my home base and get to know them a little bit more as well (over pizza, which, in my estimation, is the best way to get to know someone).
While the job, the people, and the interactions have all been more than I could have hoped for, one thing has changed, my routines. Changing a routine isn't inherently a bad or good thing. It is just something that needs to happen. Changing a routine isn't like changing the channel. It takes time to ease into a new one and find out which one works for you.
My most pressing routine I need to change is how I get to work and what I listen to. Now this might not seem like a great deal but my car ride is my place to think about my daily events, what I need to do, and how I need to get them done. Usually, I have had time to listen to a podcast or two (Check out the BAM Radio Network for some great ones on Education: #edtechchat for one is a homerun). Now, my time is a bit different so I need to switch up what I listen to and how I get to and from work. Finding a new way home from work has been a great adventure.
Another one? What buildings I go to and how I will manage my day. Being new to the job and district gives me an opportunity to try new things out, like the Bullet Journal (Thanks, +Daniel Scibienski for this one). It is an analog way of keeping track of notes, events, and ideas. With this fresh start, it gives me some time to try new things out, including new note taking.
To check it out for yourself - http://bulletjournal.com/
My ride home is my own little Adventure Time.
So - moral of the story? Don't be afraid to switch it up, not matter how big or small you believe the change is. Even if what you try out doesn't work, give yourself an excuse to try something new. Routines are great but so is change. Don't get stuck in a rut.
Moving on is hard. Change is hard. Leaving is hard. I am someone who enjoys consistency and a sense of familiarity. I like digging into someone, growing roots, so that whatever I am doing, where I am, whoever I am with, means something. I become socially, emotionally, and even physically invested with my whole being.
For the past seven years, I have been growing my roots deep in Green Brook Township Public Schools, first as a teacher and the last two as Technology Coordinator and Supervisor of Instruction. These roots have dug deep as I have had the chance to personally teach over 500 students in that time, work with nearly 100 teachers, help improve the learning and education of nearly 1000 students and be involved in a fantastic small community. I have gone through many life changes here that I will never forget - marriage, home ownership, the arrival of my two children, rescuing a few pets along the way, finding out I wasn't that good at soccer (you get the picture).
As the start of school is right around the corner, I cannot help but think about new beginnings, fresh starts, and the eagerness that I know I hold dear to my heart about this time of year and the good feelings it brings along with it. I think about new teachers, new students, and returning educators and the excitement they bring each and every day.
I am excited to start the school year off with my Green Brook family one last time but it is bittersweet knowing that it is my last one. Writing an email to my Green Brook family to let them know I has resigned as Supervisor of Instruction and Technology to accept a position in Princeton Public Schools as a Supervisor of Social Studies and Global Education was, and will always be, the hardest task I have had to do in my years there.
I don't like saying goodbye - I don't like "uprooting" or "removing" my roots. I am thinking of this as a chance to plant new roots, but never forgetting to water my old ones as well. My family in Green Brook will never, ever, leave my heart and mind. I have made some near and dear friends that will be with me the rest of my life.
New beginnings happen because something ended – it’s like that band Semisonic’s line “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.”
Thank you, Green Brook for the journey we took together, through all the ups, downs, laughs, and cries we shared together.
So while this journey may be coming to an end, I am excited to start a new one in Princeton Public Schools come this October.
Timothy J. Charleston
