I was approached by someone in power to talk about their professional motivation, the responsibilities in school leadership roles, and the one which I was being considered to play. It ran counter to every principle I had as an educator and a person.

The conversation scared me. I didn’t know how stand up for my beliefs or if it was appropriate to do so. I knew that teachers around the country have had their careers bulldozed by school leadership for standing up for their students’ or own rights. As many educators do I eventually questioned an administrative request that would negatively impact my students. The results were being pulled in the midst of teaching to discuss sudden ‘performance issues’. To solve them? Be mentored by the administrator I questioned.

Fear combined with the stress common to all educators. I left my second year classroom mere months into the year. I felt horrible, but there was no way I could leave my classroom community without telling them how much I loved and valued them. For each student in my homeroom I wrote a letter commenting on their personalities, strength of character, and encouragement to keep being themselves. It touched my heart in a special way when I returned to visit them once they entered high school and found out that many had held onto my small attempt at showing I cared.