Why I'm Rooted in the Classroom

Hi friends! Last week I promised this would be the last chapter of my crazy teacher transition story. While some of you are probably thrilled and some have probably already stopped reading, some of you may be wondering "What the heck? This is all this blog is? A few little posts and that's it?". Don't worry, there will be more things to come!

Any-who, let's get to it.

To recap, in 2022 I left my classroom, sold our mini farm, and moved back to the town where I met my husband while attending college there. I had accepted a role as an Operations Training Manager for a start up controlled environment agriculture company. I vividly remember my very first day. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced when starting a new job. For my entire adult career up until this point I was a teacher. So if I got a new job it was basically the same thing. And honestly, it never really felt like I got a new job when I switched schools. It felt like I was just changing locations.

But let me tell you, working in a start up company that was expanding at the rate this one was is going to have to be it's own blog series. Years in a start up company is like dog years so this past year or so definitely felt like 7. The speed at which my job altered and flowed felt like I was drinking from a fire hydrant but good thing that's what being an ag teacher is like so I was relatively prepared for the shifts.

However, throughout this year, my colleagues got to have a front row seat to the shit show that was my transition. There are so many #TeacherQuitTok videos out there and my algorithm used to be filled to the brim with them. Videos or posts about other careers teachers can transition into or stories about why they left. But let me tell you, not a single one of the Algorithm Gods ever showed me a video that warned me about the emotional struggle that I was going to have.

Part of this struggle was because I was not prepared to be a Corporate Girlie or in a start up company. (Don't worry, I'll write a blog about what I learned in my corporate role and what it's like working in a start up). But a lot of my issue was because I was grieving and I just didn't know it at the time.

After the initial honeymoon phase wore off and real life began to set it in, I started to notice that I kept "identifying" as an ag teacher...I was in denial. I would talk about it like I was just on some kind of professional development break and I was going to go back to my classroom. Then I would remember all of the parts of the job that I hated or I would hear stories from my teacher friends which would just make me angry with the entire educational system.

Next came the bargaining phase. I told myself that I would find a way to still be involved in Ag Ed and FFA so I started volunteering for judging contests and signing up to lead professional development workshops. I even started manifesting developing curriculum and teacher resources to sell. Then I hit the depression stage.

I have gone through depression before and it almost killed me (I may tell this story one day) but this time was different. I was only "depressed" at work. I'm not sure if that even makes sense but since my teaching career was the main culprit behind my previous bout of depression and anxiety and my personal life was drastically better once I left the classroom, my depression tendencies were definitely categorized. I found myself very quick to trigger and cry from anger and frustration. I didn't find joy in what I was doing anymore and I really started to struggle with feeling passionate about my work and like I was making an impact.

There are careers where people feel called to them. They feel like it is their identity and that they were made to do this. Being an ag teacher was definitely that for me. I was very passionate about what I did and ultimately felt like I had to do it in order to make an impact in this world. But the thing people don't tell you about being in a passion driven career is that more than likely it is your own passion that makes you burn out. You pour your heart and soul into your work but eventually you're pouring from an empty cup...then what are you supposed to do? Please let me know if you figure it out.

And as far as the "making an impact" part that most teachers can identify with is that we often place blame on ourselves when we begin to consider leaving. This may be a tad ugly to hear but its our savior complex that tricks us into thinking that we are the only ones that help our students the way we can. Guess what? Kids are resilient and teaching is just a job in the eyes of a school district. Save your savior complex energy for your home life if you must.

But just like the stages of grief when you lose a loved one, the final stage did finally happen to me...Acceptance.

Again, no one on Teacher Quit Tok told me about this process so I was completely at a loss for what was going on with me. For a short period of time I thought that I made the wrong decision to leave. I really missed the good parts of teaching which were overshadowing all of the reasons why I left to begin with. Then one day the Algorithm Gods sent me a message if you will. I came across this post:

And that is when it all clicked. What I was going through was totally normal. It didn't mean that I made the wrong decision for my life at this time. It didn't mean that I was going crazy. It just meant that Mrs. Roberts, the ag teacher, wasn't here any more but Shelby Roberts, mom of 2, wife, and business owner was.

As I reflect on my acceptance stage of this grieving process, I realized that while I may have chosen to leave the walls of my classroom, I will always be a teacher at heart. My seed of transitioning out of public school education is still growing but it will forever be Rooted in the Classroom.

While I have big dreams for this community space, I have learned from past mistakes of my own and those of the company I went to work for 😉. Growing too quickly can be a problem in plants and in business so I really do hope you will stick around for the ride and join in on the adventure. This space is getting created for:

• new teachers looking for a mentor

• burnt out teachers looking to reignite the flame

• burnt out teachers just looking to survive

• teachers that want to transition out of the classroom

• teachers that did transition out of the classroom

• teachers just looking for resources to add to their curriculum

• retired teachers that want to mentor or stay involved somehow

• teachers looking to make extra income

• teachers looking to become their own boss

So if you know anyone that fits those categories, feel free to send them this way. And I highly recommend subscribing to this website so you get all the deets on all the things! We are just getting started.