The Chronicles Of Nay

17.5 years ago I sat in an interview with a principal and an assistant principal. Side note she was so scary in the interview! haha Those 2 people took a chance on a kid. I was straight out of college. Like literally I had walked across the stage 2 weeks before the interview. I could have never imagined how that interview and decision would change my life! Let me start from the beginning. If you haven’t read my “Nay moves to Texas” blog it is hyperlinked there. It was how I ended up here and has that back story. The last paragraph of that blog is where I want to start this one:

I sometimes look back in awe of how all the pieces fell in to place. The recruiter that talked me in to coming and once I got here insured that I had people to do things with. The Principal that took a chance on a 23 year old fresh out of college that didn’t know anything! The assistant principal that was amazing and always willing to give advice or lend a shoulder to cry on. The mentor teacher that made me cry the first time I met her but turned out to be the person I still, 15 years later, go to with problems, concerns or celebrations.

Now it has been 17 years but all of that is still true. I have plans to talk about the other people in that paragraph in the future but let’s start with the Principal. That principal took a chance on brand new, sweet baby teacher Naomi. I had so many ideas on how I was going to change the world, how I was going to change education and so many thoughts about what I knew about education because of all the classes I had taken! He just encouraged me and smiled because he knew, but I had no idea how anything worked! He would become the principal that I compare all principals to, still to this day. He really helped shape who I am in the classroom. When he was my principal I always felt seen, heard, supported, and encouraged not only for who I was as a teacher, but who I was as a person. He encouraged me to fight for what is good for students. He held me accountable. He encouraged me to ask questions and to question the status quo. If I wanted to try a different style of teaching, he would say go for it! I wanted to bring in researchers from TCU to observe my teaching and students learning, he said go for it!

While I was working with him he was working on his PhD and he was one of the first people I thought of to contact when I got in to the PhD program. When I first started teaching I had no idea I would end up here, with me pursuing a doctorate with 17 years of teaching and counting. But the conversation I had with him after I got in to the program ended with him telling me he was proud of me. When someone you look up to tells you that it just kinda hits you in your heart! haha

He wasn’t always right, he was frustrating some times don’t get me wrong, but what boss isn’t? I know there were times we didn’t see eye to eye. But, he was the driving force for me to move to science. haha that makes it sound like it was something I was considering and he said try it out. Really we had to do some shifting and I was worried I was going to have to switch campuses. I told him if moving contents meant I get to keep working at this school I would gladly teach another subject. He made it happen!

This week would have been his birthday and I was thinking about him a lot lately. There is so much I wish I could share with him about both my journey as a teacher and a student! I am 17 years in and I am still fighting for what is right for kids, I am trying new things, I am still asking questions and questioning the status quo. I just hope that as I continue down this journey I am still making him proud!