All In.

Educators enter into this field for a variety of reasons. I have previously spoke about these passionate individuals and the various reasons for selecting this as a career when others question that choice. We give so much of ourselves to this profession and it can extend beyond a typical day or duty.

Becoming a member of a school team is part of the "signing on" process. You find clothes and shoes in your school colors. You put stickers on your computer so that when you are working at the coffee shop, people understand that you work at a school. You rock spirit wear on Fridays (and wish for more days to rep your school if it includes jeans). You attend social events with your co-workers and school events to help foster the relationships with students. You may even be lucky enough to chaperone a dance!  Some staff members bleed their school colors and are all in--dressing up for spirit days, while others may not be all in. Being all in for a brand new staff member may take some time.

Recently, I was at Waukesha North visiting with a new technology education teacher to the district and profession. We spent some time talking through the first two weeks to see how it went, what support and resources were needed, and just the general feeling so far. Toward the end of our chat, a student came in to see this teacher so I went on my way.

Fast forward twenty minutes. I am leaving the parking lot and see that same student who stopped in my the teacher. She was on her cell phone and her spare tire was out. As I drove past, I noticed the brand new tech ed teacher, in his dress clothes, on his prep or lunch, changing this student's tire. This is all in. This is helping students be a part of our big Waukesha family and feel safe. This is building relationships. This is going above and beyond. Kudos to our new family member for being all in...in September.