When You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees: beyond the classroom

To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: DOWNLOAD

When You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

beyond the classroom

Carol Baird-Krul and Enise Olding

Carol and Enise offer retirement planning workshops and presentations as DR Associates. Growing from these workshops, and in response to many queries they have received, “Ideas … Enhanced and Advanced©” was developed as an interactive, brainstorming style working session for people who are looking to do something else but just don’t know what, or how to get started. This article is the first of a two-part series and attempts to parallel the workshop, in print. It continues on from the preparation for retirement series previously published in Canadian Teacher Magazine, and applies to people who are contemplating retirement or are already retired. This series is about identifying all the skills, qualities and abilities you, as an educator, have—and using them to give your good idea, project or new venture a boost in the right direction. Previous articles may be viewed at www.CanadianTeacherMagazine.com. See Back Issues – Fall 2004, Winter 2005, Spring 2005 and Fall 2005 for downloadable PDF files.

You’re a teacher and you know you have many skills and abilities that you use every day in the classroom. Not only that, but every day you interact with a very diverse, interesting and challenging group of people: students, parents, colleagues, support workers and your family, to name just a few. In order to become a teacher, you studied and took exams, and you’ve likely continued to study and learn about education throughout your career. As society has changed, so has your job and what is required of you as an educator. With each change, you have had to adapt and change too, all of which takes flexibility, skill and dedication.

Now, on consideration, you’re probably willing to agree that yes, all in all, you do have a lot going for you. The trouble is, it is often difficult to consider how you might use these myriad talents outside of the classroom. It may seem that all the things you do every day are so job specific that they can’t be used in any other setting, should the need arise.

After almost thirty years of being a classroom teacher and school librarian in a wide variety of educational settings from kindergarten to graduation, Carol found herself pondering what could she possibly do with her seemingly useless skills in the outside world.

“I couldn’t see how any of the teacher skills I had, whether it was class management, book talks or lesson planning would be transferable to whatever I chose to do after I retired. I found myself thinking, well, I’m ONLY a teacher. I can’t DO anything else! Wrong, wrong, WRONG!

“I soon discovered, once I did what every teacher does when faced with a challenge—brainstorm and problem solve—that my skills were not only transferable, but the world was my oyster because I had so many skills that I didn’t realize I had.”

Not only do you feel doubt about how to utilize skills and abilities you used in your working career, but there is also some amnesia about other skills you’ve always had. So, when you are thinking about taking another path, or have an idea about doing something different, you need to pause and reflect on just what it is you have to offer because things can look very confusing around about now.

What else can I do? How do I know any of my ideas are good, or will work? What do I need to learn, to continue with my idea or goal? Will anyone be interested or want what I have to offer? Can I do it? I just don’t know how to get started. There must be something I can do—but what? In short, you can’t see the forest for the trees.

Firstly, you need to stop the clock and step back in time. Consider yourself throughout your life, at various ages and stages, and think about what you’ve done. Then think about how you did those things, what was required, what skill you used.

What skills did you employ to move those goals, projects and ideas forward? How did you figure out how to pay off your student loan or that special holiday, deal with an ailing relative, go to summer school, get another degree while working, organize daycare, set up a class field trip, plan a concert, or any other of a number of things you needed to do to make your life, both professional and personal, work smoothly? In short, you’re a very talented and capable person to have got where you are today and it wasn’t just because you’re a teacher that you got there. Only you can truly draw up a list of all your skills, talents, qualities and abilities, so don’t be shy about putting down everything that was a real asset to you as you moved through life. If you have a close, unbiased friend who can help you in this assessment of yourself, it can be very helpful and insightful. Also, take out some of those letters of reference or appreciation, certificates, notes, plaques etc. you’ve received over the years, and read them thoroughly.

Easier said than done, but let’s assume you have now opened your eyes a little more to your spectrum of talents, skills and abilities, and that you feel comfortable about acknowledging your unique set of qualities. You have to admit that what you have is pretty impressive and needs to be shared and used.

For example, one former educator was amazed to discover that she had superior skills and knowledge of Japanese culture and etiquette. She had discounted her experience of living in that country for many years, successfully interacting with many of its citizens from students to business people; she thought of herself as an ESL teacher. After taking time to really look at what she had done, consider her real abilities and what skills she employed, she realized that her future in this field was ripe with opportunity. The 2010 Olympics, international trade and travel, and so many other options presented themselves as outlets for her unique skill set which went far beyond teaching English to foreign students.

When you start thinking about your options beyond your present day classroom, it will require forays into areas that are not within your usual realm. You might find yourself wondering how on earth you’ll go about selling your service or product, or how to get start-up funds, or packaging and shipping information. It might all seem overwhelming and just too much to handle, too much to learn. Take heart—we’ll talk more about this in the next issue.

Carol and Enise work together doing, among other things, workshop presentations as DR Associates. They are currently working on a book that will reflect the contents of the pre-retirement planning workshops they developed and created.