You may be wondering what in the world a quote about Babe Ruth has to do with being an educator, but the three times in my life when I started working in a new school, I was replacing someone incredibly popular with students, parents, and staff. Sure, comparing these educators to Babe Ruth may be a stretch, but as a native New Yorker and lifelong Yankees fan, this quote helped me tremendously during my transitions into new positions in new schools.
I was a lawyer between jobs when I decided to try teaching as a career. I found a magnet school in lower Manhattan and started subbing. Within a week, I was offered a job for the remainder of the school year teaching English for a teacher on extended sick leave. All I heard from students was, "You ain't Mrs. Smith." It took an incredible amount of time and work to eventually get those students to accept me for who I was and to focus on learning. (My favorite question they asked was whether I had been disbarred for stealing a client's money, because why else would I decide to teach?)
Years later I accepted a position in an American school in Poland. I naively assumed that as an experienced advanced placement history teacher with a law degree, I'd have instant "cred" with my students. I quickly realized that the group of students in my International Baccalaureate class was furious that Mr. Perry had not returned to teach them. They relentlessly reminded me that he was the reason they signed up for the class. No matter what strategy I employed, inevitably I was reminded—every day—that I did not teach the same way as Mr. Perry.
Now, I am in my second year as a high school principal. I spent all of last year hearing, "That's not how Mr. Motts did it." The principal I was replacing had been at our school since it opened, and it took a whole year for the entire community—students, teachers, parents, support staff, etc.—to realize that I was not the "Babe Ruth" who had been my predecessor.
I should point out that none of these experiences were the fault of my predecessors; in fact, they had all gone out of their way to make my transition smooth. After surviving these transitions, though, here is some advice I'd give to others who are new to a school or position:
- Be willing to confront the fact that you are not your predecessor. It's human nature for people to feel insecure and nervous when a new person enters an important position; accept this reaction as normal and don't skirt the issue.
- Be yourself. You don't have to be Babe Ruth!
- Don't be afraid to talk to other staff members or colleagues. You might be surprised to learn just how willing teachers are to help beginners.
- Work your butt off! No matter how great the person before you was, if students, teachers, parents, and administrators see that you're willing to learn and work hard to improve your practice, it will all work out.
