Flying with the Eagles

I work with a group of talented, dedicated - dare I say passionate - educators in a school we sometimes call Disneyland!  Some of these teachers I have worked with for over ten years.  A few are new to our group and several float in and out on any given year as we mostly loop from kindergarten to first and then back again to kindergarten.

Through a personality survey we found out this year that we are mostly "eagles."  A few "peacocks" among us, no owls and a dove or two,  so you can imagine that we are opinionated and move fast.  That sometimes gets us into trouble, because we move so quickly to get things done that we don't always take the time to hear everyone's voice and occasionally we forget to make sure the newbies understand and have a voice.   We also have to give our opinion, whether anyone listens or not, which means we have had problems with talking over each other, but I have to admit that I REALLY like flying with these eagles.  They are hard working. They get things done - might trample on a few feelings every now and then - but for the most part these are eagles with heart.  They would do anything for the children in their care and for each other.  They enjoy each other and often spend their off time together.  We are a large group of 14, different ages and different places in our lives, but we had a TDE this week and one of my colleagues said, "You know I think we've matured as a team."  Today, we did stop to listen to those who are quieter.  We did take the time to explain to the newbies.  We did try hard to wait for the silence before speaking.

We were working on Pow Wow - a kindergarten tradition that takes lots of planning and time and collaboration. It was such a pleasant day and I felt so prepared and ready when we finished that the stress just evaporated.  I have always loved what I do, but I haven't always loved the people I worked with or the administration at other schools where I've taught.  I haven't always felt valued.  I haven't always felt like I was part of a team and that we could accomplish anything together.  Maybe that's why I appreciate it so much now.  I just feel... blessed!