OK Socrates that is definitely easier said than done. Tomorrow begins a new chapter of teaching in which I am at 3 elementary schools. I began this year thinking that I would be at one school – at my home school – and due to low enrollment numbers I am being sent to other schools 2 days a week.

To say that I am broken-hearted about this is an understatement. I have committed to things this year under the assumption that I would not be at other schools (leadership and night classes for my master’s degree are just a couple of examples). But it’s not even myself that I feel sorry for as I am quite adaptable and can handle a change like this despite the fact that it comes 4 weeks into the school year. 

No — my heart is broken for my students who have settled into the school year and have the expectation that they will have Art With Ms K. With days missing from my schedule I will now have combined classes and lose some classes and no matter what any teacher tells you, it is more difficult to build relationships when you have every chair in the room filled to capacity.

I realize that as a government institution schools fall under an umbrella of bureaucracy. There are hoops to jump through and initiatives to adhere to. But how can students and teachers just be numbers on a spreadsheet? Shouldn’t there be more to it than that? Shouldn’t the actual people be taken into account? I keep telling myself not to take this personally but that is really difficult when this job/passion/career is so personal to me and the relationships I have built with my students are incredibly personal. I put my heart and soul into this.

So. . . the only thing I can do about this massive change now is embrace it and that is exactly what I plan to do. I know that in the end this challenge will ultimately make me a stronger educator so I am welcoming the possibilities that come along with this new leg of the journey. I will put my heart and soul into all of my schools.

I am writing this post because with everything going on, I am going to be on a hiatus from blogging for a while. With 3 schools and other responsibilities to balance, blogging has to go on the back burner for a bit. I will sometimes post if I have something really great to share but I really need to focus on my responsibilities IRL.

However — you can still keep up with my adventures in and outside of the classroom through twitter (@artwithmsk) and I am always available via email (mhkatzin@gmail.com)

Here’s to the challenge of change and all of the delightful or tumultuous character-building experiences that come with it.

So long for now and please don’t eat the artwork!

❤ Ms. K