Hey, I'm Dr. Shea

Teaching is NOT a Rose Garden.

It's a Courageous Journey.

MY STORY...

I began teaching in 1995 at the age of 23. The world of education in America was easier, less troubled, freer. I was so young, but equally enthusiastic about the power of being a positive influence in my field. My first position was teaching high school English in a newly designated charter school in an affluent neighborhood. Students were bussed in from lower income communities. My students were hungry for cultural discussions and they craved connectivity. Although I didn't fully understand equity as a teaching concept, intuitively I was a voice for equity in the classroom, consistently emphasizing the human condition and multicultural themes reflective of the students I taught. I eagerly welcomed students' concerns, hopes, and dreams. Subsequently, after earning a Master's degree through John Tracy Clinic, I transitioned into teaching students with hearing loss in both PreK and elementary. I also taught students in middle school, and made a move from California to Idaho. This was a major cultural shift for me. I was a working mom in a rural community that was much more homogenous culturally. This included strong racial divides, a dominant religion, and extremely conservative politics.

This is me March 2020.

The last photo in my f2f classroom. The pandemic negatively disrupted the teaching and learning dynamic, increased the politicizing of education, and has left many of us wondering who we are as teachers. I was the only teacher in my high school who didn't return to work that fall. Eventually, I had to resign. My community, district, and state were completely negligent during the worst days of the pandemic, and forced me out of what I love to do most: teach students in a brick-and-mortar classroom. I miss them. I miss the hustle and bustle of in-person performance, daily human interaction, and connectivity with colleagues. Although online teaching remained steady, I wasn't ready for such a sudden loss.

When you learn you're expendable, it's a kick in the gut. We're not important enough to keep, and for some of us, there's no incentive to stay. We can easily feel like functionaries hired to keep the machine running. We're embattled by politics, unreasonable laws, accusations, and damaging judgments. And yet valiantly we show up for work the next day. Why? Because we care. Caring teachers emphasize love, hope, and compassion in all dimensions of the profession. We stay focused on what matters most: our students. But the systemic rigidity of public school runs deep. The "trenches" are cold and unrelenting; they can destroy you as a teacher and push you out of public school altogether. The daily uphill climb is exhausting. And we're losing so many practitioners in the process. In addition to our beautiful stories of learning, discovery, and success, are cutthroat conditions, the things we often endure in isolation. How many of us sadly identify with stories of betrayal, targeting, bullying, harassment, chauvinism, backstabbing, agism, town scandal, threat, arrogance, sick politics, and fear? Stories of suppressing how you really feel so you can keep your job, feed your family, and pay your bills?

I've never given up on education. I believe in this field and in the work we do with other people's kids. I believe that so much more is possible in this industry, an industry laden with racist and discriminatory policy-making, scrap funding and failing schools, archaic models of instruction, and decreased self-efficacy among practitioners. Many of us are struggling right now with the fight for equity-minded practice, diversity, and inclusion, in our communities and in our profession.

I believe teachers deserve to be heard. We are more than functionaries in the machine, more than dutiful school employees shuffling in and out of revolving doors or logging on and off of scripted LMS platforms and learning programs. We wear so many hats we've lost count. And our students need us. At our best.

L.I.F.T. the Teachers™ is everything I wish I'd had in the last 30 years to keep forging ahead. This community centers on positivity, win-win, and the belief that together we can find solutions to our most challenging circumstances. Some of us are here because we need encouragement to make it to work tomorrow. Others of us might be grappling with an ethical dilemma, difficult situation, or frightening school threat. Or maybe we're here because we're motivated to reframe our thinking about the profession and how we can better serve ourselves, our colleagues, and friends. Whatever brought you here, it's the best place to be if you're looking to join an innovative community of caring professionals.

 L.I.F.T. the Teachers™ is a dynamic effort to prioritize ourselves and create positive change in the midst of extremely challenging times in education.