Why I Asked to Teach a Course

My View

In Fall 2019, as a superintendent new to a medium-sized district, I decided to go back to the classroom and teach. I imagined being in the classroom for a semester would give me a chance to see high school from the inside, freshen up my skills and connect me with students.

Teaching a daily 50-minute class, I reasoned, would give me a rare opportunity to gather important, real-world impressions of the service we offer students. I wanted to understand more about the young people we educate today, not the students I taught almost two decades earlier. This was a chance to convert my wonderings into action.

I had no idea how much a return to teaching would impact students, staff, the community … and me.

News media interest in a superintendent opting to teach a high school course was significant, and I immediately had to “up my game” to meet the classroom demands. My school board supported my venture into teaching, but the superintendent workload didn’t lighten up at all. That meant keeping both ends of the candle burning with evening and weekend preparation time. But it was well worth the payoff.