A bit of an AW and help me out

[joenali]

I had a great end of year review at school. We have these new career ladder positions. My principal suggested I apply. I feel great that she thought I am good enough for a leadership position. The job would be on top of teaching, which is already time consuming and stressful. I already work my ass off. This particular job would be mentoring teachers in the building. I think I would really like it. But I fear that I won't do well because I already have a job that I do well. I don't want to fail both. I need to find out more about the position and how many extra hours it is a week etc. it stresses me out to just think about it. What would you do?

[emuni04]

First of all, congrats on the reccomendation. That alone is very impressive and should give you some confidence that your principal believes that you would exceed at a leadership position.

How much time do you have to make a decision regarding whether to apply? You wrote that these are "new" positions, so I'm assuming there is no one in a leadership position like the one you would be applying for that you could speak with regarding the time commitment, etc.

Personally, I would probably go for it. Sometimes, the "unknown" is more stressful than the reality of a leadership role. But you have to do what is right for you. Hopefully you have a fair amount of time to weigh the pro's and con's before having to make a decision about applying.

[joenali]

Yeah, very new positions, no one else has done it. I'm also hearing through the grapevine that no one wants to apply lol! I would get a stipend of $2500.

[emuni04]

Would there be further benefits down the road for accepting such a leadership position? I would definitely weigh the pro's and con's. $2,500 is certainly a nice incentive, but may not be enough of a financial incentive to take on a role that has significantly more responsibility and stress. I would probably evaluate the intangible benefits to help persuade me one way or the other.

[al320]

Congrats! Thats great.

Find out more info, but definitely do it. Youll be great at it! Dont see it as failing at two things, see it as a challenge and opportunity to succeed at two things!

[joenali]

May 24, 2013 10:40:55 GMT -5 al320 said:

Congrats! Thats great.

Find out more info, but definitely do it. Youll be great at it! Dont see it as failing at two things, see it as a challenge and opportunity to succeed at two things!

True! That is a great way to look at it!

[Deleted]

I think you need to figure out how many hours it requires to determine what the hourly pay will be. If its less than you make now per hour then I would not do it, unless it would be a big résumé booster and you have your sights set on an administrative position.

[kams]

Congrats Ali!

I would get more info about the commitment, but I would bet that your awareness of your limitations and your desire to do it well are some of the reasons they thought of you in the first place. If it is feasible for you, and worth your time, I think it would be great!

[cinco]

That is awesome. If you think you would enjoy it, you should go for it.

[venice2007]

Congrats!!!

[gt7301b]

If your school is anything like Mr. GT's I'd take it. In his school the principal uses positions like this one to "protect" people she likes in potential destaffing situations.

[Brit]

May 24, 2013 11:34:08 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

If your school is anything like Mr. GT's I'd take it. In his school the principal uses positions like this one to "protect" people she likes in potential destaffing situations.

That's a great point. Also, it may become a short list for some future leadership roles, possibly with even better compensation, in the future. The important question for me, and you probably can't ask it this overtly, is "If I put in this extra time right now, what do I get out of it in the future?" Maybe that is job protection as Mrs. GT suggested, or maybe it is getting your name in a pool for future promotions/leadership opportunities, or something else entirely.

[MrsE]

Congrats! Go for it! I've always been told never to turn down a potential leadership role because you never know where it could lead and if you turn one down, you may never be given another opportunity.

[jene]

I would totally go for it.

[joenali]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to look closely at the job description and most likely apply. I don't have to take the job if I get it. I feel pretty honored to be asked, I may as well go for it!

[libbygrl109]

Congrats on being recognized! Glad you'll be checking it out. I was a mentor one year for a couple new staff members in my school. It was some paperwork, but I think the "mentees" had to document more because they were first-years. You may have to have a set number of meetings each month. I liked it. It gave me a chance to think outside the box at times in order to help them deal with whatever things were coming up during the day. Good luck!

[setsail1999]

Congrats on a great review! DH is a teacher and he was a mentor/advisor for a few years. I just asked him about it and he said that it took a lot of time, especially at the start, but he really enjoyed working with the teachers and had more of an impact on the students. He really seemed to like it and when he talked about it in the past it sounded like he learned a lot as well. Good luck with your decision and I'm sure you'll do great at anything you do