Short Sighted?

Within the Power of Choice, we have the ability to choose our vision and course. You have the ability to choose the impact of your decision to be instant and immediate, or long-term and lasting. Years ago, I was looking at the opportunity to make a huge, drastic change that would be a major difference maker in my career path. 

I was in my third year of teaching in 2005, Susan and I were married the previous spring, and we had just moved cross country to Arizona. The district we were in, Dysart Unified, set up an informational meeting for an upcoming cohort with Arizona State University. The program was a Masters for Administration and Supervision in Education. 

It was a huge decision on so many levels. We were newer teachers, just married, broke as hell, and like most newly weds, we were thinking about starting a family. Taking on a 24 month masters program was not going to be a small feat or challenge. We would be at class for 3-4 hours every Monday night during the next two spring and fall semesters, and add in 6 weeks of 4 days a week classes over the summer session as well. Oh and don't forget to throw in there the 260 hours of internship as the cherry on top. It was a beast of a program, but it would set the course for my career. 

The meeting was in November, and the program was going to start in January, so there wasn't a whole lot of time for debate and zero time for indecision. Applications needed to be made and filled out, the funding piece and all of that had to get done immediately. The more and more I thought about it, the more I talked about it, it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass. It would be in-person instruction, from a major university, they would be sending the instructors to us in Dysart so we wouldn't have to drive to Tempe, and it was directed to the discipline that I wanted. 

I was in. 

So the next twenty-four months, it was a lot of stressing, a lot writing and research, but on December 7, 2007 I received my hood from Arizona State University. 

Now, this was not a short-term or an immediately impacting decision in regards to my education and career, but it was a long-term decision that still echoes today. Having that piece of paper has given me the opportunity to lead my own school (I never say it that way, I've talked about that before--me, my and mine vs we, us and ours.), and have an impact on hundreds of kids, teachers and community members. 

So I challenge you the next time you are gifted a choice that you see the impact beyond its immediacy and envision the choice's true and long-term impact.