When I started teaching, I felt sad that forty-eight minute classes were totally insufficient for students to experience my ambitious plans for exciting learning.

With so much “great stuff” I wanted to facilitate on a daily basis, P.A. announcements, fire drills, and—especially–assemblies were dreaded interferences, which—sad to admit—I found myself resenting.

…Time passed until the day came when I realized I had been…

..repeatedly looking at the clock, exasperated, not that time was speeding by, but that it wasn’t.

How could there still be so many minutes left?

..plaintively looking toward the P.A. speaker, hoping for an announcement–any announcement.

Surely, someone must have something they need to say to interrupt the class!

–rooting for a fire drill or assembly.

Why should there be just two drills a month? …Yeah, and why can’t there be more assemblies? Students need and deserve them!

Initially caught off guard by the change that had come over me; nevertheless, I knew I needed to be honest with myself.

I heeded the loud-and-clear wake-up call, signalling that I needed a new challenge/change, and for my sake, as well as my students’!!!!, I switched teaching contexts.

What about you? How, if ever, did you know it was time for a work change?