Well, I've been teaching here for 16 years. This is the only district I've taught at. Admittedly, they were the first ones to give me a job! Haha, but I guess it worked out for all parties involved. I can tell you that my fellow staff members who I have been teaching with for a long time - they are what keep me here and make me want to finish my career here. Like Derek Jeter did with the Yankees. Ironic given this is the town where he was born.
Open-mindedness. Not that I ever go about my day with my mind closed-off, it's that students at times ask such great questions that I'm forced to always challenge my worldview and the perspcetives from which I teach. Yes, some content is certainly absolute, but it is always refreshing to have students discuss the content and ask questions about pertinent ideas in a way that students in the past hadn't (up to this point). So by always understanding that my students are going to change and grow each and every year - just because some of the content doesn't grow with them also doesn't mean I should stop growing, either.
Seeing where some of this "return to normalcy" takes us. I'm hoping students start to feel comfortable in the school environment again and we reach some academic, intellectual, and social high watermarks that we failed to reach in the last few years. I think we can do it but the students need to remember why they are here - to learn, grow, and be better when they leave at graduation than when they entered after 8th grade. As harsh as this sounds - a pandemic doesn't change that fact. We might even need to work even harder than students did in years past just to catch back up to that point. But at the crux of it all, that is our goal and something I hope our student body comes close to achieving.
I don't do a ton of fun and exciting stuff nowadays (peace and quiet is where its at). I play the drums, I like to go hiking & find exciting adventures (with my camera tagging along), and I enjoy writing (although I don't let anyone read any of it!)