Pressure For Change

I know that it sometimes feels like we are under a lot of pressure. I was just down at the OEAA (Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability) fall conference. I know you are jealous of that great opportunity! There were more sessions than I could attend, but I know that from the ones I attended regarding AYP, Ed Yes, and the graduation/dropout rate that the pressure is going to continue and surely increase. It made me think about other industries. There is pressure in every field. Non-profits have the pressure of always trying to get enough donations to provide their programs. Publicly funded organizations have to rely on government allocations that have to be spread between competing interests. Private companies have to compete with each other for market share. Everyone has pressure. Industries have to be more competitive, more efficient, more cost effective, and less wasteful. It is true that they can just raise their price if they need more revenue, but they won't obtain more revenue if their competitor can offer the same product at a cheaper price. That is why they are all trying to be more efficient to reduce cost and maintain a solid profit margin. I guess my point is that there is pressure in any job. That pressure causes changes. Change is tough. You can continue to re-evaluate and change to be more effective, competitive and push back against that pressure, or you can let the pressure squash you. When you feel the pressure that we all face in education, remember that you are not alone. No matter what career you were in there would be pressure causing change. The issue isn't the pressure of the employment. The question is how you handle that pressure!