I’m in a funk at the moment, and just can’t get motivated to do all the things I really need to do. So I’m blogging. I think the reality of my decision to leave my current job has something to do with my funk. I decided some time ago to leave South Mountain CC and transfer over to Glendale CC. It’s the same job, just a new location in the district. I spent a semester over there 3 years ago and enjoyed it, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger on a transfer until now. So why am I leaving? Many have asked, and this is my response. It varies depending on what day it is.

I guess I’m leaving because I’m ready for a change. 11 years in one job is a long time to me. It’s the same old thing over and over again each semester. And I realized that it’s really up to me to make things fun, to make things happen. So for the last few years I’ve been social networking with other techie geeks in the district, some from my college, but most from other colleges in the district. I realized that Maricopa is a wonderful place to work because of the many resources we have available to us and the awesome people that work in the district. But Maricopa isn’t always fair in their distribution of resources to the various colleges. South being the smallest gets left in the dust in many areas. As a result, technology isn’t a big focus for most of the faculty on the SMCC campus. There’s nothing wrong with that, except for the fact that I live for technology and with all the research I’ve done in the last 8 years, I realize our future in education relies on that technology.

So I guess what I’m saying is I love the people at SMCC, but SMCC isn’t helping much for my portfolio in terms of being innovative and using technology in my teaching. I’m very limited in what I can do with the limited resources and expertise on campus, and I spend way too much of my money on resources and too much time on other campuses in the district learning new things. What I’ve learned is I can still be friends and socialize with the friends I’ve made at South, the best part of South, but work elsewhere where I’ll have the resources available and the money needed for more. Those resources include a faculty that is experimenting with new technologies and teaching in creative ways I have yet to experience.

I will always love South and the people I’ve worked with for the last 11 years. It is truly a special place and has grown tremendously since I first arrived on campus in 1998. They even have wireless on campus now (except for in my building). South Mountain CC will continue to be a great college whether I’m there or not, but will I still be the teacher I want to be if I stick around. Who knows, but I’m not sticking around to find out. I am the master of my own destiny, and the master says I need to go give GCC a try.