Expertise

Expertise. 

When I first began my teaching career I changed grade levels regularly. Mostly, this was due to fluctuating numbers of students, but I never really gave it much thought as I moved from grade level to grade level, and found myself acclimating pretty quickly each time. 

As the years went by changing from one grade level to the next became more complicated. Once executed it required several years to really learn the curriculum. Staying resulted in an expertise, and changing grade levels was not as easy anymore. 

Now on one level this expertise sounds really good, and I suppose it is, but there is actually a drawback that you might not have considered. Once you find yourself hesitant to change you may begin digging into the  comfortable and familiar, and be reluctant to move on. This may result in less opportunities for growth. Each time I moved to a new grade level, no matter how short of a time, I found myself adding to my repertoire of teaching skills making me a more accomplished teacher. 

Widening our interests can certainly make life more interesting. Since retiring I've found myself drawn to subjects like business, economics, theology, and philosophy; all areas I had never studied before. The narrow focus of my education revolved more around the elementary classroom. 

Scott Sonenshein, author of Stretch, points out that, "Today, a push for deeply specialized expertise leaves us with people who get better and better at narrower and narrower things." If Steve Jobs had never happened upon that calligraphy class as he was drifting through college I might not be writing on an i pad now.  

If you've found yourself knowing too much about any one thing you might consider challenging yourself to learn something new. Embracing the philosophy of the Renaissance might be a better way to go.