Michelle Land, NJTESOL/NJBE, Mt. Olive, New Jersey, USA

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus centered his teachings around the premise that all things are in flux. This is a result of evolution and necessary for survival. This is also true of organizations such as ours. We need to always consider our members’ needs and our changing world. Some changes are easily adopted, while others cause stress and reevaluation of purposes and goals. Our organization reached such a point in our growth this past year.

NJTESOL/NJBE (New Jersey Teachers of English as a Second or Other Language/New Jersey Bilingual Educators) is an organization that I am extremely proud to be a part of. I have been on the executive board for almost seven years in three separate roles. First, as a SIG (special interest group) representative, I began to learn the ropes from people who I had immense respect for. There was a deep understanding and history in this group, and I felt safe and secure knowing our organization was in their capable hands. I felt lucky to be playing a small part.

After two terms as a SIG rep, I was astounded when approached about running for vice president. While I sincerely wanted to take on the increased responsibilities that this role would have, I questioned my ability to manage the demands. I did not feel worthy of the position given my small role on the executive board to this point. Fortunately, I won the election and began the first year of my two-year term.

The main roles of the vice president entail managing the spring conference. I was fortunate to have a very capable and experienced conference committee that was already efficiently and effectively pivoting to a virtual-based conference for our first year of the pandemic. I am still so proud of the work this committee did to produce such a fabulous virtual conference.

The next year, we recognized that people were interested in trying to also meet in person, so we pivoted again to a new format – that of a hybrid conference. Our conference committee worked overtime to essentially provide our members with two spring conferences, one in person, and one with a video component for members who were not able to attend in person. With double the work, our conference committee went above and beyond to serve our members, juggling multiple demands and requests. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication that brought things to a head.

Just as we experienced frustrations and anger in our world in general, we also began to feel rumblings within our organization of frustration and discord. Years of Zoom meetings were creating a fatigue that was hard to shake. The inability to meet socially and the divisions in our country fanned the flames of disappointment and irritation. This spilled over to our executive board as committee members were getting irritated with each other. As mistakes appeared to be made, tempers began to flare. Despite our seemingly successful and orderly exterior, our interior was in turmoil just as our annual conference was set to begin a day later.

It was clear during the conference that everyone was passionate about doing their best. This does not mean that everyone was satisfied or that people did not perceive harm. Accusations were made and feelings were hurt. Congenial colleagues were being asked to choose sides and felt like they were being pitted against each other.

On the second day of our three-day conference, I took on the role of president as part of our natural process. I now felt the weight of the burgeoning problems squarely on my shoulders and worried about what I could have done better or differently. A few weeks after the successful completion of our spring conference, we received an email outlining concerns from members of one of our committees. In this email, four of the five members decided to resign.

I worked with the now past-president and our executive director to try to piece together what had happened and how to move forward. I am eternally grateful to them for their wisdom and support. We entered the summer months, usually a period for rest and regeneration, with these concerns at the forefront of our thoughts.

We reached out to TESOL for guidance. After receiving several suggestions of professionals, we eventually agreed on working with an organization that specializes in restorative justice. Work on the restorative justice process brought us on the road to healing and full transparency, but it takes time. As we began the process, it became clear that our organization had been growing in scope and that our by-laws, mission statement, and constitution were not adequately adapted to reflect this.

As a result, we reached out for organizational guidance and support from a specialist in the field. This is meant to help us to get into a better position to adapt to the changes we have experienced as well as to develop clear lines of responsibility and accountability.

Here are some of the changes we have implemented and are implementing:

1. After each executive board meeting, we have an anonymous survey that we ask the executive board members to fill out. The questions help us assess our effectiveness as well as make sure that all voices are heard.

2. The officers meet monthly before our executive board meeting to prepare for any questions and concerns.

3. We continue to do the work of our organization and to keep an open dialogue with members. We accept that we cannot keep everyone happy all of the time.

4. We are planning more time outside of executive board meetings for our members to meet and share inspirations, joys, ideas, and concerns.

5. We are working on updating our mission statement, constitution and bylaws to reflect our improved lines of responsibility and accountability.

Heraclitus is also known for stating that “nothing endures but change.” Our hope is by being open to change as well as the many voices of our members, we can best serve them and their students as our organization endures and thrives.

Michelle Land has her Master’s Degree in Language Education and is presently serving as President of NJTESOL/NJBE (New Jersey Teachers of English as a Second or Other Language/New Jersey Bilingual Educators). She has taught ESL/EFL at home and abroad for over 25 years. She has done professional development at the local, state, and international level.