Inspired in childhood by a documentary about The Battle of the Alamo, Caleb went on to study history and continues to have an abiding interest in the San Antonio area.
In fact he recently moved to San Antonio (his favourite holiday destination) and is in the process of setting up a guided historical tour of the city centre, while still currently working as a teacher, with big plans to transition out of Education and into a life he loves, in the very near future.
Inspired in childhood by a documentary about The Battle of the Alamo, Caleb went on to study history and continues to have an abiding interest in the San Antonio area.
In fact he recently moved to San Antonio (his favourite holiday destination) and is in the process of setting up a guided historical tour of the city centre, while still currently working as a teacher, with big plans to transition out of Education and into a life he loves, in the very near future.
Elizabeth Diacos: 0:01
Welcome to the Get out of Teaching podcast presented by Larksong Enterprises. I'm your host, Elizabeth Diacos. On the show. We'll look at the who, what? why? where, when and how of moving out of your Education career and into a life you love. We'll meet ex-teachers, delve into what we love about teaching and how to translate that into something new. We will talk to people who can support and inspire us as we make the transition and work on identifying the legacy we want to leave in the world. So come along for the ride as we get out of teaching... Episode 12 ... Hi everyone and welcome to this episode of "Get out of Teaching where today I'm interviewing Caleb Shipley from San Antonio in Texas. Welcome to the show, Caleb. Thank you. It's great. to talk to you today. Caleb...tell us what got you into teaching in the first place?
Elizabeth Diacos: 1:02
Well, frankly, er love for the subject that I taught.... I've always been a history fan. Ah, it started ironically, enough with where I am now, uh, with watching a documentary over the Alamo which is here in San Antonio, when I was in third grade... And from then on I fell in love with history, kept going with it. Majored in history in college. Came from a family where there were a couple of teachers, my mother and sister and so love of history comes from a teacher family, it just sort of naturally flowed.
Elizabeth Diacos: 1:39
Translated well, so so the Alamo. Just tell us a little bit about that. What inspired you about? About hearing about that?
Caleb Shipley: 1:47
I don't really know what was going through. my little my little third grader mind, Um, Probably... I think what it was, was the story. Um, you don't know the history of the Alamo. You go look it up. I won't bore you with the details, but, uh, it's a... it's a fascinating story. I mean, it's just a fascinating story. Lots of action, lots of intensity. And, you know, to a little kid that that really sticks, and it did, it stuck quite a bit. So that's what got me hooked, I guess
Elizabeth Diacos: 2:19
that that was the inspiration and so...
Caleb Shipley: 2:21
Absolutely
Elizabeth Diacos: 2:22
Whereabouts have you been teaching? And for how long?
Caleb Shipley: 2:26
So I started teaching in the Houston area. It's where I'm from originally, uh, taught there at two different schools in the Houston area. Um, my wife and I, about two years ago decided to move out to San Antonio. We made a bunch of trips out here, actually, Um, and finally, we decided, You know what? We're here on just about every vacation, every kind of holiday, everything. We're here anyway, so let me just move here? And so we did. Um, We moved out here, and I have taught at a high school here for almost two years.
Elizabeth Diacos: 2:59
Okay, So what? How long have you been teaching all together, then?
Caleb Shipley: 3:02
Five years total...
Elizabeth Diacos: 3:04
Okay, so that's not... That's not a very long career in education. What? What was the tipping point that made you decide to transition out?
Caleb Shipley: 3:14
I don't know that I could point any one event. Um, as much as it was kind of a series of realisations, um, I think it came down to me realising that the system was almost geared to fail. It was almost set up to fail. Um, I also realised that the disposable, if you want to think of it in those terms, aspect of the whole system was the teacher, and I realised that, you know, we are like, it's easier to get rid of a teacher that it is to fix the system and so that... once I had that realisation and said, "You know, it's time to move on. You know, it's time to move on" because you're always gonna be miserable when you're working under those circumstances, Um, and then passed that, sure...
Elizabeth Diacos: 4:07
Oh, I was just gonna ask you. So your... your...iIt sounds like you're saying that the teachers are almost a commodity that... that can be traded or just, you know, thrown in the trash. If if it's um, if... it what If you complain too much? Like what would be the circumstances, under which a district might get rid of a teacher.
Caleb Shipley: 4:29
Oh, uh, in Tex... So in Texas, it's actually phenomenally easy to do to get rid of a teacher. Um, because all you have to do is...as I was telling you before the show,Before we're under a one year contract. So when you go... most of us are...there are a couple of schools, that are the exception, but most of us are under a one year contract. So when you sign up for a contract, your contracted for one year. If they don't like something about you, or really for no reason at all at the end of the year they can just not renew you. So they can not offer you a contract next year. Um, and it it could be something as simple as your performance wasn't good. It could be an administrator didn't like you.... It could be something that simple.
Elizabeth Diacos: 5:10
Yeah. Okay, so there's no protections.
Caleb Shipley: 5:13
Virtually none...No.
Elizabeth Diacos: 5:15
Yeah. Okay, So then, given that you realised that.... that ,that... you were expendable easily expendable and decided that that was not gonna be a good way for you to be for the rest of your life. What?
Caleb Shipley: 5:31
Right
Elizabeth Diacos: 5:44
What? What was your biggest fear about moving out of that? Because your pay is not terrible. Like, you know, it's a fairly secure pay packet. So what? What Whatwas your biggest fear about moving out?
Caleb Shipley: 5:45
Well, funny you mentioned that... I had a very false sense of security. Um, because you're right. You're a contractor for that one year. So when you're you're signed up here like OK, I've got all this for one year. Uh, then it dawned on me..."I've got all this for only one year. It could all come to an end at the end of any given year" . Um But I will say my, my biggest fear out of out of all of them...and I had a bunch of 'em. But biggest fear was "What if it doesn't work?" Uh, what if I get out of it and it doesn't work? and I have to go back and, and all of that, um, you know, it really was fear of the unknown. You know? What if... What happens next? What if what happens next doesn't work out? The financial side didn't really scare me all that terribly much because I've been living, by virtue of the way that the school system should work with the contract system. I'd always lived under that... What if it isn't here next year, so I kind of grown numb to that fear.
Elizabeth Diacos: 6:49
Okay, that's good, I guess?
Caleb Shipley: 6:54
(laughs wryly) ...you know.
Elizabeth Diacos: 6:55
Okay, so so but you're you're married like you've got...you have some obligations? Isn't that scary? Thinking this might all end in a year and you'll have nothing.
Caleb Shipley: 7:06
Oh, in some ways, yes. But again, in my mind, I'm thinking, Well, at the end of this year, it could all end anyway, you know it.. so it's almost like you have nothing to lose.
Elizabeth Diacos: 7:20
All right, you know very much good. I can see that. Okay, so So then what is it that you're So you're still working at the moment, and you've got about three months to go before we contract ends at the end of the Sena. So what's the plan?
Caleb Shipley: 7:38
Well, right now, I've kind of been working myself to death, uh, setting up the business and still going with DJ. Um, and so it's it's very much like having two full time jobs. Uh, yeah. Yeah, it's Ah, it's been a headache, but passed. Then we're hoping to go full on June 1st, Uh, right around G first, uh, and that's the plan from here on out
Elizabeth Diacos: 8:09
and some. What do you actually doing with the company? Yeah, tell us about Yeah, Yeah,
Caleb Shipley: 8:15
yeah. Awesome. So, we, uh, gotta say, there, there, we my wife and I are very fortunate. Eliminate what Americans would call historic city. Probably nobody else in the world. But we did. Um, And so with it being a historical city, um, lots of opportunities to show people around. So we're doing walking tours, Uh, which really aren't that many of here. And I saw that kind of need in the the tourism industry here. So we're doing walking, Of course where we are. Basically, it's about a one hour long hour, five minutes long tour where you see all of the surviving historical downtown sites in downtown ST.
Elizabeth Diacos: 8:58
Okay, so? So you would. So the plan is, as you come into all summer that you're gonna get is walking tours for overseas for tourists. And I would sign up upside or something. Is that how that....
Caleb Shipley: 9:12
yes? Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. Um absolutely.
Elizabeth Diacos: 9:17
And so And I've been to San Antonio and just have a little bit of Karan they in out of the city. So I least a little bit really with it. It's beautiful and the mosaics and like the tiles on the walls and everything, I love it. So that was the thing that really appeals about about being there. So when that while that's happening, like how you you'll have a buffer when you, with your whole day, pay for the summer. I imagine that that's a summer kind of industry. What happens there? You'd
Caleb Shipley: 9:54
be surprised. Um, like, for example, this past weekend we went down to downtown to San Antonio. Just have a look around, and there you're still lines outside virtually all of the historical sites. Uh, yeah. It stays pretty busy most of the year. A good part of that is San Antonio's. It's kind of the convention center of Texas. Everybody comes here for conventions and meetings and things like that. So it stays really pretty busy all year. Also, one thing we're exploring is school groups, field trips, things like that. We're exploring that as well. We've already got some leads on that.
Elizabeth Diacos: 10:34
Okay? And I imagine you as a as a history teacher could easily link that curriculum and make it work that way
Caleb Shipley: 10:41
easily, easily.
Elizabeth Diacos: 10:42
Okay, Nice. So that's a whole other aspect to that business that could be really lucrative during the school year. Definitely. Fantastic. So do you think you're gonna ...uh, replace your teaching income?
Caleb Shipley: 10:58
Uh, actually, yeah. Yeah, Well, uh, you know, if I had my crystal ball, you know, um... based on the numbers and just some things that I've run and some things that I've seen, uh, VERY much so. Very, very much so.
Elizabeth Diacos: 0:00
OK
Caleb Shipley: 11:15
Almost certainly more than what I now as a teacher.
Elizabeth Diacos: 11:19
Okay, Well, that sounds very promising then. So, as you've been doing this....oh, so tell us the name of your company.
Caleb Shipley: 11:28
It's "Walk Through History Tours". You can find us on the web: walkthroughhistorytours.com.
Elizabeth Diacos: 11:35
All right. And I'll put that link in the show notes for this episode
Caleb Shipley: 0:00
Sweet
Elizabeth Diacos: 11:41
...on my website. So, Okay, so while you were, sort of ...so you're still working and your'e still, and you're doing all this investigating about what's next for you. What skills do you bring as a teacher to this new venture?
Caleb Shipley: 11:58
Right. Um, well, a good part of it... A big part of this, of course, is the historical knowledge. Luckily, I picked that up through years of just knowing it. Um, but also working with people. As you know, teachers, we get a lot of experience of working people. And so the idea of taking something that I know about and sharing that with other people and working with people. That was probably the biggest thing to...as far as skills go, to bring to this.
Elizabeth Diacos: 12:29
What about the business side of it? Like setting up a website and publicity and all that kind of stuff like how does that all work?
Caleb Shipley: 12:36
OOHH!! Um that is that has been a learning experience, to say the least. A lot of that, frankly, just gonna be honest. I had to, uh, talk with people that knew far more about it than I did and get a lot of their insight. And, uh, you know, most people that run their own businesses already very successfully ...and I just, I had to lean on them a lot, for sure
Elizabeth Diacos: 13:02
Yeah. Yeah. So there's still there's still some learning there, I imagine as you...
Caleb Shipley: 13:11
Yeah, will be for years!
Elizabeth Diacos: 13:12
And so have you done any extra training or study or had to, like you said that you've accessed some people who are already, you know, working in business. But have you done any training yourself?
Caleb Shipley: 13:25
Um, not really. Because it was from teaching to guiding tours and stuff like that. It wasn't really that big of a jump. I mean, when you think about it, um, yeah, it's sort of a simplified version of teaching.
Elizabeth Diacos: 13:42
it's what I must get stuff like like I know when I set up my business, I had to get an Australian business number. I had to, well, I didn't have but I did, so that side of things like the actual, the structure side of things!
Caleb Shipley: 13:56
Oh, goodness. Yes! Um, I have received a whole new education in Texas business law. Um, with, with everything, we're lucky we're actually one of the better states to start a business in. Um, but we ...I still had to set up a formal company... an LLC here, still had to go through the, um, Texas Sellers...they call it a seller's permit, but it's basically a sales tax permit to collect sales tax on sales.
Elizabeth Diacos: 14:25
Okay,
Caleb Shipley: 14:25
Um, still, it still had to do all that. Still had to set up an employer ID number with the IRS and things like that. So definitely lots of legalese, if you wanna call it that.
Caleb Shipley: 14:35
Okay. Yes. So you had to learn all that yuorself, and how did you go about doing that? How did you investigate all those things?
Caleb Shipley: 14:42
Fortunately for us, almost all of that is available online. Um, our government websites are actually pretty good, um, in talking you through how to do those things. So it was just a lot of hours, lots of hours of reading and crosschecking information from one place to the next.
Elizabeth Diacos: 15:01
Right? Okay. So you actually just were able to Google just about everything that you needed.
Caleb Shipley: 15:06
Right Right!
Elizabeth Diacos: 15:07
Excellent. Okay. Well, that's good. That's sort of bodes well for someone else who might want to be getting out...That they actually can find out that information fairly readily
Caleb Shipley: 15:16
Yes. I would say, You know, it's... it's readily available, but there's a lot of it. So I know you have some viewers from Texas. If you ever plan on getting into your business, if you're starting a business on your own. Uh, the information's readily available, but get ready. ..You're gonna spend a lot of time sorting through all of it.
Elizabeth Diacos: 15:34
Right. Okay.
Caleb Shipley: 15:36
Yeah.
Elizabeth Diacos: 15:36
Maybe we should be putting your phone number as well. Or maybe not! (laughter)Business advice from from Caleb Shipley. Okay, so so you've managed this, y'know, transition and you're almost out.
Caleb Shipley: 0:00
Almost!
Elizabeth Diacos: 17:22
What advice would you give to someone who's feeling stuck?... like who's maybe back where you were when you first decided to go, and you're like, I don't know what I'm gonna do?
Caleb Shipley: 17:22
So the first thing I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you is... you hear people say all the time find your passion What's your passion?, and frankly, that's what got me in trouble is to start with was teaching in history and all that was my passion...don't follow you your passion. Follow your purpose, You know. What are you here for? You know, uh, kind of going back to that ,the moment where I realized this wasn't for me is... I had a moment where I'm like, I'm not. This is not the meaning for my life. I've got to take control of my life, and I gotta find my purpose. Um, most people don't get into teaching without a passion for it. And, uh, but purpose goes a lot deeper. So what I would say is find your purpose: What are you here for? What are you meant for? You know, if you're religious, you know, "What is God's plan for you?" You know that, Uh, the second bit of advice, And I know it's tough, tough, tough. You gotta jump. Once you find that purpose, you know, it...You gotta jump. Um, it ain't easy. It's not. It's not something that, uh, you know, it's not something that the cautious out there will tell you to do, but you gotta jump. Once you do it, just do it. Just go for it.
Elizabeth Diacos: 17:22
So but you haven't jumped. You're still you're still in, you're still teaching When you say jump, What do you... what do you mean by that?
Caleb Shipley: 17:30
When you when you know what that purpose is, just go for it. You know, uh, you know, I... I made I made the jump in the sense that, you know, we're doing this thing. The business is going and all that, uh, frankly, now I'm just teaching to finish out the contract, you know, to keep that clean record. Yeah, um, but past that there is no safety net, y'know, unfortunately, um, but////
Elizabeth Diacos: 17:57
But fortunately, because it's gonna motivate you to work your butt off, isn't it?
Caleb Shipley: 18:00
That's true. That's true. Yeah. When there's here's no safety net there, you realize August is gonna get here again next year. You're like, OK, what am I doing now? Whatever you're doing better work, (laughs) you know?
Elizabeth Diacos: 18:14
Yeah, I got it. Okay, so it sounds like there's still a little bit of trepidation there around what's gonna happen at the end of the summer when maybe the Walking tours aren't as perhaps, perhaps as popular, and you need to go and start approaching schools. How will that be received ? All of that kind of thing.
Caleb Shipley: 18:35
A little bit, Um, more excitement at this stage. I'm still in the excited stage. You know, uh, try to make that last a long as I can.
Elizabeth Diacos: 18:46
Got it. Yeah. I actually interviewed someone else yesterday for the podcast, and I'm not sure when that will go to air, but, um, she said the difference between fear and excitement is that with fear, we breathe in and sort of hold it, but with excitement, we breath in, but then we breathe out, like when you watch fireworks, you kinda go...Ahhh... And so there's that release, and it's just it's a different feeling altogether. Isn't it
Caleb Shipley: 19:11
right? It is. It is. For sure..yeah.
Elizabeth Diacos: 19:16
Okay. So if someone wanted to get in touch with you to use your service, they can go to the website. What else? What if there's a schoolteacher listening in and saying, Oh, my gosh, that would be a fantastic excursion for my class, How would, what would be the best way to approach you?
Caleb Shipley: 19:32
Uh, still, probably the best way would be through the website... on the website we have a contact form... goes directly to the business email. So if you... if you're a teacher thinking man, that sounds like fun or something, you happen to be in the area just send me a link...send me a contact request
Elizabeth Diacos: 19:51
OK
Caleb Shipley: 19:52
We could get something set up for that. Um, also, if.... you know, I'm on Facebook. So if you want to send me a message today, that's also fine, too. Yeah, it's probably the two best way to get me
Elizabeth Diacos: 20:02
So that'll be in the shownotes to this episode on my website and also on the hosting platform.
Caleb Shipley: 0:00
Sweet
Elizabeth Diacos: 20:09
Okay, so so as this is happening, you mentioned that you felt excited. What else is hapenning? What's life like for you right now?
Caleb Shipley: 20:20
Um, Man, I tell you what. It's it's hectic. Uh, it's go to school, Uh, you know, teach. I still teach US history and world geography. You know, go to school, come home, start working. It's It's a very much a two full time job kinda operation?
Elizabeth Diacos: 20:38
Yeah,
Caleb Shipley: 20:38
so...So I just stay busy with that.
Elizabeth Diacos: 20:41
And is your wife gonna be a business partner with you?
Caleb Shipley: 20:45
To an extent. She's in kind of a different situation than I am. Ah, she is. I don't know if it works its way with other countries as well. She's in special education,
Elizabeth Diacos: 20:58
okay
Caleb Shipley: 20:58
And, um, here they're generally treated much better. than regular teachers. Uh, for me, being a history teacher, we're not treated all that terribly well, uh, but her being a special education teacher, she gets treated far better than I will for one simple reason. They are much harder to find. Um, not many people want to do what she does, so she will be doing it. And we hope that some point for her to go full time with me as well. But she's, she's on kind of a different career track than I am
Elizabeth Diacos: 21:38
I understand. Yeah, Okay. All right. It's good that so at least there'll be, like you both getting to follow your purpose.
Caleb Shipley: 21:45
Yes. Yes.
Elizabeth Diacos: 21:47
Okay. So I have one final question for you, Caleb. And thank you so much for coming on the show. It's been great to talk to you
Caleb Shipley: 21:54
Thank you. Thank you.
Elizabeth Diacos: 21:55
But, I've got this this last, I guess what, what I would call a curly question, which is maybe a little bit, harder to answer than some of the other ones. What's the legacy that you want to leave in the world?
Caleb Shipley: 22:08
This is gonna sound very strange, but being a history guy, I honestly don't care if people remember me. I want them to remember the stories... I want them to remember, you know, what I'm a part of? Not necessarily me as an individual. So the legacy that I want to leave more than anything would be people knowing the stories of this planet that we live on, the state, that we live in, the countries we live. And if I can just contribute to that, just a little bit, that would be I'd be more than happy with that.
Elizabeth Diacos: 22:51
That sounds like a wonderful legacy to leave in the world. Thank you so much. And thank you for coming on the show today. Caleb, it's been great to talk with you.
Caleb Shipley: 22:59
Thank you for having me. Thank you very much.
Elizabeth Diacos: 23:02
You've been listening to the Get out of Teaching podcast presented by Larksong Enterprises with your host, Elizabeth Diacos. Do you know someone else who could benefit from hearing more stories of hope and transition from teachers all around the world? Please take a moment to share this, and other episodes via your podcast app... each share helps me reach listeners just like you who could benefit from this content. The Get out of Teaching podcast is proud to be part of the Experts on Air Podcast Network. For show notes and other resources, please visit larksong.com.au/podcast