Teachers who are no longer considered novices can have a difficult time admitting failures. There is an expectation that teachers should be "on" all the time, but disorientation can happen even to veteran teachers--or maybe especially to veteran teachers--if expectations are too high. Sarah Cooper, an experienced teacher and dean of studies at Flintridge Preparatory School in California, shares her experience of transitioning from teaching eighth-grade English to teaching history for the first time in a decade. After struggling for several months to find her identity as a history teacher, Sarah attended a department meeting in which she volunteered to discuss what didn't work and why, and her goals for the future. Colleagues gave conceptual and pedagogical suggestions, which helped her reorient the next year's curriculum around complex ideas. Being vulnerable allowed her to receive the help she needed in order to be successful in her classes. Willingness to change and grow needs to be modeled for students, and help is usually needed in order to do both.