I’m interested in living my life in an epistolary form, so I recently decided that I wanted to make this a blog of lists and letters. So here is my first list.
1. Get a new job. Either more fulfilling or less soul-sucking, or perhaps both.
2. Debts. Usurers beware! I shall banish thee from my life.
3. Grad school be gone!
4. Travel. Just do it.
5. Dream a little dream for me.
I have come to grips with the thankless and incredibly stressful environment in which I work. However, I still have not reconciled with the adversarial nature of the relationships between the school administration and teachers.
I can say with no sarcasm that our goals for our students are the same: to educate and prepare them for a life outside of our school’s walls. So, why can’t they be supportive of classroom teachers? Stopping by the room, informally observing for a few minutes would be a great help. Instead, all I get combatively worded memos about new or previously unknown classroom procedures.
Basically, I need a new job. Middle school is NOT the place for me, and maybe teaching isn’t either. I think I’ll be better equipped to decide after working in a high school.
Well, the obvious answer is: Me. I’ve finally got a job. I’m scheduled to work on Friday, at which point we will discuss my schedule for next week! Hurrah!
This means: no more unproductive couch-sitting all day long, a more regular sleep cycle, earning money(!), and spending more time near Union Square (which is a big bonus). I’m super excited, too, because the cafe where I’m now employed is nice, small, and independently owned; no uniforms, no satellite radio, and no corporate oversight.
I’ve been really reluctant to spread the news, because I felt like I was being kept in the dark about the final decision. No one ever said to me, in so many words, “Congratulations, you’re hired. We think you’re perfect for the job, and it’s yours.” After offering only vague predictions about my employment status to my family and a few friends, I finally feel comfortable telling the world (or the internet which, as Hannah points out, cannot really take the place of the world): I am employed.
When I’ve been working there for a while, maybe I’ll tell you where it is, and you can come get some coffee.
I am a teacher, barely.
It’s only Monday, and already the 150 students I have are absolutely nuts. Granted, most of them are 13 years old, but c’mon! It became abundantly clear today, that education is totally devalued in the community I work in. Students, who can’t divide or multiply, won’t let you get through a 10 minute lesson, and complain if there are 10 questions for homework, are so disinterested in actually learning that they can’t be bothered to come in for tutoring. Bah!
I think tomorrow will be better.
Posted in Work
