And the winner is . . .

Me!

I got my job! They like me. They really like me!

Job Interview

I interview for my job tomorrow. The good news is that there are no other applicants.

Summative Conference

So, I talked to my administrator at my summative conference. And, I got all meeting expectations and even one exemplary. Apparently, especially from her, that's amazing for my first year.

As far as the job front, she said that things are looking up. She can't say anything officially, but it's looking better than it was before. Even if there's a position, they would have to post the position and I would have to interview, but the good news is that they're in no way looking to replace me. Wahoo!

So, I'm still doing play practice every night until 6:30-7:00 and the play's coming up. Things are shaping up more and more each day, but the happy thing is that I finally have pretty much all of my lines memorized (knock on wood). The dances are coming okay. The other day, though we have a part where we turn suddenly one direction. I was okay until I realized that the reason I was facing Linus is that I was facing the wrong way. Well, you live, you learn, you turn the right direction.

Final Dress (in front of faculty): Thursday, February 22, 2007.
Final Production: Friday, February 23, 2007

News--Just a Bit

Don't get too excited, but it's still news. My administrator said that they are still working on a way to keep me (still don't know if they can), but to let her know before I accept an offer from any other district.

Wahoo!

Also, I have the stomach flu.

Blech!

Job Fair

This weekend was the job fair at the school district I currently teach at (and want to continue teaching at). Calling it a job fair actually seems a bit un-fair. (I'm really sorry, but it was too hard to resist.) I think of fairs as happy occasions. There's the kind where you get to buy really cool things or even the kind with cotton candy, balloons and darts, and roller coasters. Believe me, there were no roller coasters at the job fair. It's just a whole bunch of administrators and curriculum chairs (people, not furniture) giving job interviews and looking over resumes.

More than one person recommended that I go. I really do actually want to get hired next year, so I felt obliged. Yet, every other applicant that I chatted with while I was there looked at me like I was crazy for wasting my time. Their line of reasoning: You already have a job at "insert district name" so why do you even care. You already have your foot in the door. Actually, I'm kind of hoping that's the case. I also really can't afford to just coast through and hope really hard that I have a job next year.

My first interview went pretty well. I decided to interview with middle school applicants since I have met some of the high school teachers and administrators before. I actually ended up interviewing with the former curriculum chair for the district. Now she's an administrator at my old middle school. I think that it went well overall, but I just felt kind of fake to me. This may or may not be true, but I've just had interviews where I felt like I connected with the person so well. Ant hten here, I just felt like I was answering using the jargon I knew they wanted to hear. I believe everything that I said, but it doesn't help the feeling somehow.

The next interview went well to okay, depending on whose opinion you take. The curriculum chair for Comm. Arts had a back-up, so I ended up interviewing with the ESL and Foreign Language chair. Which worked out rather well since I have an endorsement in ESL. She actually hinted that there would be openings and would I be interested. I told her my most recent experience has been in teaching English, but if a job doesn't open up that I'd definitely consider it. To me, I was being honest. Some of my family seems to think that I should have told her yes straight away. My only thought is, that I would want someone to be upfront with me if I were in her shoes.

Openings don't actually open until March, so we'll see how things go. Wish me luck.

Random Job Thoughts

So, th. asked me a great question and so I thought I'd share with the world. Was it really worth it to change jobs?

The short answer would be yes and no. Welcome to blogville though and to my random musings so here comes the longer answer beginning with the pros and cons. So, whether or not you wanted the whole story, here it is.

What Has Been Worth It
1. Get to see old friends
2. More money
3. Get to teach Shakespeare (Huzzah!)
4. Get to work with sophomores (more maturity)
5. Get to meet new people
6. Get new teaching techniques
7. Get to teach at alma mater
8. Get to work with more extra-curricular activities
9. Have a better mentor
10. Get to teach reading and writing
11. Having absolutely amazing colleagues
12. Five minutes from my apartment
13. Now make enough to live in an apartment
14. Made connections and networks to call on in future
15. Strengthened resume
16. Getting two prep periods
17. Good advice from administrator
18. Great Co-teacher
19. Parents more involved with students' schooling

What Has Been Hardest
1. Not being on a team with my favorite people in the world
2. Teaching two entirely new subjects with two different books
3. Grading a million and a half papers
4. Have to wait longer to get tenure (switched districts)
5. Tough administrator
6. Over-protective parents
7. New teachers to get to know
8. Stigmas to get over
9. New school, new rules, new philosophy, new everything

The reason I switched schools in the first place was kind of serendipitous. Actually, I was planning on moving to Utah and so, for a kind of practice, I interviewed with my old school district. It's one of the best in the area (public schools at least) and it's always been my dream. I figured that it just seemed right. Well, I went to Utah, it suddenly didn't feel right, and then I got a call from my old school, interviewed, interviewed again and got the job.

I really, really loved my old job, but I was kind of spurred on by the question my sister asked me. "If you could do anything without being afraid, would you do this?" The answer was yes, so off I went, and it was darn hard. I have a lot of good things about it, but the hard things really are a tough adjustment. The funny thing is, though, if for some reason I would get offered a chance to stay, I would in a minute.

I finally feel like I'm adjusting. I think that at any teaching job it takes at least two years at a school before you really feel like you're making any progress rather than just treading water. (I've never been at a place longer than that since I only have two years under my belt.) I'm meeting more people and figuring out how in the world to work with freshman who can't figure out how to write a five-paragraph essay to save their lives.

I think though, too, that this might just have been God's way of tying up some loose ends for me. I had a tough time in high school (especially sophomore year) and between being painfully shy and some major health problems I struggled. I missed a lot of school and teachers and classmates weren't always so friendly about it. Now that I've been back, though, I feel like I kind of have gotten to show some of my stuff. I still don't always feel like the best teacher, but I've had a lot of positive feedback. Also, I've been able to do things as a teacher I never got to do as a student. I played in the student/faculty basketball game. I'm helping with the creative writing club and the book club. Heck, I'm a main character in a play! (Just call me Peppermint Patty!) How in the world did that happen? This all seems kind of selfish when I put it on paper, but it's true.

I will stop now to keep this from getting too glurge-y, but it was a hard decision to make and it's a good to think it through. Especially as I may or may not be going back to the same school next year.

So, th. hopefully not TMI, but there's the long answer.

I Made the Call

and switched to the middle school interview. I talked to a lovely, lovely woman in HR and it would mean that I'm still eligible for high school as well if an opening actually occurs at my current school. So, there are still chances to work high school.

Who knows where I'll really end up. Right now I'm just focusing on writing my resume.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Well, the times they are a changing . . . as well as probably my job . . . again.

We just got the news today that our Freshman enrollment for next year is down by 80 students. Bummer. This means that at most we'll be able to keep our current staff, which also means that my head is pretty much on the chopping block as I'm the only one with a one-year contract.

In a lot of ways this really shouldn't be a big deal as, really, it was only a one-year contract any way. I still had to reapply. I still had to actually get offered the job again. I guess I was just kind of optimistic that I'd get to stay. Everything just fell into line so perfectly. I knew I was meant to have this job.

At this point, I'm still trying to stay optimistic. This gives me another opportunity to stretch myself. I'm hoping I can find another job in-district. Maybe this is a chance for another change.

Part of me is starting to consider trying out for middle school again. I really liked a lot of aspects about teaching middle school, but I also really like a lot of aspects about high school. Most people seem to have a preference. They'll say, "Oh, I would never teach middle school," or "High school is really just not my cup of tea." For me, though, I love them both for different reasons. I love the subject matter of both--middle school has amazing YA lit to explore and high school has delve-worthy literature. Middle schoolers have tons of energy and enthusiasm. High schoolers have drive and a some-what more defined sense of self. I would be happy either place. I must be nuts. The only problem comes in interviews when the principal seems to think that whichever type of school their at is the superior level. I'll get questions like, "So, why middle school?" or just the opposite, "So, why high school?" And even though I can answer for either question, part of me feels dishonest. It seems like they're looking for me to be gung-ho only about their school. And I am gung-ho about their school and their level whatever job. It's just the whole word "only" that gets to me. Why do I have to choose? If I can do either, why not let me try out for either? Oh well. Point belabored.

So, back to the beginning. Possibly leaving. (Notice, the word possibly is still attached!). I've been involved with so many clubs this year and gotten to meet so many amazing kids. Between litmag club and book club and drama stuff, I just feel like I've met some kids with so much to offer. I'd love to keep working with them. I've also learned so much about teaching the subject matter and the age group. I feel like I'd just be giving up all of the new material. No matter what school I go to (even if I stay in-district), the material's going to be different. The demographics are going to be different. Pretty much everything will just be different.

I'm coming to the conclusion, however, that this is kind of going to be like EFY* for me. I had always wanted to be an EFY counselor. I never thought I actually could, but it was most definitely a goal of mine. So, when the interview just showed up at Institute one blustery Thursday night when I so jumped on the bandwagon and signed up for an interview and wonder of wonders, they hired me. My schedule only worked with one week, but there I was. I even was picked so sing a solo for a musical performance. It was magical. It was my dream. And it was hard. There was so much there that I expected to be hard. I had been to EFY before. I knew what to expect. I was tired and I was always being pushed for time and I was scared as heck that I was doing something wrong. I botched part of my song and there were girls that I felt like a failure with. But overall, I learned so many things. It was an amazing experience I wouldn't be the same without. While I was in it, though, I just kept thinking, well, next year I can do this, and next year I can try that. However, now that I'm trying to plan out the summer it doesn't look like EFY is going to be an option. I may not be able to go back to EFY, but EFY isn't the only place I can apply those lessons. I just have to apply that same thinking to my current job.

One important thing I learned at EFY was just to cheerfully do. So for now, that's what I'm going to do. Cheerfully.



*EFY stands for Especially for Youth and is a program for youth ages 14 through 18 year looking to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and run through the Department of Continuing Education at Brigham Young University.