Winter Break- How I Love Thee!

The glory of sleeping till 10! How amazing to have nothing to do!

Right.

I've been going in to school just about every day to get work done (but the sleeping-in is nice). It's a constant battle to stay afloat/get ahead. It's nice to sit at my desk in peace and quiet. I am able to get so much accomplished, though still procrastinating on the stack of 40 research papers in front of me...

I have also been using my break to prepare for what lies ahead. A few posts back, though forever-ago, I mentioned how my position had opened up permanently. I did not get the job, which was pretty heartbreaking. However, through a stroke of luck (or perhaps a little help from my supervisor's contacts), I've gotten another long-term sub position at a neighboring district. My supervisor was very sympathetic to my feelings on not getting the job and said she'd do anything to help me get another job, even if she couldn't offer me one. In one way, it feels like they're kicking me out. Like, "If I'm soooo good that you'd recommend me so highly, why aren't I good enough to work here?" I suppose sometimes there's more to it than that... and I'm pretty sure some networking of administrators led to the random call about this new position, for which I'm of course grateful.

It's going to be very different and I'm totally rejecting the idea of leaving my kids. But I'm trying to view it as good experience. I will have the opportunity to do block scheduling, work in a more urban environment, teach Hamlet (yikes!), and work with 12th graders again which will be completely different from the 9th grade maturity level I've been dealing with! I'm depressed to be on the interview circuit again this summer, but I figure I was making it to second-round interviews last year having no experience, so this year should lead to a contract... hopefully in my current district.

It's kind of nice to have the opportunity to "start over" as well. Because they are on block scheduling, the first day of the new semester, my first day will be the first day my students are in that class. So it's not really like I'm replacing someone in their minds. I will have the chance to do things better than I did last time, now that I know what worked well and what didn't. They say that those first days are the most important, and I've really come to accept that as truth. I've often thought "If only I could start over with these kids, things might be going better..."

Gosh, thinking about all the experiences I've had that I didn't have the chance to blog about: homebound instruction, parent conferences (the one who said I was disrespectful for calling her "ma'am"!!) , the student who was ecstatic upon seeing me at his chorus concert... 2008 has really been a whirlwind for me.

Last year at this time I was so terrified to begin student teaching. I didn't know how I'd do it, if I'd like it or if I'd really be any good at it. This time of year always brings about instrospection and I find myself being asked the question "Did you change at all this year?" For the first time, I think I can definitely say I have. Now I see myself as a teacher, instead of feeling like I'm playing a part. I may not know how the heck I'm going to teach Hamlet, but I know I can do it.




P.S. I found this neat resource today through NEA Today magazine: http://www.classroom20.com It's a social networking site like myspace or facebook, designed specifically for interaction among teachers. I don't know anyone on there, so the profile commenting is pretty useless right now, but they have some awesome forums. I've been reading all kinds of collaborative discussion between teachers of all grade (and university!) levels. Really cool, check it out! (Oh yeah and leave me a comment when you do, 'cause my page looks all lonely)