Well, I did it today, at long last. I completely made over my working wardrobe. I've always tried to look professional-yet-casual when I teach, but looking through my clothes yesterday in anticipation of today's shopping trip, I realized just how bad it was. I think I've had some of those shirts for close to ten years! So, away went all of my old clothes in a large bag for charity. Fortunately I have a few nice clothes that my mother bought for me last spring when I was feeling particularly despondent, and I picked up some new pants at Costco a couple of weeks ago. What I really needed, however, were some shoes! I'm not sure I've ever had a really good, comfortable pair of work shoes, just because I've never really been able to afford them. So this time around, price was no object, I just wanted to get good, solid, comfortable shoes, one pair in black and one in brown. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I did find them. (And my mother, who I asked to come for moral support and advice, was even kind enough to buy the brown pair.) I also wanted some shirts, and we found some at a good price at one store, then a bunch at a really good clearance price at another. While I was there, I also bought a belt and some socks. This is basically the first all-new work wardrobe I've ever had since becoming a teacher, and the first time I've bought so many clothes at once since I was in high school, I think. And it's all quality stuff, so it should last me for a few years — not that I intend to let my wardrobe fall into a state of complete decrepitude again if I can aford it!
That was pretty much it today, except I also got my membership packet for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) today as well. So I guess I'm a member.
Saturday, August 30, 2003
Friday, August 29, 2003
Wow, what a whirlwind of activity!
So, have you all missed me? It's been a pretty busy and stressful couple of days, but I think I'm nearly ready. So, here's what's been happening:
Wednesday, as I mentioned in my last entry, I got together with some of my colleagues, and we basically mapped out what's going to happen the first few days of school (whenever those days happen to be). Once we get settled, there are basically two different programs that are going to alternate days, the regular Connected Math program on block days, and Mental Math on lab days (those are the days we split the classes in half, and alternate with the students' English teachers so they get at least some math and English every day while we still have the benefit of block scheduling). However, it will still take a few days to get to that. Before then, we have rules and procedures to go over, a few team-building and introductory activities, and the like. It was a terrific experience, four of us working like colleagues to hash things out. It took us three hours to do, but it flew very quickly.
That afternoon, I headed to my job at Sylvan, only to find that it had changed slightly for the day. We have a terrific young woman, Vanessa, who pulls the books we need each hour, makes copies, and in general helps us get set up for our students. That day, she had strep throat! One of the other teachers was filling in doing the pulling, but she only knows the reading program, so they asked me to come in and pull for the math and writing programs, as I know them and roughly where everything is. I got in early to pull for the first two hours, then taught for an hour. Then I had no students for two hours so that I could pull (and put away) books and otherwise support the teachers. It made for a nice change of pace, and I enjoyed myself. (I wouldn't want to do it full-time, however, as Vanessa is much better at it.) Then I taught again for the last hour (7:00-8:00), did my updates, and put a few books away.
Thursday was our official (and, sadly, only) teacher prep day at MJHS, but I wasn't able to get a lot of prep in, as we had meetings and all kinds of other before-school information to deal with. All of us new teachers also had lunch with the principal to get all of our new-teacher questions answered. So by the time everything was taken care of, it was 2:30 — and I had to get out by 3:00 to get to Sylvan in time! At least I got to see the rest of the rooms I'll be working in. One extra "class" I'll have is T-Bird Time for the first twenty minutes of each day. (The name comes from the school mascot, the Thunderbirds. The logo is a very cool Native American representation of a thunderbird, you can see it at the top of the Marysville Junior High webpage, the link is over there on the right.) Every teacher has a group for the whole year, and the eighth graders will stay with the same teacher when they're in ninth grade as well. A student's T-Bird Time teacher is essentially their mentor and advocate. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, T-Bird Time is an advisory, with short lessons on character and the like. The other three days will be silent reading. So, an hour of silent reading a week beats none, which is what we had when I was a student. Anyway, to make a short story long, I will be having my T-Bird Time in a small upstairs room usually used for in-house suspension. Actually, it won't be too bad, it has enough room and stadium seating.
Okay, are you confused enough yet? Then I'll move on. Last night I had to book it directly to Sylvan for my last regular during-the-week teaching day. (I'm still going to teach on Saturdays starting next week, at least for a while.) That, at least, went well and with no problems. But I still had some things to do at MJHS, and so I had to go up this morning to get myself organized, get a few items ready for the first day, and take whatever I needed to go over and get ready for school on Tuesday (or whatever the first day ends up being), as today was the only day the building would be open and available. And in case you were wondering, no, I don't have keys for my rooms yet, because of the possibility of a strike. They don't want teachers going in and doing anything if they're not actually going to be working. I thought I'd at least be able to get on the computer and look at my class lists, check my e-mail, and the like, but I'm not set up yet.
And that's about it! I was up there a lot less time than I thought I would be, so at long last I have some time at home with few responsibilities. Tomorrow I'm going to brave the mall and get some new shirts and shoes, both of which I've needed for ages, and this new job is a good excuse for me to do so at last. As I was putting all of my old "school" shirts in a bag for charity, I realized that I've had some of them for about ten years. It is definitely time for an all-new teaching wardrobe! I also have a lot of notebooks and the school's agenda to look over, copy my scrawled notes from Wednesday into a coherent lesson plan, shopping, laundry, ironing, and various other little items to take care of. No wonder school usually starts the day after Labor Day, teachers need that extra day just to get ready! If there is a strike, at least there will be a silver lining of a little more prep time. But no matter what, I will be ready for school Tuesday morning!
Wednesday, as I mentioned in my last entry, I got together with some of my colleagues, and we basically mapped out what's going to happen the first few days of school (whenever those days happen to be). Once we get settled, there are basically two different programs that are going to alternate days, the regular Connected Math program on block days, and Mental Math on lab days (those are the days we split the classes in half, and alternate with the students' English teachers so they get at least some math and English every day while we still have the benefit of block scheduling). However, it will still take a few days to get to that. Before then, we have rules and procedures to go over, a few team-building and introductory activities, and the like. It was a terrific experience, four of us working like colleagues to hash things out. It took us three hours to do, but it flew very quickly.
That afternoon, I headed to my job at Sylvan, only to find that it had changed slightly for the day. We have a terrific young woman, Vanessa, who pulls the books we need each hour, makes copies, and in general helps us get set up for our students. That day, she had strep throat! One of the other teachers was filling in doing the pulling, but she only knows the reading program, so they asked me to come in and pull for the math and writing programs, as I know them and roughly where everything is. I got in early to pull for the first two hours, then taught for an hour. Then I had no students for two hours so that I could pull (and put away) books and otherwise support the teachers. It made for a nice change of pace, and I enjoyed myself. (I wouldn't want to do it full-time, however, as Vanessa is much better at it.) Then I taught again for the last hour (7:00-8:00), did my updates, and put a few books away.
Thursday was our official (and, sadly, only) teacher prep day at MJHS, but I wasn't able to get a lot of prep in, as we had meetings and all kinds of other before-school information to deal with. All of us new teachers also had lunch with the principal to get all of our new-teacher questions answered. So by the time everything was taken care of, it was 2:30 — and I had to get out by 3:00 to get to Sylvan in time! At least I got to see the rest of the rooms I'll be working in. One extra "class" I'll have is T-Bird Time for the first twenty minutes of each day. (The name comes from the school mascot, the Thunderbirds. The logo is a very cool Native American representation of a thunderbird, you can see it at the top of the Marysville Junior High webpage, the link is over there on the right.) Every teacher has a group for the whole year, and the eighth graders will stay with the same teacher when they're in ninth grade as well. A student's T-Bird Time teacher is essentially their mentor and advocate. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, T-Bird Time is an advisory, with short lessons on character and the like. The other three days will be silent reading. So, an hour of silent reading a week beats none, which is what we had when I was a student. Anyway, to make a short story long, I will be having my T-Bird Time in a small upstairs room usually used for in-house suspension. Actually, it won't be too bad, it has enough room and stadium seating.
Okay, are you confused enough yet? Then I'll move on. Last night I had to book it directly to Sylvan for my last regular during-the-week teaching day. (I'm still going to teach on Saturdays starting next week, at least for a while.) That, at least, went well and with no problems. But I still had some things to do at MJHS, and so I had to go up this morning to get myself organized, get a few items ready for the first day, and take whatever I needed to go over and get ready for school on Tuesday (or whatever the first day ends up being), as today was the only day the building would be open and available. And in case you were wondering, no, I don't have keys for my rooms yet, because of the possibility of a strike. They don't want teachers going in and doing anything if they're not actually going to be working. I thought I'd at least be able to get on the computer and look at my class lists, check my e-mail, and the like, but I'm not set up yet.
And that's about it! I was up there a lot less time than I thought I would be, so at long last I have some time at home with few responsibilities. Tomorrow I'm going to brave the mall and get some new shirts and shoes, both of which I've needed for ages, and this new job is a good excuse for me to do so at last. As I was putting all of my old "school" shirts in a bag for charity, I realized that I've had some of them for about ten years. It is definitely time for an all-new teaching wardrobe! I also have a lot of notebooks and the school's agenda to look over, copy my scrawled notes from Wednesday into a coherent lesson plan, shopping, laundry, ironing, and various other little items to take care of. No wonder school usually starts the day after Labor Day, teachers need that extra day just to get ready! If there is a strike, at least there will be a silver lining of a little more prep time. But no matter what, I will be ready for school Tuesday morning!
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
One week to go...
School is supposed to start one week from today, and it's getting into high gear. We had another workshop today, and during lunch the math department met to get the ball rolling on starting up, getting out books and other supplies, and the like. Tomorrow, I'm meeting with some of my colleagues to discuss the actual math program I'll be teaching (I'm one of two -- out of eight math teachers in the school -- who will only be teaching eighth grade math). Thursday is teacher prep day, and I presume we'll get keys and schedules and the like. After that, quietly prepare for the opening of school next Tuesday and hope that we actually get to start that day...
Monday, August 25, 2003
It's all starting to get official
Today was, I guess, my first truly official day on the job, as I had the orientation for new-to-the-district teachers. This included meeting the superintendent and board members, finding out about security, HIV/how to handle bleeding, harassment, and other fun topics like that. The big one, however, was benefits. After not having them for so long, I'm quite glad to have all this paperwork to fill out tonight. Laura and I had a tough time figuring out which medical plan to go with (I think we had seven to choose from), but we found one that will probably work out best for our current needs. I also got trained on the district's computer and e-mail system in a very warm and stuffy little elementary computer lab. Oh, yeah, and I got my first call from my picket captain tonight about possible actions leading up to a possible strike. I hope everyone can come to an agreement soon. A mediator steps in tomorrow, so maybe we won't have to worry about it.
Saturday, August 23, 2003
So, did you miss me?
I had a little scare yesterday, when a bunch of tiny flies fell from my light fixture while I was taking care of business on my computer. Needless to say, I fled, sealed my room up, called an exterminator, and used my wife's computer for the rest of what I was doing. All this means is that I never got around to doing anything on this blog yesterday. So sorry. I'm going to make up for it now, of course.
So I've been telling everyone that I've been taking a workshop, but I never did mention what it was about, did I? Well, now that it's nearly over, I can tell you more about it. MJHS recently received a grant from the Gates Foundation -- yes, that's the same Gates family that runs Microsoft, so Bill is using his money for something other than ruling cyberspace -- to shrink the school. Well, that's not quite it, but it's a good very short summary. Here's the deal: MJHS is a very large school, with nearly a thousand students in only two grades. (This is not a phenomenon limited to just this school; Marysville-Pilchuck High School is one of the largest in the state.) As a result, the staff felt that they couldn't serve all their students, as it was too easy for them to hide or fall through the cracks. The Gates grant will help restructure the school so that instead of every staff memeber keeping an eye on one thousand students, there would be four academies within the school, and each staff member would therefore have only about 250 students to keep track of, and thus could get to know the students better and act as more of a mentor than someone they see for an hour a day.
Of course, it's not quite that easy -- hence, this workshop. It gave the staff the chance to find out more about the grant, but more importantly it gave them the opportunity to cement for themselves why they were doing it, and what it involved. In other words, it's all well and good to say, "We want to break the school up into four smaller schools," but then what? What does that mean for the students? For the staff? For the parents? For the community? And how does it get done?
I believe this is the first year of the grant, and I gather it goes for three years. It sounds like MJHS is already doing some things right, and the staff is generally buying into the concept, but of course there are also concerns and questions -- and it's not going to happen all at once, it will take some time to truly get to where everyone wants to go. But it was certainly valuable to me, as at least I have a pretty good idea of what I've gotten myself in for.
Well, this coming week should be full and exciting. Monday is the orientation for new teachers to the district, and I'm also taking a workshop on the district's e-mail program that evening (I think I'll do just fine there). Tuesday is the final day of the workshop, and as far as I can tell, Wednesday is a free day, and Thursday and Friday are the first official work days in the building. Then the week after that (provided the district and union can agree on a contract) is everything that I've been working for for so long...the first week of school...with students, even...
So I've been telling everyone that I've been taking a workshop, but I never did mention what it was about, did I? Well, now that it's nearly over, I can tell you more about it. MJHS recently received a grant from the Gates Foundation -- yes, that's the same Gates family that runs Microsoft, so Bill is using his money for something other than ruling cyberspace -- to shrink the school. Well, that's not quite it, but it's a good very short summary. Here's the deal: MJHS is a very large school, with nearly a thousand students in only two grades. (This is not a phenomenon limited to just this school; Marysville-Pilchuck High School is one of the largest in the state.) As a result, the staff felt that they couldn't serve all their students, as it was too easy for them to hide or fall through the cracks. The Gates grant will help restructure the school so that instead of every staff memeber keeping an eye on one thousand students, there would be four academies within the school, and each staff member would therefore have only about 250 students to keep track of, and thus could get to know the students better and act as more of a mentor than someone they see for an hour a day.
Of course, it's not quite that easy -- hence, this workshop. It gave the staff the chance to find out more about the grant, but more importantly it gave them the opportunity to cement for themselves why they were doing it, and what it involved. In other words, it's all well and good to say, "We want to break the school up into four smaller schools," but then what? What does that mean for the students? For the staff? For the parents? For the community? And how does it get done?
I believe this is the first year of the grant, and I gather it goes for three years. It sounds like MJHS is already doing some things right, and the staff is generally buying into the concept, but of course there are also concerns and questions -- and it's not going to happen all at once, it will take some time to truly get to where everyone wants to go. But it was certainly valuable to me, as at least I have a pretty good idea of what I've gotten myself in for.
Well, this coming week should be full and exciting. Monday is the orientation for new teachers to the district, and I'm also taking a workshop on the district's e-mail program that evening (I think I'll do just fine there). Tuesday is the final day of the workshop, and as far as I can tell, Wednesday is a free day, and Thursday and Friday are the first official work days in the building. Then the week after that (provided the district and union can agree on a contract) is everything that I've been working for for so long...the first week of school...with students, even...
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
More about my new job
Slowly, the details are dribbling in. Today after our workshop, several of the math teachers had a brief get-together to look at the evolving department schedule. First off, I'll be teaching nothing but the regular eighth grade curriculum. That's cool. And it's presented as a series of small books (think of each book as a chapter of a traditional math book), so if I want a little variety, I can mix things up a bit and teach two or three different things to different classes. But here's the most interesting part: MJHS has a block schedule, which means four periods one day, four different periods the second, and they keep swapping back and forth. And I will get four classes each day. "But wait," I can hear those of you who read yesterday's entry saying, "how can that be if you also have two prep periods?" One of those periods is split in two, so there can be short English and math classes on "off" days. A normal class is about eighty minutes, but these "labs" are only forty. One day I will have two classes for eighty minutes each and two for forty each, then switch the next day. This way, everyone gets the benefit of block classes and also gets English and math instruction every day. Technically, students are in five classes each day, but two of those classes are only half as long as the other three. Clear? (Yeah, it took me a few moments as well. At least I'm the only one who has to know it!)
I'm also getting a decent idea of where I'll be teaching, and while I'm not wild about it, at least I'm in no worse shape than anyone else. Because of the split blocks, what the department co-chairs are trying to do is have each teacher in a room one day, and traveling to other rooms the other day -- and the day that teachers move, they don't have to move more than once. This is for every teacher in the department, not just the new ones (yes, there is a fellow rookie math teacher with me).
After our workshop, there was also a building-wide union meeting about contract negotiations and the threat of a strike. I'm going to not talk about things here, I don't want to spread anything that I don't know much about or shouldn't say otherwise. But at least we all have a better idea of what's going on now, and it doesn't sound as bad or dire as it's being made out in some news articles I've read. I figure there's still almost two weeks before school starts, a lot can happen in that time, so I'm not going to worry about it yet.
I'm also getting a decent idea of where I'll be teaching, and while I'm not wild about it, at least I'm in no worse shape than anyone else. Because of the split blocks, what the department co-chairs are trying to do is have each teacher in a room one day, and traveling to other rooms the other day -- and the day that teachers move, they don't have to move more than once. This is for every teacher in the department, not just the new ones (yes, there is a fellow rookie math teacher with me).
After our workshop, there was also a building-wide union meeting about contract negotiations and the threat of a strike. I'm going to not talk about things here, I don't want to spread anything that I don't know much about or shouldn't say otherwise. But at least we all have a better idea of what's going on now, and it doesn't sound as bad or dire as it's being made out in some news articles I've read. I figure there's still almost two weeks before school starts, a lot can happen in that time, so I'm not going to worry about it yet.
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
My first day at work!
Well, today was the day. I got to go to school today, meet my new colleagues, and take part in a workshop. It went very well! I'm now more glad than ever that I'm working at MJHS, it has a terrific staff (those I've met so far, at least -- one asked if I was related to Helen, my grandmother who also taught in Marysville), and I've even heard that some of the other teachers are jealous that the math department is so good! I won't bore you with all the details about the workshop, but Mary, one of the math department co-heads, did show me around during one break. I got to see some of the rooms (no word yet on whether I get my own room, share with another teacher, or get to push a cart around the school) and the book storage area. Huzzah, it's the same program that they use in the Northshore school district, so I'm already familiar with it! (And the other department co-head is looking to see if I will be able to take a workshop on the curriculum later this week, as well.)
I also got a look at my schedule, and it looks like a good one. MJHS has an eight period day -- but some of those are short lab periods, I gather, so it's still only a six-hours-plus-lunch day for the students. At any rate, I have two prep periods. Third period is the common prep time for the entire math department, and it looks like the department will meet at that time to do whatever needs to be done. My other prep period is eighth, which will be nice, as I can end my day by getting ready for the next day, and still get out at a reasonable time (at least that's the theory -- in reality, I know I'll have meetings, papers to grade, calls to make, notes to write, e-mail to handle, etc., etc.). Not bad at all, and my class times are nicely broken up during the day. Yup, I am definitely going to like it here this year!
I also got a look at my schedule, and it looks like a good one. MJHS has an eight period day -- but some of those are short lab periods, I gather, so it's still only a six-hours-plus-lunch day for the students. At any rate, I have two prep periods. Third period is the common prep time for the entire math department, and it looks like the department will meet at that time to do whatever needs to be done. My other prep period is eighth, which will be nice, as I can end my day by getting ready for the next day, and still get out at a reasonable time (at least that's the theory -- in reality, I know I'll have meetings, papers to grade, calls to make, notes to write, e-mail to handle, etc., etc.). Not bad at all, and my class times are nicely broken up during the day. Yup, I am definitely going to like it here this year!
Monday, August 18, 2003
Random Thoughts
Just a few stray neurons floating through my brain to entertain you tonight:
I took care of the last piece of preliminary paperwork for my job this morning. It seems that the measles vaccination I received as a baby didn't take -- there are apparently thousands of folks of my generation in the same boat -- and I wasn't considered immune. But I got an MMR vaccination today, so I should be set now.
My first official task as a Marysville School District teacher is tomorrow morning. Last spring Marysville Junior High received a Gates Foundation grant to redesign the structure of the school. The first staff workshop on how this will all work is tomorrow.
Marysville teachers are talking a strike. The accept-or-strike vote is set for September 1, the day before school is supposed to start. What a way to start the next step of my career, on the picket line. Still, it would be a good way to bond with my colleagues. However, that's still two weeks away, so I'm not going to worry about it now. (Sylvan has already said I can keep working evenings during the week should there be a strike.)
So, my cryptic reference yesterday to my fondness for the history of mathematics? In 1984, I went to the national high school math convention in New Orleans. I was recruited by our coach to take the math history test, and he loaned me a copy of Men of Mathematics, the book that they had always taken the questions from. I don't think I finished, but I came close. Guess what? That was the first year they didn't use MOM (as I got to know the book) for the test. I only got fourteen of the forty questions right. And I still came in third in the nation! (The big surprise, however, was when I also came in fifth in the test on radicals!) Later on, I took a math history course in college -- in fact, it was the only course in the math department labeled as "Writing Intensive" -- and it was a blast. Between those two events, I've grown to appreciate the role of math in history and vice versa.
I took care of the last piece of preliminary paperwork for my job this morning. It seems that the measles vaccination I received as a baby didn't take -- there are apparently thousands of folks of my generation in the same boat -- and I wasn't considered immune. But I got an MMR vaccination today, so I should be set now.
My first official task as a Marysville School District teacher is tomorrow morning. Last spring Marysville Junior High received a Gates Foundation grant to redesign the structure of the school. The first staff workshop on how this will all work is tomorrow.
Marysville teachers are talking a strike. The accept-or-strike vote is set for September 1, the day before school is supposed to start. What a way to start the next step of my career, on the picket line. Still, it would be a good way to bond with my colleagues. However, that's still two weeks away, so I'm not going to worry about it now. (Sylvan has already said I can keep working evenings during the week should there be a strike.)
So, my cryptic reference yesterday to my fondness for the history of mathematics? In 1984, I went to the national high school math convention in New Orleans. I was recruited by our coach to take the math history test, and he loaned me a copy of Men of Mathematics, the book that they had always taken the questions from. I don't think I finished, but I came close. Guess what? That was the first year they didn't use MOM (as I got to know the book) for the test. I only got fourteen of the forty questions right. And I still came in third in the nation! (The big surprise, however, was when I also came in fifth in the test on radicals!) Later on, I took a math history course in college -- in fact, it was the only course in the math department labeled as "Writing Intensive" -- and it was a blast. Between those two events, I've grown to appreciate the role of math in history and vice versa.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Some math links
I can't think of anything to write today, so I thought I'd go trolling around online to see if I could find some useful links. And here are a few good ones I found:
Math Forum: A good general math site, with areas for students, teachers, and even their own question-and-answer column, Ask Dr. Math. Not quite as excitiing as Dear Abby, but he does have good answers.
EdHelper.com has ready-made lessons and worksheets for all levels of math (as well as other subjects), so I suspect I'll be visiting them often.
The appropriately named math.com has all kinds of goodies, so I hope I get a chance to explore that site more.
How come I've never heard of the American Mathematical Society before? This looks like another interesting one to look into as well.
Math Archives looks like it may be aimed more at college students, but I'll check them out later as well.
Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies looks interesting, and about right for the level I'll be teaching. I'm especially interested in looking at the interactive math lessons.
Math World looks ike it will be a good resource, especially since it's one of the few online resources I've ever seen with current math news.
And finally (for now), a site on a topic near and dear to my heart, the history of mathematics. I should probably explain why it's so near and dear to my heart some time. Well, that will be another entry.
I hope my technical guru will put these links up on the sidebar soon, and I also hope to find more interesting links as well. Until then, do any of you out there have a good math site you'd like to recommend? Let me know in the comments.
Math Forum: A good general math site, with areas for students, teachers, and even their own question-and-answer column, Ask Dr. Math. Not quite as excitiing as Dear Abby, but he does have good answers.
EdHelper.com has ready-made lessons and worksheets for all levels of math (as well as other subjects), so I suspect I'll be visiting them often.
The appropriately named math.com has all kinds of goodies, so I hope I get a chance to explore that site more.
How come I've never heard of the American Mathematical Society before? This looks like another interesting one to look into as well.
Math Archives looks like it may be aimed more at college students, but I'll check them out later as well.
Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies looks interesting, and about right for the level I'll be teaching. I'm especially interested in looking at the interactive math lessons.
Math World looks ike it will be a good resource, especially since it's one of the few online resources I've ever seen with current math news.
And finally (for now), a site on a topic near and dear to my heart, the history of mathematics. I should probably explain why it's so near and dear to my heart some time. Well, that will be another entry.
I hope my technical guru will put these links up on the sidebar soon, and I also hope to find more interesting links as well. Until then, do any of you out there have a good math site you'd like to recommend? Let me know in the comments.
Saturday, August 16, 2003
How I got my job
Busy day yesterday, big day ahead of me, so of course I get insomnia and can't sleep this morning. Oh, well, I may as well tell this amusing little story about getting my job.
One day this summer -- I think it was a Wednesday -- I got a call from the Monroe school district (the next district over to the east from where I live, and one I wouldn't mind teaching in at all) to set up an interview at Monroe Junior High. They wanted to know what was a good day, and I told them either Friday or the following Monday, but I'd prefer Monday. "Great," they said, "we'll call you later today to tell you which day for sure."
Later that day, I got a call from someone who quickly said, "Hi, this is So-and-so from the M---- school district, and we'd like to set up an interview for a job at the junior high on Friday." Somehow, I got it in my head that this was from Monroe, so I said "Sure," assuming that this was in regards to the earlier call and that Monday wasn't going to work out. So she wanted to give me directions, and needed a reference point. I said I'd be coming in on Highway 522, and she didn't know where that was. I figured that was odd, as that was one of the main drags through Monroe, but mentally shrugged and said "the fairgrounds," as the Evergreen State Fair is held there every year, and that's another major landmark in town that I'd be near to get to Monroe. When the person I was talking to said, "What fairgrounds?" I twigged on that something got crossed, and finally asked, "What district did you say you were calling from again?" It was Marysville, not Monroe. Once that was straightened out, I got the directions and everything was fine. And Monroe called later that day and I got a Monday morning interview there as well. (I have no idea how well I did in that intweview, however, as Marysville made the offer on Tuesday -- one of the benefits of a references list with summer contact information! -- and as I was very impressed with the interview team and their program, I immediately accepted and wrote to Monroe to bow out of consideration.)
Now, the ironic twist to all this, and perhaps part of the reason for my confusion (aside from both starting with M), is that both districts are part of my family history. My grandmother worked in Marysville for many years -- and still lives there, for that matter. My dad and his brother and sister all went to school there as well. In fact, the building I'll be working in was the brand new high school my father attended. My aunt and uncle live in Monroe, and she was a teacher in that district. In fact, she may have helped plant the seeds for my career. When I was still in high school, she was the librarian at one of the elementary schools, and they gave themselves the nickname of Wizards. (This was long before Harry Potter, of course. The logo they used looked more like Gandalf or Merlin.) My aunt knew that I was a fan of The Wizard of Oz, so she invited me to give a talk to some classes and show off some of my collection. "Neat," I thought to myself, "and I can get out of school for a day." I had a great time, and I got better at my talk as the day progressed, and it seemed to go over very well. I've never thought of that day as being the genesis of my teaching career, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if it wasn't at least a factor. (By the way, by a twist of fate, that day I was a guest speaker in Monroe, there was some snow flying around. My school district delayed the start by an hour, but Monroe did not. So I was one of the few kids in my district that didn't get to sleep in that morning...)
(due to posting difficulties, this entry was written by Eric, but posted by "Tegan")
One day this summer -- I think it was a Wednesday -- I got a call from the Monroe school district (the next district over to the east from where I live, and one I wouldn't mind teaching in at all) to set up an interview at Monroe Junior High. They wanted to know what was a good day, and I told them either Friday or the following Monday, but I'd prefer Monday. "Great," they said, "we'll call you later today to tell you which day for sure."
Later that day, I got a call from someone who quickly said, "Hi, this is So-and-so from the M---- school district, and we'd like to set up an interview for a job at the junior high on Friday." Somehow, I got it in my head that this was from Monroe, so I said "Sure," assuming that this was in regards to the earlier call and that Monday wasn't going to work out. So she wanted to give me directions, and needed a reference point. I said I'd be coming in on Highway 522, and she didn't know where that was. I figured that was odd, as that was one of the main drags through Monroe, but mentally shrugged and said "the fairgrounds," as the Evergreen State Fair is held there every year, and that's another major landmark in town that I'd be near to get to Monroe. When the person I was talking to said, "What fairgrounds?" I twigged on that something got crossed, and finally asked, "What district did you say you were calling from again?" It was Marysville, not Monroe. Once that was straightened out, I got the directions and everything was fine. And Monroe called later that day and I got a Monday morning interview there as well. (I have no idea how well I did in that intweview, however, as Marysville made the offer on Tuesday -- one of the benefits of a references list with summer contact information! -- and as I was very impressed with the interview team and their program, I immediately accepted and wrote to Monroe to bow out of consideration.)
Now, the ironic twist to all this, and perhaps part of the reason for my confusion (aside from both starting with M), is that both districts are part of my family history. My grandmother worked in Marysville for many years -- and still lives there, for that matter. My dad and his brother and sister all went to school there as well. In fact, the building I'll be working in was the brand new high school my father attended. My aunt and uncle live in Monroe, and she was a teacher in that district. In fact, she may have helped plant the seeds for my career. When I was still in high school, she was the librarian at one of the elementary schools, and they gave themselves the nickname of Wizards. (This was long before Harry Potter, of course. The logo they used looked more like Gandalf or Merlin.) My aunt knew that I was a fan of The Wizard of Oz, so she invited me to give a talk to some classes and show off some of my collection. "Neat," I thought to myself, "and I can get out of school for a day." I had a great time, and I got better at my talk as the day progressed, and it seemed to go over very well. I've never thought of that day as being the genesis of my teaching career, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if it wasn't at least a factor. (By the way, by a twist of fate, that day I was a guest speaker in Monroe, there was some snow flying around. My school district delayed the start by an hour, but Monroe did not. So I was one of the few kids in my district that didn't get to sleep in that morning...)
(due to posting difficulties, this entry was written by Eric, but posted by "Tegan")
Thursday, August 14, 2003
My other teaching job
I'm kind of short on time right now, but I thought I'd take a couple of moments to talk about my other teaching job (as you might guess from the title of this entry). For the past two years, when money was tight and it looked like I wasn't going to get a "real" teaching job any time soon, I've been working evenings and summers at the Sylvan Learning Center in Kirkland, just down the road a bit. It's been an anchor that I've probably needed. I've seen many of the same teachers every day, and even had the chance to talk to some of them and trade ideas and stories and the like -- in other words, they were the colleagues I couldn't find anywhere else. And the work was interesting. I'd teach up to three students at a time, and they'd all be working on different subjects at different levels. It could get to be an interesting proposition if all three of them needed my attention at once, but overall it seems to work. Those students who take to the system and the individual attention, and work at it, can thrive.
But it also took its toll on me. For a long time I worked four nights a week, three hours of teaching plus filling out paperwork per night, on top of substitute teaching during the day. My family knew about this, and so my folks, earlier this year, finally offered to offset my loss of income if I'd cut down to two nights a week, provided that I used the extra time to apply for jobs. Well, as much as I hate being thirty-seven years old and still taking money from my parents, it was worth it. My stress levels went way down, and I felt better about my job hunt. And, as you probably know by now, it paid off with that ever elusive "real" teaching job.
Last summer Sylvan had teaching going on twenty hours a week. I was able to teach during all that time, and that was a big help in keeping the wolf from the door. This summer, even though I put in for that many hours again, I've only gotten about half of that, so once more we're in dire financial straits (although not as bad as I was afraid it would be -- yet), but at least I know this financial crisis has a light at the end of the tunnel. But the lessened hours has made me think about Sylvan and what an important role it's had for me in the last two years. I may grumble about overwork and not having free evenings, but they did keep my head above water, and for that I will always be grateful. My first thought was to not go back at all this fall, now that I have that real teaching job, but I decided to stay, at least for a bit, to supplement my income. Good thing they'll be offering classes Saturday mornings, as that's about the only time I can teach there comfortably, and one of the few times most of my colleagues don't want to teach. Still, if it turns out to be too much, I should be able to leave with a clear conscience.
But it also took its toll on me. For a long time I worked four nights a week, three hours of teaching plus filling out paperwork per night, on top of substitute teaching during the day. My family knew about this, and so my folks, earlier this year, finally offered to offset my loss of income if I'd cut down to two nights a week, provided that I used the extra time to apply for jobs. Well, as much as I hate being thirty-seven years old and still taking money from my parents, it was worth it. My stress levels went way down, and I felt better about my job hunt. And, as you probably know by now, it paid off with that ever elusive "real" teaching job.
Last summer Sylvan had teaching going on twenty hours a week. I was able to teach during all that time, and that was a big help in keeping the wolf from the door. This summer, even though I put in for that many hours again, I've only gotten about half of that, so once more we're in dire financial straits (although not as bad as I was afraid it would be -- yet), but at least I know this financial crisis has a light at the end of the tunnel. But the lessened hours has made me think about Sylvan and what an important role it's had for me in the last two years. I may grumble about overwork and not having free evenings, but they did keep my head above water, and for that I will always be grateful. My first thought was to not go back at all this fall, now that I have that real teaching job, but I decided to stay, at least for a bit, to supplement my income. Good thing they'll be offering classes Saturday mornings, as that's about the only time I can teach there comfortably, and one of the few times most of my colleagues don't want to teach. Still, if it turns out to be too much, I should be able to leave with a clear conscience.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Some trivia about my job
My school is about twenty minutes away from home, and the trip takes about thirty minutes in good weather and traffic. This is no worse -- and in some cases, better -- than many of the assignments I got as a substitute.
No, I will not have to move for this job. Eventually, I'd like to work a lot closer to home, but for now, just to get myself established, I'll take this one!
And now, something I hope to make a semi-regular feature of this blog, LINKS!
Forty-three proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem
Family math challenges at www.figurethis.org
I hope my technical guru will be able to add these to my site links soon.
No, I will not have to move for this job. Eventually, I'd like to work a lot closer to home, but for now, just to get myself established, I'll take this one!
And now, something I hope to make a semi-regular feature of this blog, LINKS!
Forty-three proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem
Family math challenges at www.figurethis.org
I hope my technical guru will be able to add these to my site links soon.
It's all happening!
I spent an enjoyable hour this morning at the Marysville SD's service center, getting things going for the coming year. The big order of business I had to take care of was fingerprinting, but Connie, who did the job, is obviously very experienced. It went quickly, and then she gave me a squirt of auto degreaser to wash off the ink. Boy, did that do the job! I also turned in a bunch of my paperwork, and Connie told me how well organized I was about it. Apparently most teachers aren't so careful. The only form I didn't turn in was my immunization record. It turns out that I was too young when I got my measles shots, and it probably didn't take! Then there was one last order of business before I took off: They made my ID badge for me! So I guess it's all really happening, as I now have tangible proof! My picture on a little piece of plastic! Woo-hoo!
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
So where am I coming from?
Okay, I have a little time to kill right now, I may as well flesh out my biography a bit. I went into teaching initially because I was good at math. In high school I was on the fast track for math. I took the equivalent of five years in only four, and I was not only a good math student, I enjoyed it. So I thought I'd do something mathematical for a career. But engineering and the like didn't appeal to me, so I thought I'd become a math teacher. And once I entered college, I started taking the necessary math classes.
Then reality set in: I was a good math student, but I wasn't that good! I struggled with college-level calculus, and did a re-think of my goals. I still wanted to teach, but it looked like I might have some trouble teaching math. There were also other things I wanted to do as a teacher that would not be at all math-related, so I decided to work on getting my degree in elementary education, instead. But I still specialized in math. Once I got through the calculus courses, I found I wasn't so bad at college math, after all, and kept going. So almost as soon as I graduated and got my initial certificate, I also got a math endorsement.
I started looking for jobs, but admittedly not terribly hard. I ended up subbing in Seattle for two years. It was a baptism of fire, but it sure taught me a lot. I worked primarily in elementary schools, but thanks to my math background and experiences with computers, I also worked some at the junior and senior high schools. Finally, my third year, I got a contract! It was only half-time, teaching elementary computers, but my foot was in the door, and it was a good experience. I thought I was pretty well set -- then nothing happened the next year. The position had been for a leave replacement, so I knew I wouldn't be returning to the same school, but I didn't get a position anywhere else, either. I had a few interviews for other jobs, but no offers. So I was back to subbing. This went on for some time. I would make the occasional inquiry about other jobs, but I never put the effort into it that I should have. Finally, after eight years working in Seattle, I decided it was time to move on.
By this time, I was married and living in Bothell, northeast of Seattle, so I decided to see if the local districts needed subs, possibly allowing me to move into a contracted job later. Sure enough, I was able to get on the sub lists right away in both the Northshore and Lake Washington districts. And a year later, Lake Washington offered me a job! To be sure, it was part-time again, teaching two math classes at Lake Washington High School, but it was my foot in the door again. It was another good learning experience, and again I learned a lot. But because of decreasing enrollement, my contract was not picked up for the next year, and I foolishly did nothing to get another job in the district.
Since then, I've been subbing again. I subbed in both districts for four years, teaching at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. I found that I really enjoyed teaching the older students, especially math, which I hadn't taught a lot of, but kept gaining confidence the more that I remembered and practiced. I had a lot of students tell me that I explained things a lot better than their regular teacher, and in general I seemed to do well, at least for someone they'd only see a day or two.
But I still wasn't getting job offers. I kept my application files up-to-date in the districts I worked in, but that was about all I did. Both are attractive districts that many of teachers want to work in, so there wasn't much call for me. So I finally decided that I had to do something about it. I couldn't just wait for the jobs to come to me, I had to go out and pursue them. I know, I know, it took me a very long time to figure it out. I keep kicking myself for how much I could have done by now if I'd actually worked at it. But that's water under the bridge now. The point is, I did finally do something. My New Year's Resolution was to get a job, and just about every day I did something. I updated my résumé, I contacted colleagues to be on my references list, I started researching districts, I bought some books on job hunting for teachers -- in short, I did everything I should have been doing all along.
And it's finally paid off! I had a number of interviews this spring -- before, I'd usually only interviewed in August or September -- and one district made me an offer at last. It's been a lot of work, and I know I have a lot more work ahead of me, but I am very happy that Marysville Junior High thought I would be a good fit for their school. I only hope that I won't disappoint them.
Then reality set in: I was a good math student, but I wasn't that good! I struggled with college-level calculus, and did a re-think of my goals. I still wanted to teach, but it looked like I might have some trouble teaching math. There were also other things I wanted to do as a teacher that would not be at all math-related, so I decided to work on getting my degree in elementary education, instead. But I still specialized in math. Once I got through the calculus courses, I found I wasn't so bad at college math, after all, and kept going. So almost as soon as I graduated and got my initial certificate, I also got a math endorsement.
I started looking for jobs, but admittedly not terribly hard. I ended up subbing in Seattle for two years. It was a baptism of fire, but it sure taught me a lot. I worked primarily in elementary schools, but thanks to my math background and experiences with computers, I also worked some at the junior and senior high schools. Finally, my third year, I got a contract! It was only half-time, teaching elementary computers, but my foot was in the door, and it was a good experience. I thought I was pretty well set -- then nothing happened the next year. The position had been for a leave replacement, so I knew I wouldn't be returning to the same school, but I didn't get a position anywhere else, either. I had a few interviews for other jobs, but no offers. So I was back to subbing. This went on for some time. I would make the occasional inquiry about other jobs, but I never put the effort into it that I should have. Finally, after eight years working in Seattle, I decided it was time to move on.
By this time, I was married and living in Bothell, northeast of Seattle, so I decided to see if the local districts needed subs, possibly allowing me to move into a contracted job later. Sure enough, I was able to get on the sub lists right away in both the Northshore and Lake Washington districts. And a year later, Lake Washington offered me a job! To be sure, it was part-time again, teaching two math classes at Lake Washington High School, but it was my foot in the door again. It was another good learning experience, and again I learned a lot. But because of decreasing enrollement, my contract was not picked up for the next year, and I foolishly did nothing to get another job in the district.
Since then, I've been subbing again. I subbed in both districts for four years, teaching at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. I found that I really enjoyed teaching the older students, especially math, which I hadn't taught a lot of, but kept gaining confidence the more that I remembered and practiced. I had a lot of students tell me that I explained things a lot better than their regular teacher, and in general I seemed to do well, at least for someone they'd only see a day or two.
But I still wasn't getting job offers. I kept my application files up-to-date in the districts I worked in, but that was about all I did. Both are attractive districts that many of teachers want to work in, so there wasn't much call for me. So I finally decided that I had to do something about it. I couldn't just wait for the jobs to come to me, I had to go out and pursue them. I know, I know, it took me a very long time to figure it out. I keep kicking myself for how much I could have done by now if I'd actually worked at it. But that's water under the bridge now. The point is, I did finally do something. My New Year's Resolution was to get a job, and just about every day I did something. I updated my résumé, I contacted colleagues to be on my references list, I started researching districts, I bought some books on job hunting for teachers -- in short, I did everything I should have been doing all along.
And it's finally paid off! I had a number of interviews this spring -- before, I'd usually only interviewed in August or September -- and one district made me an offer at last. It's been a lot of work, and I know I have a lot more work ahead of me, but I am very happy that Marysville Junior High thought I would be a good fit for their school. I only hope that I won't disappoint them.
Monday, August 11, 2003
My last free week
This is probably my last really free week before my new job gets going in earnest. Next week, there will apparently be some training for the school's staff having to do with the Gates Foundation grant it received last spring, and then the week after that I get new teacher orientation and, I hope, start moving in and planning for my first days of teaching. But this week? Not much. I'm mostly done with the paperwork -- all I have to do is find some record of my immunizations at my parents' place -- which I'll be turning in on Wednesday when I go up to get my fingerprints taken. I also hope to get started reading The First Days of School, a book I've seen in other teachers' rooms and been very impressed with when I've flipped through it. I recently bought a copy for myself, and plan to make use of it here very soon. I'll also be doing my regular jobs tutoring at Sylvan Learning Center and some filing at Corner Comics -- and trying to come up with things to write here, of course. I suspect it will end up being a lot of background, or stuff that couldn't, shouldn't, or wouldn't fit in my biography.
Hey, if there's anything you want to ask, feel free to use the comments at the end of each entry. I'll answer there or, if it's big enough, I'll write a blog entry about it.
Hey, if there's anything you want to ask, feel free to use the comments at the end of each entry. I'll answer there or, if it's big enough, I'll write a blog entry about it.
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Well, here we go!
This is my first official blog entry. Gee, I'm not sure what to say. But that's probably not a bad thing, as I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say later. Right now, however, not a lot is going on with the teaching job. I have some paperwork to deal with, and I think I start getting some initial training next week, but other than that, my time is really my own for a bit. Maybe, if the muse strikes me, I'll tell you a bit more about my teaching history and background before I jump into my new job.
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