I Am a Teacher

The latest update

2011-12-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just looked back on my blog. I knew it had been a while since my last update, but I'd forgotten just how long it had been! So, here's a catch-up and a few thoughts on how the first third (!) of the year has gone.

First off, I'll at least say this for my current district, they're keeping me busy, particularly at the high school. The secretary there knows she can count on me, and keeps recommending me for all kinds of things. This has its good side and its bad side! The bad side is that I got roped into "teaching" welding (!) for three weeks, around Thanksgiving. The school was in a bind, as the guy who actually knew welding who was going to fill in couldn't make it after all, and the next sub only lasted one day! They coaxed me into at least filling in for a day, then another, and finally for the rest of the assignment. However, I couldn't actually supervise welding! So it became a study hall/busywork time, which I'm not wild about, but we got through it and the administration kept offering me profuse thanks. Good thing, too, since I'm going to call in a favor. I should be in the middle of a long-term job right now for a math teacher there, but that got postponed until after school gets back in January. However, that means the job is now two and a half weeks instead of two, and I won't have to deal with the "Is it Christmas yet???" squirrelliness that can lead to wasted days. During that time, I plan to ask the administration for an observation and some general advice on the job hunt.

Speaking of which, sure enough, I've been much more proactive about getting on track with that. I talked to one middle school principal, who offered me some insights and reassurances. I've also lined up a bunch of potential recommendations, from teachers I've worked with and/or for in my current district. I even tracked down my last principal (he's now working in a new district on the far side of the state), and he's reassured me that he will help in any way he can.

Other than what I called zen welding, it's been pretty straightforward, work a day or two here and there, survive it, go on to the next job. It's frustrating, because so often it's little more than glorified babysitting. Dang it, I want to actually teach something, not just say, "Here's your worksheet, good luck!" And of course, to the students I'm not a "real" teacher, so they don't show me much respect at all (but I don't think the regular teachers get much more, at least).

One other complaint: Bait and switch jobs. I don't teach elementary very often any more, but I still occasionally take one if it's otherwise quiet and it looks like something I can handle. So I took a PE job the other day — elementary PE is a lot of fun, and for once, the kids are supposed to be running around and making noise. And this was bowling, even! But when I got in, there was a last-minute swap, and I got placed in a first grade class. I know my strengths as a teacher, and first grade is far from one of them! But I think I managed all right, and I certainly didn't scar anyone for life. But this is now the third time I've gone in thinking I'd teach something else, only to get first grade instead (two last year, this was the first of this year). The previous ones had only been for part of the day, but this was the whole day. Grrr...

I've got eight more teaching days this month, and two of them are already filled (including one day working with the teacher I'm filling in for next month). So now I just have to keep hunting and hoping. Now that Laura's established in her new job, however, there is one plus: Insurance! I've been without since leaving the last district, as I couldn't afford anything, but now my dental is covered under Laura's plan, and we can afford catastrophic medical insurance as well. (Medical under Laura's plan was just way too expensive.) That's one less worry. Now all we have to do is get our debts paid off and save some for the next rainy day, both of which we've already gotten a good start on.

I have no idea when I'll report again, but I hope it won't be quite so long next time!

Roller-Coaster Day Back at Work

2011-09-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of the wildest roller-coaster days I've had in some time. First of all, it was my first day back teaching. It was high school science (three zoology, one biology), and it was pretty simple and straightforward. As this was only the fifth day of class, the students haven't had a lot of instruction yet, so this was a bit of an introduction day. The teacher had prepared some handouts, and the students read them and answered some questions. Pretty typical stuff for when there's a sub, right? The biggest problem was getting a couple of the classes settled down and listening while I took roll and gave directions, and even that went well once they figured out class had started. No, the big problem was the weather. The high school is undergoing a major expansion and remodeling project, and I gather that the air conditioning is out in the building I'm in. As we are having an unusually warm September, and temperatures got into the 90s in the afternoon, it got a little hot. Still, with two doors and a window open, it didn't get too bad, either.

It was after school that things got interesting. The head of personnel in a neighboring district wanted to chat about some of the less-than-pleasant stuff that's happened in my career, looking towards the possibility of hiring me in the future if something comes up. So we chatted, and I think I won him over. But when I got there, I also discovered that I still had the key from yesterday's job! This is maybe only the fifth or so time I've ever walked off with the key, and the first time I wasn't nearby and couldn't just turn around and return it. (I returned it this morning, at least.) I also asked him about the general state of hiring right now, in light of my not getting an interview. As I suspected, yes, there's a glut of teachers right now, especially at the elementary level.

I got home, and there was a note from my wife to contact another school I'd applied in, and as soon as possible. So I called. It turns out they'd been trying to get ahold of me all last week, but someone gave or read a wrong phone number or something, and couldn't do it. And by the time I talked to the principal yesterday, they'd offered the job to someone else. So it appears I need to do a little investigating. But I was bummed for the rest of the night about missing out on a potential job like that. (And I just checked the cover letter, and my phone number there is correct, and my e-mail address is also there. I don't know what I wrote on the application, but I know I gave them as much information as I could, including alternatives.)

Despite the troubles yesterday, I was slightly encouraged by my encounters. It looks like there will be some more hiring around here over the next few weeks, so I'm still going to keep checking those websites as often as I can and making myself known. But both of the people I talked to also asked if I had a science background, since they both desperately need science teachers. I know the local district also needs one. Perhaps, if the finances go well, I could go back and get a science endorsement in the near future...

No job today, but it's early still, and at least I already have a job lined up for Friday.

And a shoutout to my brothers and sisters in the Tacoma School District, who are now on strike. Hang tight and stick together, everyone, it will work out in the end!

SIGH

2011-09-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of school in our not-really-quite-new-any-more home town. Some other nearby districts have been going for two weeks already. And I'm not in the classroom with new students. I'm disappointed, of course. I'm especially concerned because I didn't get any interviews this year, which is a first.

Still, I'm philosophical. Now that my wife has a job, I can at least afford to sub. And now that I'm already established in the local district, I can get started right away, possibly as early as this week (must pay attention to the substitutes' website...). We'll need to save up a bit to get through the summer, but it's certainly manageable. So now I just have to concentrate on doing the best job that I can.

But I'm not going to limit myself to just teaching this year. It's clear that I need to make some changes, so here are some I plan to make:

Talk to someone in human resources. I'd like to get some insight into how a district hires and what they're looking for, and what I can do to make myself look better.
Make some connections. Last year was pretty much about getting my feet back under myself again. Now I hope to talk to some of the teachers I've filled in for and some principals and see about what I need to do to show what I can do and get some more up-to-date references.
Keep looking. I've been interviewed, and even hired, well after school started, so it's entirely possible that something else will turn up. I hope to put myself in a good position should that opportunity arise again.
Look outside the box. Let's face it, despite how much I like my job, and how good some people have said I am, I may just not be cut out for it. So I'm also going to keep an eye on other jobs. I don't necessarily plan to change careers, but if the right opportunity should arise, I would be smart to at least investigate it.

I at least have one opportunity coming up. I'm interviewing for an after school tutoring job later this week. This sounds like a lot better deal than my last tutoring job, as it's only a couple of hours, not five, and it would be local. The biggest drawback might be fitting it into my schedule, particularly on days when I'm subbing at an elementary school. But should I get the job, we can work something out, I'm sure. And it will be a little extra money to save up for some of the big things we'd like to get, such as my badly needed new computer, or fixing my car.

I am looking forward to getting back to work, but I just wish I'd already been working getting my room and lessons ready for today...

Update (it doesn't look good, and yet...)

2011-08-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really been nearly two months since I last posted? Well, it has been summer, and a pretty quiet summer at that. It's been a frustratingly quiet summer, actually, as there's been no progress on the job hunt at all. None whatsoever. Oh, sure, I've been applying all over the place, particularly in the last few weeks now that districts have a better idea of what they need. But I have not had one interview yet. None at all. I'm still cautiously optimistic that something could still happen, as some districts around here don't start for another two weeks, and new jobs are still being listed. Some jobs I applied for back in June are still listed as unfilled, however, so I don't know what's going on. And school already started yesterday in one local district, so the clock is ticking. I wish I knew what was going on, but even my local support network seems to be disappearing.

Well, I guess I just needed to vent a bit, and at least let you all know that I'm alive and still kicking. But if something doesn't happen soon, I may need to (again) seriously consider a career change. And that will not be easy out here in farm country.

The hunt goes on...

2011-06-28T23:20:00.001-07:00

Not much to report right now. There are lots of jobs, I've been applying, but so far nothing beyond that. I heard back about a job at the local high school (didn't make the cut for an interview, but I heard through the grapevine that there were a couple of more established candidates ahead of me, so no surprise), and from a neighboring district turning me down for two jobs that I didn't think I'd get anyway. Otherwise, so far, nothing. The good news is that there are two math jobs at one of the local middle schools I've subbed at a lot, so I'm cautiously hopeful there. But for now, it's a case of check the websites, apply if something turns up, and wait for an interview. I have to keep reminding myself that it's early still, but it's frustrating.

I especially want to get a job, if I'm going to get one, early on, so that I can have a long talk with my principal about what I've done in the past, and what I need to do now to be a successful teacher, and get things up and running and ready well before school starts. People I've worked with and who have observed me say I'm a good teacher, and just need a few adjustments to be a success. So I hope I can finally get the chance to prove it to everyone, myself included.

So far, a busy summer

2011-06-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Good grief, school has been out almost a week now, and I've finally gotten around to blogging about it? Wow, shows you how busy I've been. So, let's play catch-up, shall we? First off, after the AP exams, I had the two weeks paternity leave job at the high school. It turned out to be not quite so exciting as I would have hoped, as the regular teacher, despite having a brand new daughter in the house to deal with, was well on top of things. I didn't have to do any grading or planning, as I just had to collect the work for him to pick up, and he'd leave me plans and papers for the next day or two. Oh, well, it still went well, I think I got a lot of good math out to those kids, I got a good brush-up on some of my little-used trig, and it was gainful employment for an extended period, so win-win all around. After that there were only two or three weeks left in the school year, but I managed to stay busy. There were a few half-days (I figured that was better than no work), a couple of now-not-very-common elementary jobs, and even the possibility of working on the last day, as one teacher I filled in for regularly developed tonsillitis right at the end of the year. I filled in for her on the second to last day of school, and made arrangements with the office staff in case she was going to be out the next day, but I guess the antibiotics did the job, as I never heard back.

Which means now comes the hard part, of getting a job for next year. New job listings were pretty sparse during the school year, but seem to have picked up now that school is over and the legislature finally figured out a budget. It's not good, as a lot of districts are having to do with a lot less money, which means some job cuts, but so far I've got applications in about a half dozen districts. I'm especially interested in my local district, since I've enjoyed subbing here, and there have been so far a high school and a middle school job open. But so far, it's early, so I haven't heard back about any interviews yet. So I'll just keep watching the websites and apply for any math jobs that turn up. Of course I'll let everyone know when there's some news.

Busy, busy, busy...

2011-05-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, yeah, this has been a very interesting couple of weeks. First off, the AP exams. Pretty simple and straightforward: Read the directions, enforce the rules (and these kids were already pretty well prepared anyway), everyone goes home when they're done. Let's just say I got a lot of reading done when I wasn't doing something else. There were a few hiccups — particularly on the Spanish test, with a bunch of kids who weren't really familiar with how to use a cassette tape recorder (yes, those are falling further and further out of style) — but for the most part it was a good experience. I had two days with two tests, so those ended up being pretty long days, but the short days the rest of the time was worth it.

While working the AP exams, I lined up another job, for a math teacher at the high school whose wife was about to give birth. I'd worked with his students before, had good experiences with them, and several of his students were even lobbying for me to take over while he was gone. Sure enough, I found the job, and lined up to sub for him for two weeks. Woo-hoo! But, it turned out, there was a wrinkle: The baby came early. And as I was AP testing, I couldn't step in early. So they had another (non-math) sub for a few days, but they're good at working on their own, so I think it went well. I had time after my last AP test to go in and see what was up, and it's a good thing I did, as that's his trigonometry class, and they were a little lost. To be sure, I was rusty, too, but we managed to figure a few things out, and it went well. Friday was my first official day in the class, so I grabbed one of the books, took it home, and got myself up to speed again. I think we're going to do all right. His two geometry classes started a mini-unit on converting measurements, and I think I gave them a good grounding. His one algebra II class had a test, so that was pretty simple. This week looks pretty simple, as trig has a few more assignments and then a test, while the other classes will have practice tests in preparation for the state-mandated year-end exams. So I am at least going to be something like a real teacher for nearly the next two weeks. After that, we'll be getting close to the end of the school year.

Still not a lot of progress on the job hunt, as districts are still waiting to see what the legislature is going to do, and therefore what kind of funding they'll have. A few districts in the area aren't even waiting and are issuing RIF notices. There was one new position that I applied for, but the position closed without my getting an interview. Since it was only a .83 FTE in a rather faraway district, I'm not terribly unhappy.

A (mostly) quiet week

2011-04-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Eh, it was teaching this week. Not a lot to say, except for the second week in a row I ended up not teaching at all one day. Also, one day was one of the worst I've had teaching in some time, with a lot of very loud, uncooperative students who just didn't want to do anything I asked or their teacher had planned. I really felt like I dropped the ball, and said so in my follow-up note, but I also laid the blame on the students as well. Of course, these were students I'd had before, and while they were no angels, they weren't this bad for me the last time, nor in other classes in the same school. It just was not a good day at all. Fortunately, the next day was at another school, and a lot better, so I feel better this weekend.

This coming week is going to be short (professional day on Friday), and nothing's lined up yet, but the week after that could be extremely interesting. The head secretary at the high school nominated me to proctor the AP exams for the district. Cool! I'll probably find out more later this week, but it sounds like I get to go to the district office, proctor the exams, maybe get fed a little bit, and once the students are done, so am I. It would be all of the first week of May, plus a couple of days after that. So either the secretary thinks highly of my work ethic and feels I'd be a responsible person who could handle the job, or she wants to make sure I'm in the building for as few days as possible. I really hope it's the former.

Still nothing on the job hunt, I might add.

It's catch-up time!

2011-04-17T20:01:00.001-07:00

What? You mean it's been a month since I last posted? And it's Sunday night and I have to go to bed in a few hours? Well, okay, then, I'll just do a quick catch-up.

Lots of work, subbing just about every day, and very little recently at the elementary level. I'm getting lots of math, but enough other jobs to keep it interesting. I was subbing in a history class at the high school one day when a bunch of the students, who'd already had me for math, decided to get me a job, and drafted a letter for the principal right then and there! I didn't offer anything in the letter, but did suggest that they should send a copy to the HR department at the district office. They also told me about a long-term job that may be coming up at the end of the year, and tried to figure out how to get me in there. If I've made that kind of positive connection with students, then I must be doing something right!

I had three days in a row where I was a floater at three different schools. That was interesting. At the high school I mostly taught math (they know what I can do there, apparently), and a little of everything at one of the middle schools. At the other middle school, they had a whole bunch of substitute teachers without an actual assigned class, and with the head secretary out, they weren't quite sure why we got those jobs or what to do with us! They gave me a special ed class, and I discovered (again) why I don't usually do special ed. I have great respect for those teachers.

So far, not a lot of progress on the job hunt, just because there's nothing listed. Even summer school jobs seem to be pretty sparse right now, which surprises me. But it's early, of course. I'm expanding my job hunt slightly to the area where my folks live. Those districts are at the bottom of my list, but if I were to get a job out there, I'd stay at my parents' place during the week and scurry home for weekends. If that happens, I would probably have to seriously consider studded tires. It would be tough on Laura and me, but if that's what it takes to get a full-time gig, we'd manage somehow.

Not much else to say, I guess. I already have three days lined up this week, all with a large amount of math (although only one is all math), and all for teachers I've worked for before. And we'll just see how the rest of the year goes. Are there really less than two months to go?

Damn

2011-03-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Laura didn't get the job. So now I guess I have to figure out what to do about a summer income, while continuing to hunt for a contract for the fall as well...

The latest update

2011-03-14T16:17:00.001-07:00

The school district I am currently subbing in has done a very, very smart thing today. This is the first full day after we started Daylight Savings Time (which I still maintain was some sort of joke Ben Franklin came up with, only enough people took him seriously that we now actually have it). It's one of the toughest days of the year to wake up. So it's a professional day for the teachers. In other words, no students, and no need for substitute teachers. So a lot of people got to sleep in and adjust to the new clock today. (Good thing, too, as I had crazy rotten insomnia last night as well.) Not only that, today is π Day, so it's great that the district recognized the holiday.

It's been nearly a month since I last posted, so what's been going on? Not much, really. I have at least been getting steady work, usually at the middle school level (and often, but not always, in math). I actually had another interview, for a middle school supplemental math job in the same district down the road that I last interviewed in, but I apparently didn't get it. It came so quickly out from left field that I didn't really get a chance to mention it here. The district I'm in right now still has a math for the rest of the year position listed, and I've been told that my paperwork is in, but I'm not sure why nothing's happed with it yet. It's been up for nearly two months now, and the new trimester started at the high school last week, so I'm not sure what else can be going on. Meanwhile, the local districts are starting to build their application files for next year, and I've already got one in. It's a bizarre holding pattern, but I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that I'm not going to get a gig for this year — or if I do, it will be so short as to not have a lot of effect. And I also have to figure out what I'm going to do for an income this summer.

But it's not all gloom and doom. My wife, Laura, actually has an interview with the local district this week, working in their computer center. She already did a bang-up job on the skills test, so we're cautiously optimistic. If she does get it, it will be thanks to an aide in one of the middle school libraries, who mentioned the job to me. I passed the word on to Laura. If she gets the job, I am seriously tempted to send that aide a dozen roses!

The latest update

2011-02-20T14:08:00.001-08:00

Ah, a holiday weekend. A perfect opportunity to catch up on some stuff and get all of my readers up to date on how my teaching career is going. And let's just say it's a very mixed bag right now. Lots of subbing, of course, but not quite enough math. Short term, of course, I need the money worse than anything else, so I'll take whatever job I can get. Fortunately, thanks to the online sub system, lots pop up, and I've generally been able to get middle and high school jobs. I've even gotten requests from teachers who don't teach math, which is probably a sign that I'm at least doing something right.

And things may move further ahead very soon. First off, I had an interview this week. It was for a middle school math intervention job several miles down the road. Half my time would be working with students in an additional catch-up math class, and half would be working with small groups in regular math classes, where I would not be the primary teacher. It sounded ideal, but I was told that I would know on Friday if I got it. No call, so I suspect I didn't get it. (No surprise, as I bobbled a couple of the interview questions.) But that's all right, as the job at the local high school is still open, after over a month. And there may be some development there, sort of. I was actually teaching math there one day, and the principal came in. Almost immediately, students were telling him, "Hire this guy!" I guess I'd already made an impact! This led to a brief chat between the principal and me about my background and qualifications, and now he knows that I'm a math guy. So now that seed has been planted, at least.

One other development is that one local district is already advertising for math teachers for next year. In fact, it's the same district where I just had the interview. As I already have a current application in, I'll write to personnel soon and see what I need to do to update it.

And now for a rant: Hey, if you're a regular classroom teacher, and you know you're going to be gone for more than a day, it would be terrific if you could arrange things so that you can get the same substitute teacher for the whole time. I have had an awful lot of jobs of late where I'm the second or third sub they've had in a row — which I don't even find out until I've worked with the first class. I understand it happens when teachers get sick and it's day-to-day, but how hard would it be to call in before the day is out and tell the secretary that you're going to be out another day, could you see if my sub can work another day? (Personally, unless I've had an extremely horrible experience, I will, and even under some circumstances cancel a previously scheduled job to do so.) But what really gets me are these teachers who know they'll be out in advance, and don't plan for one sub. I always leave my phone number and e-mail address, so should a teacher want me ahead of time, I can be reached directly.

Okay, everyone, thanks for letting me rant a little bit. I will, as always, keep you all posted on any further developments.

The week in teaching

2011-01-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot to mention about last week's jobs. I started off with middle school math (at the far middle school, for a teacher and students I'd worked with before) on Monday, middle school social studies (same school) on Tuesday (gave them packets, let them get to work), and middle school science (the other, closer middle school) on Wednesday, where they put seeds on wet paper towels, and they're going to make some observations, I bet. Thursday and Friday proved to be the interesting days. First off, the job was listed as being math at the high school, for both days. Of course I'll snag that! Thursday morning, however, the roads and walks were really badly iced over. Our sloped driveway was so icy, I slid down on my way out to get the paper. (Now I know why those little shoes I wear in the house are called slippers.) Laura and I finally noticed the extremely huge bruise on my left hip this morning. I turned on the news reports, and sure enough, all of the surrounding districts, and the local Christian school, were all on two hour delays — but not the public schools in town. Huh. Oh, well. I decided my best bet would be to walk, anyway, very carefully, since the alternative was to drive on that ice. I made it, and thank goodness for those people who cleared their sidewalks the day before, but there were a few spots I nearly fell again. Once I got to school, the first thing I heard was, "We're on a two hour delay." Yeah, it would have been nice if the district had said it earlier, before so many teachers and students got there. Oh, well, at least I had nearly three hours to get ready.

And I needed that time! It turned out that, first of all, she teaches science, not math. And she'd already been out the first part of the week, with two different subs. Yup, one of a substitute teacher's worst nightmares, being the second (or in this case third) sub, and no plans in sight. So I scrambled and tried to figure out where they were and what I could cobble together, and I did all right, actually, under the circumstances. But the writing was on the wall, and I decided to plan ahead for Friday. Since the teacher had the VCR checked out, but it wasn't in the room, that wasn't a good option, so I thought I would bring my laptop to use as a DVD player and see what I could find. Fortunately, I'd already built up a good relationship with one of the other science teachers, having worked in his room a couple of times during his prep. I found him, told him what was up, and he had a couple of good DVDs on volcanoes handy, which at least kept my students quiet and somewhat entertained for the day. Showing videos is not my ideal way to teach, and I'm not wild about getting videos when I sub, but in this case I figured it was for the best. But that poor teacher is going to have a lot to figure out and get heer students caught up on when she gets back (and I do hope she's back tomorrow — but if not, I at least gave her colleague a heads up that he may want to help).

So far, no word on the job front from that last district, but the local district I'm currently subbing in has an opening at the high school for the rest of the year! That would be ideal if I could get that one. The year is just about half over (what, already?), so it's possible that something else may come up here soon.

The week in teaching

2011-01-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Back to work this week, although it's a short one as today was a professional day for teachers in the local district. (I think they should have had that on the 3rd, for an extra day of winter break instead. However, starting back with a four day week, and two three-day weekends in a row, isn't bad, either.) I was afraid I wouldn't get much work, but I had a job every day. Monday was high school English, Tuesday was elementary reading, Wednesday was high school humanities, and Thursday was elementary reading and math, so a weird bit of symmetry. I did get a little math in, however, helping a student during a credit retrieval session at the end of the day Wednesday. And that's where I got some interesting insight into the last two years. That student, by coincidence, was one of my former students back in that last district I taught in. She thought I was a good teacher, she told me I'd taught her a lot, and she still had her notes! Wow, I did make an impact there, after all. She still lives down there, but decided to transfer to school up here for a number of reasons. I've encountered a few other students I've taught down there in my new situation, but this was the best insight I've had into what the situation is like there. I have also met some teachers who've told me that that district I worked in doesn't have a terribly good reputation. I wish someone had told me that before I accepted that job!

Another job has opened up in a nearby-ish district, and I'm seriously considering applying. So I'll keep you posted.

Last week in teaching

2010-12-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

It's winter vacation now, and I don't have to worry about teaching for a couple of weeks. So now I can catch up on the rest of my life, such as this blog. The big excitement for me was last week, where I taught sixth grade math for the entire week. It was a great experience. To be sure, there were uncooperative students and squirrelly classes and all the other stuff that goes with teaching sixth graders, especially the week before vacation. But there were also a lot of great students, and I think I got the idea across to a lot of them, so that's some progress. I also had a lot of good chats with the other teacher, who works next door, and we coordinated things well. I even had a meeting with him, the math coach, and the principal about what was going on that week (it was the first time the coach had worked with a sub). Overall, at least for that one week, I felt like a real teacher again. And the weather cooperated, too, since it was at the far away school which is the furthest walk away. It was cold, but no snow or ice on the ground, so I just bundled up and walked a little more briskly. Had there been more inclement weather, I may have driven a day or two, but it just seems silly to drive that short a distance.

On the job hunt front, the job I interviewed for and never heard back about is still listed. Go fig. There's also a middle school job listed in a nearby district that I would apply for, but it's only a .6 FTP, for only four hours a day. That would be enough to get me some badly needed benefits, but the lower overall pay and expense of gas (it's not terribly close) does not make it attractive, so I haven't applied yet. If Laura can get a job soon, I will certainly apply, but she hasn't heard back from any of the dozens of places she's applied for.

So, another miserable, poor Christmas for us, just as we thought we'd turned the corner and things were looking up again last spring. Well, not a lot I can do about it right now, so I may as well sign off now, and let's see if the new year brings any improvement.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

2010-12-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

It's snowing out right now, and snowing hard. And this is not like the kind of snow we usually see out here in this part of the state. It's not dry and powdery, which you can easily sweep off your walkway. No, this is the big wet clumpy flakes like we used to get in our old stomping grounds. At least out here there's a lot fewer of both drivers and hills to make getting around in this slop difficult.

So, where were we? Ah, yes, I'd just had an interview. Well, to be honest, I have no idea how it went, as I haven't heard back. Nothing, not a word. Which normally means that someone else got the job. However, the job is still listed on the district website! So I'm not quite sure what to do now. (I tried to figure out the principal's name so that I could e-mail her a polite query, but the school's website is so out of date that there are two different principals listed, and I don't remember which one it was! Maybe I'll write to the district HR department, but this sort of incompetence is not instilling any sense that I'd actually want to work in this district.)

Good news, however, is that I got another interview a couple of weeks ago! This was for a middle school math intervention job that would include computer instruction. Yeah, I know, right up my alley, right? And for once, I felt like the interview was actually going well. I thought I had a shot, but the principal called the next day and told me I hadn't gotten it. (At least he called back! I have great respect for people who call back after an interview, even with bad news.) However, they were still very impressed, so he flagged my file for the district office to keep an eye on me, and told me that there very likely would be more opportunities for me in the district this year, so keep an eye on the website.

In the meantime, subbing is going a lot better now. I'm working just about every day (the only two days I've missed in the past month were days I took off because I had interviews), and a lot of it is math. I'm even getting requests to come back, students are recognizing me and being friendly, and I even have a long-term-ish job for next week. Yes, I'll actually be teaching the same students for a whole week. Yes, it's the week before winter break begins, and these are middle school students, so it may get a little squirrelly, but it should be a good experience. (I really should write to the principal and see about an observation...) There's even a long-term subbing job at the high school, and one teacher and several students said I should take it, so I've put in for it. However, I have yet to hear back.

So the good news is, I'm feeling a lot more confident and competent as a teacher than I have in a long time, and I'm still glad that I've stuck with it. However, I'm still not making the money I should or need, I have no benefits, and if one of us doesn't get a job soon, I will at the very least have to figure out what I'm doing this summer. (Laura keeps applying for all kinds of jobs, but never hears back. Which is too bad, because she has some mad computer skills that would be of benefit to any business.) We're on food stamps, exhausted the savings, and are having to borrow to pay the bills. This is not good, but I'm not sure what else to do. Something has to give soon...

Well...

2010-11-16T15:14:00.001-08:00

I just got back from my interview. The good news is that I totally did not blow it. It went well, but whether or not it went well enough for them to actually hire me will have to wait. (And of course I forgot to ask what kind of time frame we were looking at and when they could tell me.)

And yes, this sounds like a terrific job, and one that I enthusiastically said I want and would be a good fit for. It's elementary math, as I said, and I'd be teaching nothing but math — well, except for those time I get tapped to do something else because some teacher has to leave for an emergency or something, of course. (I suspect most of my fellow teachers out there know what I mean.) It's an interesting school, where about half the classes are taught in Spanish, a fourth in Russian, and a fourth are taught in English to students who mostly speak Spanish or Russian at home. (If this job goes past this year, and I'm back, I may see what kind of basic Russian I can learn this summer.) This school covers first through fifth grades. There are times I would be teaching small groups of four to six to shore up what they're already learning in class, or bring them up to where they need to be. There are times I would teach an entire class, in the same way elementary classes learn music or PE or go to the library. (It's a big school, and they apparently need a lot of specialists to give their teachers all their planning time.) There are times I'd be working with some of the teachers. And there are likely times I'd be on duty out on the playground or in the lunchroom, just to keep it really interesting.

One big drawback would be the commute. It's about fifty miles away, and a lot larger portion of our budget would be going towards gas. But I think we can manage it, if they offer me the job. So, fingers crossed, and I'll let you know what happens.

An update, and the last fortnight-or-so in teaching

2010-11-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

I'm so sorry, to all of my faithful readers, for being so lax in updating you. But there hasn't been that much to update, I'm afraid. It's been a strange couple of weeks, and it looks like parts of it, at least, might be stranger before it starts making some sense (if it ever does). So, going back aways now, my first week of subbing in my new district went great, with a nice job each day. "Hey," I thought to myself, "I'm back in the game!" Well, the week after that (the last week of October) was a big contrast, as I got almost nothing. To be sure, one day was a day off for students, and one day I had to be out of town for a family event, which lessens the opportunities. But two of them? Nothing. No opportunities, no calls, no sick teachers. Finally, I snagged a job for one hour on Thursday. It was still available late in the morning, and I thought at least one hour would be a good reason to get out of the house for a bit. It was fourth grade, which I like, even though I haven't done elementary school in ages. But then, at the last minute, I got shifted to a first grade class instead. Their teacher had to leave suddenly while they were in music, so another teacher filled me in quick, and I picked them up. First graders are cute and fun and enthusiastic, but I know it's not my strength as a teacher. So here's the set-up. They'd been at a play that morning (lots of sitting still and being a good audience), they suddenly had this new teacher for the rest of the day, and their class Halloween party was the next day. Yes, they were excited and squirmy. Not that I blame them at all, but it did make some of the what we needed to accomplish a little challenging. The other teacher next door was a big help, however, and helped me get through it all. But that meant, for the entire week, I taught only two hours.

It didn't improve much last week, partly due to there being no students for two days due to conferences. (And I believe this is the first time I've ever seen a district schedule conferences at all schools at all levels at the same time.) I ended up only teaching Monday (middle school health) and Tuesday (high school math, yay!), as nothing turned up Wednesday, either.

This week, fortunately, seems to be a big improvement already. Yesterday I taught middle school language arts, tomorrow I'm teaching sixth grade something-or-other (for some reason, the sub system here tells you the grade, but not the subject, for middle school teachers), and eighth grade math on Friday. Thursday is a holiday, so no school, of course. I took today off to go to a job fair a few miles down the road. I mean, if I can't sub every day, I'd better find something else that can keep the wolf from the door, right? Not terribly promising — I think my wife is more likely to get something out of it than me — but I did leave behind a few résumés, one for one recruiter's husband who works in one of the local districts. While I was in town, however, I also decided to drop off a couple of letters of interest at another local district, which has a few openings still. So wouldn't you know, on my way out of town, they call to set up an interview next week! They hadn't even had the letter for two hours, which means they're either very interested or very desperate.

So, if I get this job, what will it entail? It's an elementary math intervention specialist position, which actually plays to a lot of my strengths and experiences. We shall see what happens. It sounds like it's full time for the rest of this year, which would be nice, and could get my foot in the door for any positions next year, too. If that doesn't work out, however, I have a few more leads right now, and who knows what else will come up?

Last week in teaching

2010-10-26T07:26:00.001-07:00

Well, if I'm back to subbing, I guess I'm back to a weekly wrap-up. Last weekend was busy enough, however, that I didn't get around to it, but so far I don't have a job for this morning, so I can take a moment to get caught up. And last week proved to be surprisingly busy for a brand new sub in the district such as myself. I started off with a middle school science job, which went well. Tuesday I was originally scheduled to be at the high school for math, but they rejigged the job as the teacher was to be out for several days, and they wanted to give them all to one guy so that the students would have that consistency. So I ended up with a history job there instead. Wednesday I finally got a math job, at the other middle school, and that went pretty well. In fact, it went so well that they asked me back the next day, for another math teacher. And finally, Friday I was back at the high school for another math teacher. I did very well there, and helped a lot of students, but I also figured out just how much advanced algebra I've forgotten while trying to help a pre-calculus class with their work. I know I'd done it before, but the details had slipped from my mind through lack of regular use. By the end of class, however, with help from the students and their books and notes, it had come back to me and I think I got the idea.

The nice part about subbing in this district is how it's laid out. There are eight schools. One elementary school is way far out of town. One is all kindergarten, and I don't anticipate going there. The rest — three elementary schools, two middle schools, and the high school — are all within walking distance, although I suspect I'll be driving to the far-away middle school some days during the worst of winter. I've also gotten some good feedback from secretaries and other teachers. But will I stay here? Can I change this to a permanent job somehow? And what am I going to do during the summer? I'm just not sure how long this teaching thing can last.

It's official

2010-10-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

I'm back to subbing. The local district sent me the login information for their sub system, I got in and set things up, and I've already snagged two jobs for next week. I am really not happy that I'm having to sub again, and I'd hoped I'd finally gotten beyond that. But it beats not teaching at all...

At last!

2010-10-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

It looks like I'll be back to work soon. The last bit of paperwork has now been dealt with, and I will likely be subbing in the district I live in soon. There are seven schools, and five of them are within walking distance!

I Am Not a Teacher

2010-09-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well, not yet, at any rate. So far, the job hunt has been going agonizingly slow. A few possibilities have cropped up, or are coming down the road (it helps having a contact in the local education community who can give me a long-term picture), but in the meantime I'm doing nothing! Not only is it frustrating to be a teacher who's not teaching, I'm going to have trouble paying bills here very soon. I've put in to substitute (ugh!) in a couple of local districts, but the pace of the paperwork seems to be glacial, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm looking at other jobs, too, if only to find a survival job, but I just don't have the skills or experience for anything else right now. So about all I can do right now is sit here in front of my computer and keep looking at job boards and make the occasional "Can I sub in your district yet?" call. Yuck.

Things are looking up!

2010-08-27T17:17:00.001-07:00

Well well well, this has gotten even more interesting. The principal at the high school that may need a math teacher soon contacted me, and wants to get in touch. We weren't able to connect today, but he wanted to know if I was a district substitute. "Not yet," is my answer, but I have gotten that ball rolling. The person in charge of subs is supposed to be looking for my application and letting me know what I still need. I'm pretty sure, however, that I'm going to need to get fingerprinted again before I can get going there. The principal wanted to know if I could sub a couple of days next week, but that's not looking likely. Still, stranger things have happened. At any rate, it looks like my next step is to get back subbing. No, I don't want to, but I was thinking about doing it anyway as a way to bring in some money while I figure out what else I can do. But now it looks like it could, instead, lead to a new job. (I hadn't originally planned to sub in this particular district, as it's a little further out than some others. But it's manageable, even if it doesn't quite work out in the end.)

I don't expect a lot to happen over the weekend, but one never knows...

Hmm...

2010-08-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

I've started the process of starting a new career — but there's a twist now. A math coach I worked with a couple of years ago, who knows about my situation, has been championing me to a local district. It seems they are anticipating a need for a math teacher in the very near future. So now I'm trying to see about getting on as a substitute in that district so I will be in position to slide in if things happen. Hmm...

Winding down?

2010-08-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Despite all the openings and possibilities, I didn't get a call or any other indicator of any possibility of any interest in giving me a job. And school starts in this area this week. So, while I haven't entirely given up on a teaching job yet, I'm facing the prospect now of also looking for something else. With some hi-tech companies and labs in the area, it's entirely possible that someone out there could use a highly trainable guy like me with a math and computers background. So if anyone is still reading this blog, and you have some advice on how I can go about starting a new career, or approaching a recruiter or something, feel free to drop me a note in the comments, or you can e-mail me at ericgjovaag@gmail.com. Thanks.

The latest update, and some housekeeping

2010-08-16T10:21:00.001-07:00

The past few weeks have been pretty frustrating. I've made no progress of late, and I'm really beginning to worry. School starts next week in the local district (and the one I worked in the last two years), so time's a ticking! Fortunately, a lot of other local districts don't start until the week after that, which gives me a little more breathing space. I've had three interviews this summer, and three "Thanks but no thanks"s. However, the past few days are looking a little better, as jobs seem to be finally showing up. And a lot of these are districts I've already applied in, so all I need to do is whip out a letter of interest and send it off — or, as I did today, drop it off.

However, I must still face the possibility of not getting a teaching job for the fall, and figuring out what Plan B is. And without a strong grasp of Spanish or the ability to work on a farm, my prospects around here aren't great. Still, I've tried to get a few feelers out, so we shall see. Let me concentrate on getting a teaching job first, of course.

And now for the housekeeping. I've had to turn on comment moderation because of the large numbers of spam attempts I've been getting. I even went through and looked at old comments, and sure enough, all but one were spam. They're gone now. So everyone, you are on notice. Don't spam this blog. All comments have to go through me first before anyone else can see them, and if it has even a whiff of processed spicy pork in a can, I will not hesitate to plunk it into the recycle bin, nobody else will see it, and your time will have been wasted. (It's not like very many people read this, anyway!) And a special shout out to those of you who try to spam this blog just about every day in Chinese. Dudes, what are you thinking? This blog isn't even in Chinese! Or, to put it in a manner that I hope you can better understand: 停止。请让我单独待一会儿。请勿张贴在这里。

I will, of course, alert all of you in case of any further exciting developments.

And away we go!

2010-07-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

The interview has been set up for Friday morning. We shall see. Were I to get this job, it would be a lot different than my last position, as it's in a big school of about 2000 students, not 300. This will also be their first senior class (it opened last year with only freshmen, sophomores, and juniors), so perhaps the math job would be for upper division classes, which I think I could handle just fine — except calculus. Calculus and I have never gotten along very well, for some reason.

Cross those fingers again

2010-07-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been set up yet, but I got a call from a principal at a school down the road asking if I was still available, and interested in a job in his school. Of course I said I was. The personnel department is going to set something up, and then we'll see. This is a brand new school (I believe it just opened last year), so this could be an interesting opportunity.

Summer update number 1

2010-06-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

We got out of school last week, and I've been spending the last few days just getting my feet under me and getting caught up on some stuff that's fallen by the wayside (like this blog). I've managed to get a few applications out, but so far only one interview. The good thing is that it's for the high school just up the street. The bad news is that they just called a little bit ago, and decided not to hire me. Oh, well. There are lots of other districts around that will need a math teacher in the fall...

Job hunt update

2010-05-16T15:21:00.001-07:00

So, is anyone out there wondering how my new job hunt has been going? Me, too. Fortunately, I seem to be in decent shape right now. The local district I now live in has four math openings at the high school, and the next district down the road also has several math openings, both middle school and high school. Yes, I've applied in both. I've also heard, through the grapevine, that my local district will likely have some middle school positions open soon, too. The only other nearby district that's currently advertising math openings is a big district down the road about an hour, so I'd rather not apply there just yet. All my other possibilities aren't advertising any openings right now. I suspect it's still a little early, as they've just gotten their budgets from the state. Yes, there will be some job losses, but it looks like most will be handled with retirements/attrition and in the central offices. I thank my lucky stars that I went into math, as it's in high demand, and districts can't exactly cut down on how much math they can teach. Fortunately, I have some really good references and letters of recommendation (including one from a student). I also had the foresight, once I realized I wouldn't be back next year, to contact my old math coach at the local ESD. She's offered some good advice on the job hunt, and she knows my style and needs well enough that she can steer me towards districts that would work for me (and vice versa). While I'm not very happy with the way things developed, I've decided to embrace this opportunity. I'm finally in a position where I can look for a job that works for me, and not just take any old job that comes along (which has been my usual system in the past).

So what I hope will happen is that some district hires me within the next few weeks, giving me the summer to not worry about getting a job. Instead, I can focus on moving in, getting ready to hit the ground running in the fall, and possibly even start doing the research to finally finish off my master's degree. Will it happen that way? I don't know. But I'm encouraged enough that it might!

No joke!

2010-04-01T15:20:00.001-07:00

My new certificate arrived today. So now I can teach in this state through to the end of June 2015. I hope that's enough time to find a cool new job...

Jaime Escalante 1930-2010

2010-03-31T06:24:00.000-07:00

Rest in peace, man.

Here's what made him such an inspiration to other teachers.

Update

2010-03-30T11:17:00.001-07:00

Now that I'm on spring vacation, I can take a moment to breathe, relax, and get all of my loyal readers up to date. And my, there is a big update. By mutual agreement, my principal and I have decided that I will not be returning to my current position in the fall. To be honest, it has not been a terribly good fit from the start, and as my principal put it, I was not happy coming to work. It was just a job. At first, I was really bummed out, but now that I've had a chance to mull it over and talk to some people, I'm feeling a lot better, and I'm confident that I can get something new for the fall. I've already gotten a few leads on local districts that will likely need a new math teacher in the fall, and that would be a better fit for my teaching style and needs.

I'll have a few more things to say about the whys of this later, and you all get the experience of reading about my hunt for a new job again! So perhaps, at least as far as this blog is concerned, this is a good thing, as I'll have more to say here.

A little too close to the truth

2010-03-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

I know this item from The Onion is supposed to be satirical, but like all of the best satire, it does hit a little too close to the bone, and there is some truth to it.

Naked Pleading on behalf of another teacher

2010-03-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have lots of my own teacher stuff to tell you about, but that will probably have to wait until spring break in a week-and-a-half-ish. Today, I am doing some naked pleading on behalf of a fellow teacher. Greg Hatcher teaches a middle school after school comic drawing class in Seattle. He regularly brings a bunch of his students to the Emerald City Comic Con every year, which my wife also attends. (I normally do, too, but this year the timing and, we thought, finances wouldn't quite work, so I took a pass.) She has gotten to know Greg well, and seeing the kids at work is often the highlight of the con (and this is a con that, this year, had Leonard Nimoy and Stan Lee). But the program depends on outside money to run, and...well, in the current economy, I'm sure you can guess what's going on. So Greg is asking for some help to keep the program going. Go ahead and take a look at his blog, and scroll down to the link towards the bottom and give, if you can.

Good news, everybody!

2010-03-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

(Wow, two posts in one day. I'm not sure I've ever done that on this blog. Okay, technically, this post is going out the next day. Hey, it's insomnia, what can I say? I'm still up, it doesn't feel like the next day yet. What? Oh, yeah, the post...)

One of my major goals that I wanted to accomplish ASAP this school year was to renew my certificate early. It expires at the end of June, and after the drama and trauma of the last renewal, I wanted to get an early start on it this time. Fortunately, a nice healthy tax refund has pushed that forward even more. So I wrote to the local ESD today to ask how many clock hours I had available. I need 150 to renew, but thanks to a class a couple of years ago, I could squeak by with 130.

I have 182. Okay, this just got a whole lot easier! We have a day off coming up soon, so I plan to go into town and get that taken care of then, if I don't manage to do it all through e-mail before.

And no, the extra hours won't help me move up the ladder to a higher salary. I'm stuck where I am for now until I can finish my master's degree. But that's my goal for next year.

Merit pay for teachers? Why?

2010-03-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

I just read a little essay on the state union's website, apparently reprinted from the "My Turn" column in Newsweek. And here it is. It's about the continuing idea that teachers should receive merit pay, and why it's a bad idea. I didn't go into this profession to become rich, I became a teacher to make a difference. Now that I'm in the same place teaching some of the same students for two years and establishing myself in the community, I finally feel like I'm in a place I can do this. But this is not a wealthy community with a lot of success in academics. Should I be punished merely for my students' background? Is that fair?

Watch my face plant!

2010-02-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

Sure enough, some students in the stands during that last pep assembly were taking videos. So here's my face plant! I'm the one in the greyish shirt and tan pants farthest away from the stands. At the turnaround, I had to eat some ice cream (which had a half of a banana hidden in it) while my student teammate had to chug a root beer.

Just to reiterate, this resulted in a bloody and bruised nose, two badly scraped knees, one slightly scraped elbow, and a wrenched shoulder that's still twinging.

One thing I didn't see at the time was the principal dragging the junior team over to the ice cream and soda...

Ouch!

2010-02-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

Yup, I've been pretty quiet here lately. To be honest, that's mostly because I've been busy, and just more interested in teaching than in telling about it. But I suspect there will be a proper update soon. However, today I want to write about a little incident from yesterday. We were having a pep assembly, mostly to cheer on the wrestling team as they head to the district meet. As is often the case, there was a little class competition. This time, they picked the class advisers to take part, which meant that I was one of them (I'm one of the senior class advisers this year). My co-adviser chose not to be there (wise move), so I did it with one of the seniors. All we had to do was get our legs tied together, crawl down to the other end of the gym on our bellies, drink a root beer and eat some ice cream — no spoon, of course — and head back. I got the ice cream, the student took the root beer. No problem, although the banana in the ice cream was a surprise. We came untied during the crawl, and it sort of became a free-for-all, but we made it, and headed back. I got left in the dust and made a comic attempt to catch up. As I neared the finish line, however, WHAM! I misplaced a foot or something and fell flat on my face. I lay there for a bit just to assess myself, and sure enough, I got hurt. Not bad, but it wasn't pretty. I landed right on my nose, which tends to bleed at the least little thing, and this was not a little thing. Sure enough, I realized I had a bloody nose after a couple of moments. Someone rushed and got me a paper towel, and it actually didn't turn out to be too bad, although I'm sure it looked bad from the stands. I also realized my nose hurt, I'd bumped my lip, and my knees stung, probably skinned. I finally hobbled out to the office to get cleaned up and nursed back to health, all to the students chanting, "Gjo-vaag, Gjo-vaag, Gjo-vaag." (I'll be honest, I even limped a little bit more than I really had to.) I lay in the nurse's office for a bit just recovering and assessing myself, and let my nose stop gushing. I felt better after a bit and cleaned myself up, but decided that I was done for the day. This being a Friday, the students went home early so the teachers could have some time for professional development, but for once I decided not to avail myself of that.

The final verdict was a bruise on my nose, a big old blood blister on my inside lip, two scraped knees, one scraped elbow, and a generally sore shoulder. Fortunately, the bruise is small, my nose is already feeling better (but still definitely tender), my blister has all but receded, and my scrapes are better. The shoulder is still bothering me a little, but even then I was able to do my ironing just fine today, and that little bit of a workout seems to have helped. I'm going to be fine, but I'm still going to fill out the accident report just to be on the safe side. (In the line that asks who witnessed it, I can truly say, "The whole school, and the superintendent.")

I am also going to milk this with my students for as long as I can, but I give that a week at the outside.

Admin - Comments

2009-12-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hello, Blog Admin Laura Gjovaag here. The Haloscan commenting system appears to be going away, so the comments will vanish for awhile until we can get the more standard Blogger comments inserted. Sorry about that.

UPDATE: Blogger commenting is up, but the old comments have been lost. Well, I have them, but they are in a format that is difficult to read and cannot be uploaded. So everybody starts fresh with new comments now.

Odd moment of the year

2009-10-27T05:25:00.001-07:00

I got a call from one of my old colleagues from the other side of the state last night. He wanted to know if I was available to sub for him today. I told him that since I was now gainfully employed 200 miles away, it would be tough.

I guess he didn't have any need for me last year...

Ungh...

2009-09-23T21:16:00.001-07:00

For some weird reason, my body let me sleep for only three and a half hours last night. And I have a very long homecoming-related day at work today. Why are the penguins waddling up to me and asking if I can spare a cup of shortening? I didn't even think they liked to bake.

A long and challenging fortnight coming up

2009-09-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Aaaargh, me hearties! Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! And that be the last I speak on the matter!

School has gotten off to a decent start, and I think I'm doing a decent job teaching. I'm starting to really realize my own shortcomings, however, now that I'm teaching a lot of the same material again for the first time in my career. I also can't figure out how to crack the total indifference of my students. I'm not talking about the general lack of interest of most students, although I have to fight that, too. I'm talking about my Algebra II students. I had most of them last year in Geometry, and most of them last year were bright and put in the effort, and they are all quite capable. But this year there just seems to be a general malaise that I find really frustrating. There is very little effort at all. It's like they're going backwards. Oh, well, maybe the first test will snap at least some of them out of it.

The next two weeks are going to be extremely busy for me, so I will very likely be even less communicative here than usual. I'm one of the senior class advisers, and homecoming is coming up soon. This coming week is hall decorating, and the week after that I have to help make sure that the skit and float are on track. The senior class also is selling water at every home sporting event, too, and the fall sports season is now well underway, which means we have to be there at every home football, volleyball, and soccer match. Fortunately I recruited our new math teacher to be the other adviser. He's had a lot of experience with this thing before, and he's been on top of a lot of this stuff already, particularly when I was out two days with a nasty cold last week. Between the two of us, we should be able to handle it all, but it will also make for some very long days. To throw one more monkey wrench into the works, we have to give up one planning period a month to observe our fellow teachers, and my first one is Tuesday.

To make things even more interesting, once Homecoming is done, I want to start up a drama club. I've always enjoyed being in shows, and almost minored in theater in college. So when the opportunity came up to be drama club adviser, I signed up. There are a few students here who could benefit from this sort of outlet, and it will be interesting to start up an extracurricular drama program from scratch. The high school doesn't have a stage, but if we get to that point this year, we may see about staging a show at the elementary school.

And finally, that picture I promised:

I'm just really, really happy that it turned out so nice this year. And if I do say so myself, I look pretty good in it.

Picture Day!

2009-09-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

It was picture day today. Last year, I was so busy with the start of the new job and not-quite-moving and everything that I hadn't had a haircut for a few months. Apparently my students had nicknamed me Goku because of the hair. This year, a nice, sensible, short but somewhat stylish haircut. If you ask me really nice, maybe I'll post it here.

Oh, dear...

2009-08-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

I just corrected the first quiz of the year. It was ten multiple-choice questions just on the start-of-the-year stuff, plus an extended standardized test question and ample opportunities for bonus points.

Let's just say I have my work cut out for me. A lot of my students just didn't seem to understand that I was serious that there would be a quiz every Friday, including the first week. I hope this will jolt them out of that, at least. I also see why our standardized test scores are so low in this district. They don't even try. There is very little thought behind their answers, and most of them don't even try to show their work. But reading and writing scores are actually pretty high. If I can use that to show them that they need to apply their critical reading and writing skills to the math questions, they may do better.

Still, this was education for both my students and me, I suspect. We should all get something out of it. And everyone used a pencil! After seeing how many used pens last year, I thought I'd try to at least establish this habit, and it appears that I already have.

School started today!

2009-08-25T18:34:00.001-07:00

Only 179 days to go...

Year 2, Day 0

2009-08-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

I went into school today to start getting ready for the new year. YAY! We don't officially start until tomorrow, and the students don't come in for another week after that, but I felt I needed to go in and start the process of tidying things up, now that all of my stuff is in my new room (YAY!). It also gave me a chance to leave Laura alone for a while so she could get some work done on her new job (YAY!). However, I left my keys at home. I was able to get into the room, but not the cabinets. Still, I got a lot of stuff sorted and put away, and even hung some of my posters up.

First big surprise of the year: Some students were in decorating the halls. One of them, who I taught some last year (and wasn't, shall we say, my most cooperative student), told me that she missed me, and that she'd wished she'd taken the third trimester of Geometry from me last spring. YAY! This is a good sign.

Today was not, however, my first day back at all this month. Over the summer, we lost our second-and-a-half math teacher (the plan was, he'd teach two science and two math classes this year) to another, larger, closer-to-his-home district. The district also found the money to hire both a full-time math and a full-time science teacher. (Essentially, our librarian who retired last June won't be replaced, instead of the librarian and math teacher who retired, which was the original plan.) So guess who got to help interview the new math teacher candidates? Yup, I was part of the team! It was odd, being on the other side of the interview at long last (YAY!), but not at all bad. I certainly had a lot of empathy for the two candidates we interviewed. It was tough, as they were both good, but before I left, we offered the job to the first candidate, who lives two states away and had to talk it over with his wife, and juggle the logistics. Apparently it didn't work out, because today I found out that the second candidate will be the new teacher. That's cool, as we all thought that either one would work. YAY!

Tomorrow, the school year officially kicks off, with the entire district faculty meeting in the school library (yes, that still blows my mind) and other stuff. I'll probably stick around a bit to do some more organizing, too. YAY!

Today's post was brought to you by the interjection YAY!

Mixing things up

2009-07-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, there went my ideas that I'd post a bunch over the summer and tell you what the last year was like. Best laid plans and all that. Besides, I'd rather look ahead to the future now, instead of dwell on the past. Last week, I got a call from one of my colleagues. He taught science last year, but was ready to move in and take some of the higher math classes this coming year, since budget constraints meant the district couldn't afford to hire a new math teacher to replace the one who retired. He called out of professional courtesy to tell me that he got a job in another district. It's closer to his home and, considering how long his commute was, I don't blame him. So now it's all in flux, and we will have to hire a new teacher, after all. Whether or not the new teacher teaches math, science, or both depends on who's out there. I was going to teach three section of Geometry and one of Algebra II next year, but now that's all in flux, depending on what the new teacher can do. I've told my principal that I'm flexible, and also that I'd be part of the hiring process if he needs me. So we shall see. I'll try to remember to keep all of my loyal readers, like you, up to date.

School's out!

2009-06-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

I came home the other day and started singing the old Alice Cooper song, "School's Out for Summer!" Which indeed it is. And for the first time in the twenty-first century, I'm not working this summer, which will be nice. I still have a lot of unpacking and arranging to do in the house, and I'll be at a summer math workshop in a couple of weeks, but overall it's a pretty laid back summer, which I really need. I'll also have a little time to actually update this blog, so I'll have a few posts this summer about how the year went and what I'm looking forward to next year (ooh, that still feels so good to say). But right this minute, I have to get showered and get ready for my day.

WOO-HOO!

2009-05-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been a while. And it will be another while, as teaching comes before blogging. As there's only about a month left in the school year, it's getting busy. But I do hope to at least have a nice long year-end wrap-up post not long after that. But I have some excellent news that I want to share with you now.

I've just signed my first ever contract renewal!

Yes, I'll be back here next year. This time it looks like I'll be teaching Geometry (again) and Algebra 2, as opposed to the Algebra 1 I taught this year. But I hope I get a chance to tell you more over the summer once I have a better idea of what's happening.

Something I thought I'd share

2009-01-23T22:35:00.001-08:00

Okay, yeah, I owe you all a nice long update post. But I've been pretty busy lately, so this little column will have to do for now. It's a piece I shared with some of my students on Inauguration Day, as it says so much not only about our new president, but it also says a lot about why I became a teacher in the first place and why I stay in the job now, despite all of the problems I've had actually getting a job.

What I'm thankful for

2008-11-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, it's been a very long time since I've posted. I'm sure my fellow teachers, at least, will forgive me, however. They know how busy a teacher's life really is, and can empathize. The first thing I want to say I'm thankful for, then, is Thanksgiving break! It allows me a couple of days to just catch my breath and relax before jumping back into things on Monday. I'm further grateful that my sister had to work yesterday (the day itself), so that our family is having the actual Thanksgiving dinner today. This allowed us to not worry about traveling across the state on Wednesday evening, and we could take our time and do it by daylight on Thursday. (I'm further thankful that this has been a pretty mild winter so far, and we didn't have to deal with snow or any other messy weather crossing the passes.)

Now that we have those immediate and preliminary thanks out of the way, let's get to what's really important, which is also my oh-so-subtle way of updating my readers on how the new job has been going.

I am thankful for a supportive family that is happy to see me get what I've been wanting for so long. I am especially thankful for my wife, who agreed to make this big jump with me.
Speaking of my wife, I am thankful for the excellent medical benefits I now have, which give her the opportunity to get some of the help she has needed for so long. I am also thankful that I can — and will soon — go in and get a check-up and some badly needed dental work.
I am thankful for our new house, and that we now live in a community that is much more affordable than the one we left. While it's going to be a very long time before we can pay off our debts, at least we're no longer losing money, and can start some modest savings.
I am thankful that I am now working in a small district. It's a lot easier to get stuff done here, I suspect, than it would iin some of the larger districts that I used to work in.
I am thankful for a wonderful, supportive staff who can swoop in and help me out when I am floundering, or answer any of the dumb questions I have.
I am thankful for a terrific principal who has the time and patience to help me out, and continually reminds me of what I am doing right instead of focusing on everything I'm doing wrong (I obsess about those enough already). He recently gave me my latest evaluation, and on a scale of 1 (needs a lot of help) to 4 (an expert), it came back almost all 3s, with a couple of 4s and some 2s, which he pointed out I'm already taking steps to improve on.
I am thankful for my students, who are fun to work with and teach. Despite some of the "new teacher" syndrome, I really feel like I am building some good relations and trust with many of them. I especially liked having one student who would check up on me before she started basketball practice while I was working late this week grading tests and preparing the final first semester grades. Her sense of humor was a much needed break and grounding in the real world.
I am thankful for the other math teacher who is retiring at the end of this year, because that pretty much ensures that I will have a job here next year no matter what. However, I'm also thankful for the strong indications already that they want to keep me on anyway, to give me that job stability that I have needed for so long.
I am thankful for the Friday afternoon staff trainings, which are going to allow me to renew my certificate again much more easily than last time.
I am thankful for the math curriculum we are using. It's well organized and pretty straightforward for a still-not-quite-sure-what-he's-doing teacher to use. It also doesn't pile too much onto students at once, and the homework has lots of built-in review, instead of focusing on just the current topic. I am further thankful for the support and resources that the publishers put up on the web for not only teachers, but also students and parents. In case you're interested, by the way, go take a look at www.cpm.org.

I will not go so far as to say it's all peaches and cream. I'm still putting in long days, and even doing some work over the weekends, to stay on top of things and one step ahead. I also have one class that has quite a few disruptive students who are making it hard for me to teach and the rest of the students to learn, but again I have some help there and some new things I'm going to try. I'm still paranoid that this is all going to be whisked out from under me, but that's gradually becoming quieter, and my confidence is growing. I have to keep reminding myself that this is not substituting, and I need to take a much longer look down the road, both with my students this year and my career. But in general, I feel really good about being here and doing what I do, and I'm starting to look forward to what's coming up.

Finally, a chance to breathe

2008-09-20T15:50:00.001-07:00

Hi, everybody. Yes, I finally have a free, relaxing weekend to catch up on some blogging, a few other things (I finally got a haircut today, for example), and to finally feel settled in. With the exception of a truckload my parents are bringing over tomorrow, all of our stuff is here in our new house now, so all we have to do is figure out what to do with it all.

So, teaching. How's it going, Eric, I can hear you ask. I'll be honest, it's mixed. There are times where I feel I am doing a good job and things are progressing as well as can be expected. That's my rational, logical side talking. There are other times — often in the same day — where my paranoid side is panicking that they're going to fire me any day now. After some of the experiences in my last contracted job (the year of the strike), I'm afraid the paranoid side wins out a lot. Every time the principal or a colleague comes in, things go well and I get good feedback. The principal even gave me one of his "Superb Teaching" notes. But now that the students have been here for a few weeks and that start-of-the-year honeymoon phase is over, I also see the struggles I'm having getting ideas across, conveying my expectations, and how indifferent a lot of the students are to it. How can I help students who don't even want to put in an effort? What can I do for students who are taking a class for a second, or even third, time? This is a good curriculum that's well laid out and doesn't make unreasonable demands on a student's time, so it shouldn't be that hard to do the work. Oh, well, I'll keep plugging along and see if I can make a positive impact. I know I have the support of my colleagues and administration, however, which is something I'm not used to, so I feel pretty sure that at least it's going to work out all right in the end.

Further complicating matters, my room is too small, and too many of the cabinets are still filled with science equipment. I have nowhere to put my own stuff or what I need to teach with, and the students are crammed in a bit. (At least my algebra class no longer has forty students. They found a place for the middle school students.) I've also run out of books, but more students keep coming in as well. This school has a large migrant student population, so I can see that this is going to become a problem soon.

On the lighter side, Homecoming is this coming week, and as one of the junior class advisers, I have a few duties to perform. I have plans for costumes for most of the week, and I get to see the town's Homecoming parade for the first time. Laura and I are also going to the football game, and I'll probably be at the volleyball game as well.

Anything else I need to add? What do you want to know about this new job? Go ahead and ask in the comments. I'll see if I can get a chance to answer them later.

Yay, it's over!

2008-09-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow morning in the Bellevue School District. It sounds like the board actually wanted to settle and start, unlike a certain district I worked in a few years ago.

Quick update

2008-09-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

I really should be working on grades and some other paperwork, but I thought I'd take a quick moment to let you know that yes, the job is underway, and I feel like I'm settling in now. Oh, sure, there's a lot of stuff to do still, but I'll eventually get around to it, I suspect. Meantime, we finally got into the new house a couple of days ago, so we have that whole moving-and-settling-in process to deal with. But the good news is, it's finally starting to feel real. I'll have a few more details when (if) I ever get a chance to finally catch my breath and can get a free weekend without having to go back to the other end of the state (where I am right now, and will be again next weekend, as the movers are coming then).

Here we go again...

2008-09-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

I know all of my loyal readers are anxious to hear about the start of school, but that's going to have to wait. This morning, I want to comment on this story, the first teacher's strike in our state since the one I was involved in four years ago. Again, this looks like a clueless school board not realizing what they've stepped into. The Bellevue teachers authorized a strike back in June, before school even let out, but from what I hear, the board only started negotiating a few days ago. It sounds to me like the big issue is micromanaging teachers, insisting that they use a centralized curriculum handed to them via computer. There is no wiggle room to take into account individual student or class needs or abilities. In other words, the central office doesn't trust the teachers to do the job they've been doing all along. I thank my lucky stars that I'm currently in a district with a lot of community support on all sides, and that for the first time in my career I've started the year on time and without incident. I wish I was in a position to help out the Bellevue teachers, as I was the beneficiary of much help from other teachers when I was on strike. But Laura and I are still negotiating those last few steps to getting our new house and dealing with the old one, and so I'll just have to pay it forward another time. Considering how close the district I subbed in the most last year also came to a strike this year, I can't help but wonder if this one is a harbinger of what's to come if the state doesn't start taking its job to fully fund education more seriously.

One down, 179 to go!

2008-08-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

At last, my new job started today. True, I've been doing stuff with my new colleagues for the past week or so, and setting up the room and such, but this was the first official day of the school year, and the first day with students. Yikes! It actually went pretty well, the kids are great to work with (so far), and I seem to have been warmly welcomed. Of course, most of what I taught was just about the new discipline system to my Advisory section — and due to a mix-up, that turned out to be only six freshmen.

I also got to be part of the junior class meeting, as I somehow took it upon myself to be one of the class advisers. I thought it was a way of becoming part of my new community, but of course after I signed up was when I learned that the juniors were responsible for the prom. Eek! Still, once I got back to our old house, I was able to sincerely ask Laura, "Dear, will you go with me to the prom?" I think she's now amused by the idea that I'm taking her to the prom well after we were both in high school. (For the record, we didn't meet until we were both in college. Also, this will be a big improvement over my original prom, as my then-girlfriend dumped me two days after the prom, and I suspect she kept it going long enough just to go.) While I was at it, I also asked her to the Homecoming football game, too, which is coming up in only a month now.

On the new house front, we may FINALLY be there this week! I'm signing some papers after work tomorrow. Laura is coming out Thursday morning to sign them (while I'm at work), and if all goes well, we may get cleared on Friday and we can start moving in over the long weekend — but without hot water (the gas can't be hooked up until after the weekend and someone is there) or the bulk of our furniture (moving day is now officially September 13!). And there's also all of the new appliances we need to figure out how to buy. If all doesn't go well, we can probably move in first thing next week. If all goes badly...no, best not to think along those lines.

But this is a teaching blog, yes? Today, with no true home to go to and a lot still to do, I ended up staying over three hours later, but I accomplished a lot and, while I'm not quite there yet, I'm pretty much ready for the first day of full classes tomorrow. Three sections of geometry, and one of first year algebra. That last one worries me, because as it stands right now, I think I have thirty-nine students in a classroom big enough for only about thirty, and seating right now for only twenty-four! But my principal assures me that we will get it worked out. So I get to trek in early tomorrow, gather a few more supplies and get a few more things done, and then...Well, I don't know, actually. Tune in next time to find out!

Weekend update

2008-08-22T14:08:00.001-07:00

I'm back in the old home for a few days. Things are progressing well, but I still have a lot to do here this weekend, too. I'm driving back over early Monday morning to finish arranging and decorating my classroom, and I may actually be ready, and still have a chance for some (but not much) relaxing this weekend.

On the house front, it finally looks like we may be nearing the end of the tunnel, but it's still a pretty small light. Everything is lined up now except the escrow, but they're going to take five business days. With next Monday being a holiday, it looks like we won't be able to close until September 2 at the earliest. Oh, yay, another week in a hotel for me.

Two steps forward, two steps back

2008-08-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

Things are still going well, under the circumstances. I now have a key to my room, and there's progress in getting it ready. The old science stuff will be moved out tomorrow, arrangements are being made to move in desks, and there's a fresh coat of paint. I also put together a chart, for myself more than anyone, of what's happening in the first few lessons, including the problems, vocabulary, and what materials we'll need. That looks pretty manageable.

I also pulled out my copy of The First Days of School to refresh myself and make sure I'm on the right track. Let's just say that I'm not pleased. Granted, I have no room yet, no home in the area (yet), no school computer, and I'm living out of a hotel room. Under those circumstances, I'm doing all right. But I have no procedures, no rules, and little idea of how to start things off on a positive note. After the disaster of my last contracted job, I vowed not to do that again, but I'm not sure if I can. Still, I have a little time next Monday, and a few other opportunities this week before I head back to the old house this weekend, so it may still happen. I just have to keep moving forward and trust that I can enough taken care of.

Today we started work and training in the school's new discipline plan. It looks good, it makes sense, it's positive, it reinforces expected behaviors, and I really wish I had this in my last job. Heck, I wish I'd had this sort of background and support when I started teaching.

We will definitely not be moving this week or weekend, so probably a few more days in the hotel next week until we get it all put together and finally sign. Even then, we're going to just be camping out in our new place for a few days until we can arrange for movers and new appliances (like we can afford that!). Meanwhile, Laura's looking at the options on the old house, which could include trying to sell again, or renting it out.

I'd better stop now, or I won't have anything to say tomorrow!

Here we go...

2008-08-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

While I leave my poor stressed-out wife behind to deal with the houses situation — and a fine job she's doing, too, I might add (hang in there, dear, we're almost out of there!) — I got to start at last today. This is definitely going to be a different teaching experience for me, I can already tell. The district kick-off today was in the high school library. Understand, that is the entire district staff, and this is not a terribly large library. When I've done this sort of thing in the past, we'd all squeeze into the auditorium at the high school. (Come to think of it, I don't think my new school even has an auditorium. Two gyms, but no auditorium. Suddenly, my attempt to start an extracurricular drama program looks like it may be an uphill struggle.) Lots of general start-of-the-year stuff, including examining last year's state test scores and trying to figure out what to do to raise them. Let's just say that I have my work cut out for me. I've also moved my own stuff into my new room and snagged a teacher's edition of the text. I'm worried about getting the first week off to a good start with all of the house stuff on my mind and having to move between two places, but I think I can do it now.

Okay, I'm getting tired, and I still have to get up tomorrow morning for my second dat of work...

Son of a fuzzy elephant!

2008-08-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

The new job starts in two days, and I have to start it without a house. Our attempt to buy a house has run afoul of a bunch of red tape and waiting-around-for-paperwork, so I'm going to be living out of a motel for at least a couple of days. We've had to postpone the move twice already, and our current one is the day before the first student day. So I will have to come back over the weekend, help get things ready to move, then book it back to the new place—if we have a house to move into by then. Needless to say, I am not confident about how prepared I will be for my classes. Meanwhile, the guy who put in an offer to buy our current house kept delaying and delaying, finally did an inspection, found a whole bunch of problems that we already knew about and had fully disclosed, and counter-counter-counteroffered with an insultingly low price that probably wasn't even as much as the land is worth. Needless to say, he turned down our final offer, we're walking away, and we're back at square one. Now we have to decide if we want to rent this place out, put it back on the market after we're fully out of here, or sell to a flipper or developer. I'm nervous enough about moving and starting a new job, and now I have to make these types of decisions?

Five years ago, and one week to go

2008-08-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

My wife tells me that "I Am a Teacher" debuted five years ago today. And man, what an interesting five years it's been! At that time, I was in a similar position to where I am today: Excited about starting a new job. Back then, however, I didn't know about the impending strike or the other problems I would have. Now, I'm older and warier, but at least I think I have a more realistic idea of what I'm getting into, and what I have to do to succeed.

The new job starts one week from tomorrow with workshops and some other before-school-starts stuff. It's going to be tight, as I'll have to go over there before our stuff arrives (and, if things don't go so well, before I even move into our new house). It's going to be hectic and stressful and nerve-wracking, but once things get started, I suspect it will settle down pretty quickly.

The workshop last weekend was a good experience, and I think I'm really going to enjoy this curriculum. It turns out, by the way, that I'm not teaching first year algebra at all. Instead, I think I'll be teaching four sections of Geometry and one of Algebra II. Cool!

This week, lots of last-minute packing (as I'm watching as much of the Olympics as I can!), sealing the deal on Friday, then getting utilities switched on, off, or switched over while we inform just about everyone we can about the new phone number and address. Whee!

I've started the new job!

2008-08-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've sort of started the new job. The district has put me up in a nice lakeside hotel on the other end of the state for training in the new curriculum I'll be using. And yes, that includes meals and mileage. They're being extremely nice to me, and I haven't even met any of my students or most of my colleagues. First day (of three) went well today. Nothing terribly earth-shatteringly new or different, but it does look like a good program, and I think students will enjoy it.

Meanwhile, while I'm here, Laura is at home making final arrangements for the move and everything else that can get done there, which isn't much now. We're tentatively moving on the 15th now, which is cutting it close: The new job starts on the 18th, although the first student day isn't until the 26th. It is going to be very tight getting moved into our new house and my new classroom and getting set up for the start of school and everything else. But we're on top of it, and it's probably going to go all right in the end.

It's official!

2008-08-02T16:16:00.001-07:00

Today, I signed the contract for my new job. It still doesn't have a dollar amount in it, as they haven't gotten all the paperwork back yet from some of the districts I've worked in, but that's a small detail. The important thing is, it's official. Now all I have to do is the training for the new curriculum next week, wait for the paperwork to wend its way through the bureaucracy to get our new house, wait for the inspection so that we can close on the old house and move out (at last!), and set up. I am usually a patient man, but all this waiting around is starting to drive me up a wall.

One month to go...

2008-07-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

One month from today is the first day of school for students in my new district. Still lots to do before then, including three days of training in the new curriculum and a week of other stuff with just the faculty. Plus finalize all of the paperwork, buy the new house, move in, and start setting things up there.

A Jolt of Excitement

2008-07-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

As a new hire in a new district, they have to do a criminal background check. This involves taking fingerprints. No problem, I've had it done before. But when I went in a few weeks ago to the local (to my new district) ESD office to get prints, they had a fancy digital fingerprint machine that kept getting smudgy images. The technician did what he could, but it clearly wasn't enough, as the state patrol rejected them. Now what? The district sent the prints back to me, they arrived yesterday, and I called the state office for advice. "Well, you could go to the state patrol office in the state capital and get them redone there." I was out the door within fifteen minutes. To be sure, it's not a short trip, but it beats heading to the other side of the state to try it again on a malfunctioning digital machine. I got there in a little over an hour, got a nice set of clean, crisp prints (done with old fashioned ink), and was back before the evening rush hour even got bad. Since I had no other big plans for the day, it all worked out well.

In the meantime, we're still trying to buy a new house and get this old place cleaned and pressed to show other potential buyers. We're going to have to bite the bullet and pay someone to clear out the ~~jungle~~ back yard, it appears, as that's already scared off some potential buyers. Yeah, like we can afford that, too...

The waiting is the hardest part

2008-07-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

Not much to report right now, other than that we're waiting for a lot of stuff. I'm waiting for some paperwork so that I can complete my hiring file in the new district. Meanwhile, we're both waiting for some other information so that we can buy a house in our new neighborhood. Everything is just about packed and ready to go, all we need now is a place to take it to. If we can get the house we're looking at, great. If not, we may have to rent a place until we can find a house. And we are not looking forward to having to move twice. But there's also still time, so perhaps we should just get a rein on our impatience and enjoy the down time while we have it. But I want to know what's happening soon!

The countdown continues...

2008-07-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

I just realized that my new job officially starts one month from TODAY! Also, I interviewed for it a whole four weeks ago today. Where did the time go? Into packing and cleaning, mostly, as we're trying to sell this house and buy a new one in the neighborhood of the new school. So far it's going well, but slow enough to make Laura and me both nervous. The packing is going well, however, and I suspect we won't have a lot of trouble getting out of here once we know where we're sending everything. The training for my new curriculum starts as early as a week and a half from now, too. I'm just waiting to see when and where that will be. Yeek! This is really happening!

Still going...

2008-07-12T07:07:00.001-07:00

Things are still moving forward. I took a bunch of paperwork to my new district office, and got fingerprints, the other day, so that's well underway. We also did a little house hunting, and may have found a place. Now all we need to do is sell our old house and find out what my new salary will be before we can get it. And in today's market, selling our old house may be tough. At least we've made some big improvements, and it's in a terrific location.

Some good news is that my new district is going to count my time as a sub when placing me on the district pay scale! That will give me a nice little boost in salary.

Er, not much else to say right now, really. I just want to get moved over there so that I can get ready to actually teach something soon!

Now it's REALLY official!

2008-07-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

It took a week and a half, but Mr. Postman delivered a nice large package from my new employers. There's lots and lots of paperwork in it for me to deal with. So now I have that to deal with as well as packing up to get the house on the market next week. But we should be able to head out there soon, drop off the paperwork, get a storage unit (yes, we're starting as soon as possible), and start looking for a new home there.

Wow, this is really happening!

And it just keeps going on...

2008-07-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Man, we have a lot of stuff! It's slowly making its way into boxes and out into the garage so that we can start showing the house to potential customers starting next week, but it is slow going, despite the whirlwind of activity around here the past week. What's really scary is we don't even know where we're going to live yet. I'm waiting for the contract and other paperwork first so that I can take it all over there, get a self-storage locker, then start house hunting. With the speed this is progressing, we're probably going to rent a small house for a year, which should give us more time and a bigger financial cushion to find a house to buy next summer.

But meanwhile, we have the packing and prepping the house. Both of our families have been a big help so far, and more is coming. My mother brought a bunch of boxes and pulled a lot of weeds in the front yard, and my dad is bringing his truck to haul lots of stuff to the dump—after bringing a lot more boxes from my sister. With my parents having my grandparents, themselves, and them my sister and her family in the last few years, they're getting very good at this. But the best part is, after we move, they likely won't have to help anyone again for a while! (My in-laws, who are also helping, have a lot more kids, however, so they may be just warming up.)

One bunch of stuff I'm making sure to keep track of is stuff for my classroom. They're being packed separately, and we're planning on taking them with us in one of the cars, not trusting them to get lost among everything else. Then I can make sure they get in my room and spend some of my prep time before the students come sorting through it all—at least, that's the plan. I'm not so inexperienced that I think I'll have all the time in the world to do it!

One little bit of surrealism today: I actually got a call to sub! A math teacher at the summer institute needs someone to take over for a few days later this month, and I believe I was one of the first she called. But between the move and another event going on at the same time, I had to turn it down. At least she was happy about the reason.

Okay, back to packing boxes and putting them in the garage...

Now that I have a new job...

2008-06-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

The waiting is the hardest part. The paperwork is on its way, and all of a sudden my full summer is looking pretty crowded, even before I start the job. Laura and I have to at least pack up and clean enough to make the house presentable to show potential buyers in a little over a week. (Right now, however, it looks like a hurricane hit our living room!) We also have to find a new place to live in the area, and I'll have some training in my new curriculum to take care of as well. This is on top of my usual trip to a convention in California and one of my favorite events, the Olympics. We'll probably need to make a trip or two over to our new area before moving over. But at least today I felt confident enough to e-mail just about everyone I know about the job, stop the application process in other districts where I had an active application, and remove the links to my old substitute jobs' websites.

I got the job!

2008-06-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

Things are finally looking up! That job interview on Friday? I must have done something right, because they offered me the job earlier this afternoon! My wife and I are really psyched about this, because it just felt so right to both of us. So yes, we're going to spend much of the summer packing up and moving, and I have some training for the new math curriculum as well. I just hope I can live up to everyone's expectations, including my own...

Summertime, and things are just getting started

2008-06-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

It's been particularly busy over the past few weeks. Last week was the last week of school at the local junior high, so I had final grades to prepare, things to tidy up, and all the rest of that stuff. The school also had it's year-end carnival and talent show. It was all a great experience, and I am extremely happy that I could do it. The principal was a great resource, too. She observed me a couple of times and gave me some terrific, constructive feedback, as well as writing a nice letter of recommendation.

As for the job hunt, it still goes on. I had another phone interview a couple of weeks ago, but never heard back. I've also gotten a few nibbles of interest, but no progress there yet, either. The big news is that on Friday, I had another in-person interview. This was a small, poor, rural, mostly Hispanic high school in the south-central part of the state. The principal called beforehand and told me it would only take about half an hour, but the interview itself lasted about an hour, which I hope means they liked me. They also gave me a tour beforehand (I got there early), and the head of the math department showed Laura and me some of the instructional materials afterwards, and we chatted about the program and the students some more. I think that's a good sign. Laura, getting bored with waiting for me, also talked to some of the people running the basketball tournament going on there, and she had a really good feeling about the whole thing. I haven't been this excited about a potential job for a long time, and I really hope I get it. I know I didn't hit a home run with my answers, but I still like my odds, too. We shall see. I should know by the end of this week.

But I'm also not going to count my chickens. Now that it's summer, I plan to get even more serious about the job hunt. My goal is to fill out an application a day, and then work on decluttering the house so that, if we need to move, it will be easier to do. That is going to be how I spend my summer vacation!

The latest update

2008-05-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted, and so I thought I'd take advantage of the long holiday weekend to give my loyal readers (if I still have any) an update. First off, I'm in a terrific position right now. A math teacher at the local junior high (within very pleasant walking distance) is now on maternity leave. She asked me back in the fall if I'd fill in for her, and I told her that the only thing that would keep me away is if I got a job in another field. So for the past three weeks, I've been teaching regularly. The same kids at the same school with the same colleagues! I feel like a real teacher at last, even if I have to shift my way of teaching to suit the regular teacher's (I don't want to rock the boat this late in the school year!) I've filled in for her before, so the kids and I know each other, but now I'm getting to learn their names (that's working a lot better than I thought it would) and what they're like as students. I've also worked with my colleagues to plan things out, and even talked to a couple of parents. This is, frankly, my dream job, and if this is the only way I'm ever going to get it, I'm at least happy that I have this chance.

As for the job hunt, it's progressing well in some ways, and frustratingly slow in others. I've already had two interviews, with schools in other parts of the state. One was by phone, and while I think I did all right, it obviously wasn't enough, as I never heard back from them. The other was a small suburban high school south of here, and while I don't think I did too horribly, I also wasn't surprised when they called and told me I wasn't a finalist. (Kudos to them, they at least let me know. Most schools don't do that!) Another rural high school has expressed interest, and is looking over my information, so I may hear from them soon. And so far, I've barely scratched the surface. The lovely Mrs. G. has already said that she's willing to move if it means I get a job somewhere, so I'm willing to look just about anywhere now. It could be a long frustrating summer, but I'm feeling more confident that I can get a teaching job somewhere. If not, however, I'm going to have to try to get another job in this economy, because there is no way I can afford to substitute for another year.

So many people over the past few years, hearing my plight, have told me to just hang on, something will turn up soon. Well I've been hanging on for years now, and I can't afford to wait any more. If the state is serious about finding and retaining math teachers, maybe they should make it easier for teachers and school districts to find each other. Maybe districts should recruit from their own sub ranks when there's a vacancy before opening the job up to anybody. Oh, well, let's see what this latest round brings. I'll try to post more often, particularly when there's actual news to tell you.

This past, exhausting week

2008-03-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Normally, I don't blog about what I'm actually teaching anymore, just because it's probably not terribly exciting for you and it's one less thing for me to worry about. Butt his past week was particularly interesting, in an exhaustive way, so I thought I'd share the gory details.

MONDAY: The most normal day of the week. I taught science at the local (within walking distance) high school. This teacher has sixth period prep, and it looked for a while like she had second lunch, which would have been five periods straight before lunch. Fortunately, she had first lunch, so I had that breather, then my final period, and they let me go home early once I was done with everything else. (I almost had to cover another class sixth period, but they managed to fill that job pretty quickly. Good thing, too, as you'll see how the week progressed.)

TUESDAY: My longest day of the week. I was back up at the local high school again, teaching Spanish this time. This was a short day, and the classes had a student teacher, so all I had to do was take roll and run the DVD player. But the moment I was done, I had to head out the door to the local elementary school (just a few blocks from my house, but not so close to the high school) and teach a fifth grade class there. Nice bunch of kids, I might add, even though the teacher warned me that she had some tough ones. No real prep period, a long walk between jobs, and my day ran from 6:30 to 3:30. On the plus side, I think I'm going to get paid for a day and a half.

WEDNESDAY: Science at another local-but-not-within-walking-distance high school. They have a block schedule, so they get a longer prep every other day. Guess what? That wasn't the day I was there. Again, teaching all the way through without a prep period.

THURSDAY: Elementary PE in the morning, then the moment I was done there down the road to a junior high school for math. I knew the timing would be close, but I thought I could make it in time — which I did. I even had a lunch period, which I hadn't quite expected. Again, no prep period.

FRIDAY: This was a teacher professional day in my usual district, so I grabbed a junior high science job in the other district I work in, thinking I'd finally get a break. Wouldn't you know, this guy was a 1.2 FTE, and had six classes and no prep.

By my reckoning, I should be paid for 5.9 days this week. Fortunately, next week is already shaping up to be a lot more normal, so I doubt I'll have a repeat of this past week.

Steps foreward, steps back...

2008-03-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

The good news is that Thursday's interview went well. It was with the president of the local science museum and a member of his staff, and I learned a lot about the place and what they do that I didn't already know. The bad news is that it wasn't really a job interview, but a networking session. Okay, yeah, fine, and they were able to give me some good advice and encouragement, but I'm not really sure that's what I need right now. I need either a job that will help fill my time and pay my bills (substituting only does the former to an extent, and the latter not really much at all), or a guarantee of a teaching job for the fall. Since most places around here don't even seem to interview until August, that's a problem.

The irony is, I'm back to wanting to be a teacher again. In the last month, I've had a three week paternity leave job and a couple of long-ish math jobs for sick teachers, and I've come to appreciate it again. I also talked to a principal to get some advice, and while he helped out, I'm not sure if it's enough to get a local job. I am so confused and conflicted as to what to do that I don't even know where to start, and paralyzed with indecision. What do I need most? A job with decent pay and benefits? A satisfying long-term job? Or a teaching job? And can I combine any of those?

Spin those prayer weasels!

2008-03-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a long, frustrating road, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel. I have an interview next week for what could be a new job. It's still in education, but not in schools, and could be a great fit for me. I don't dare say where for fear of jinxing things, but if I do get it, I'll be sure to let you know.

Blast from the Past

2008-02-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

I feel like a real teacher right now, as I'm filling in for another teacher on paternity leave for a few weeks. One of my students, a freshman, has a very unusual name, but it sounded familiar. I remembered teaching a second grade class — for one day — many years ago with a student by that name. So I asked her today if she'd ever attended that elementary school. Yup! Sure enough, that second grade kid who used to sing the Jigglypuff song from Pokémon (to which I would pretend to get angry about before faking falling asleep) grew up into a charming and sophisticated young woman. I don't get that sort of time-flies moment often enough...

Happy New Year!

2008-01-07T22:09:00.001-08:00

If I have any readers left, I just want to say that things are already looking pretty good for this year, as I may have a lead on a new job. It's not in schools, but it's still in education, and I dare not say any more for fear of jinxing it. But if you still have those prayer weasels around, start giving them a few test spins. I'll let you know when to get them going at full speed.

But the main reasin I wanted to write today is to commemorate the thirty-fifth anniversary of one of the greatest educational tools of the twentieth century, Schoolhouse Rock. I loved these cartoons when I was a kid, and I believe those and PBS (particularly Sesame Street and The Electric Company) had a lot to do with the formation of my love of learning and desire to go into education. So, since I'm a math teacher, I thought I'd celebrate with my favorite installment of Multiplication Rock, the trippy "Little Twelvetoes." Enjoy!

The first step

2007-11-30T06:28:00.000-08:00

I quit my tutoring job last night.

I took the job back in 2001 to supplement my meager subbing income, and to get some additional experience. But lately, especially once I figured out that I wasn't going to be a teacher for much longer, it had become jost another source of stress. So instead, I'll be working at a local math toys-and-games store for the holidays (they're moving to a new location, so can use some help moving things in the evenings), which should be good experience I can use to move into another career I'd be interested in. As a nice bonus, I'll be working over the winter break, which usually results in a major budget crunch in February. But it's only a short-term solution, and I hope I can find something with a real salary and benefits and room for advancement early in the new year.

Throwing in the towel

2007-10-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Man, it has been a while since I posted anything here, hasn't it? And truth to tell, there hasn't been much to say, either. I'm still on that hamster wheel, subbing during the day and tutoring in the evenings. Now, to take up more time, I'm also seeing a career counselor. Yup, I've decided that I can't be a teacher anymore. I haven't been enjoying it for some time, I can't even get a job, and I don't want to wait until spring to try again with no guarantees of success. So I'm throwing in the towel and seeing what else is out there. I'm both disappointed and relieved.

Darn it all yet again!

2007-09-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to hear about that last job interview last Friday. It's Wednesday now. Not that I'm surprised.

So now, I need to get things going to get a real job, with a decent salary we can live on, and benefits so that my wife can get well. Not that I'm happy about it, but frankly, I'm now looking forward to it. As much as I enjoy teaching, this whole feast-or-famine working fourteen hours a day is no way to live. I need to do this just to reclaim the rest of my life.

I'll keep you posted, but it's a good bet that this won't be a teaching blog much longer.

Quick! Spin 'em again!

2007-09-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

I suspected this might happen: I have another interview next week, this time for a junior high math position. The school came to hiring very late for some reason, and started with subs filling in. I was asked the be one of them, but I had the other interview and didn't think it would be fair to take that only to abandon them if I got the other job. But now that they know I'm available again, they've asked me to interview for one of the positions. To further make things interesting, it's my wife's old junior high school! So, if you can spare a few good thoughts for me Tuesday afternoon, maybe I'll get this one.

And I finally got back into the classroom today — up at the local junior high, no less. One of the PE teachers needed a sub today, so I got to go there and do very little, as they haven't actually started PE yet. Today they pretty much just passed out uniforms. Still, it was great to have lots of students I've worked with before enthusiastically greet me by name and ask how things are going and the like. I've been needing that for a few weeks now.

You didn't spin hard enough

2007-08-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

I got a call this morning. Nope, I didn't get it.

Damnit!

NOW what? Teaching is all I know, and that's what I've been doing for the past sixteen years. I've worked my ass off all summer filling in applications and answering essays and everyting else, and when I wasn't doing that, I was feeling guilty because I wasn't doing it. Ever since that last contracted job that flamed out, I've been doing everything right, and it's STILL NOT BLOODY GOOD ENOUGH!!! What does it take? Sheesh! I knew it would be tough, but not this tough!

School starts again on Tuesday, and I'll just hop back onto that hamster wheel of subbing and tutoring, putting in fourteen hour days for little reward. But I've already taken steps to start the whole career change process going, so we shall see what happens.

Sorry about all that. Thanks for letting me vent and rant.

Spin those prayer weasels!

2007-08-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the two jobs I interviewed for last week have yet to be filled, but they've decided that I'm not the teacher for the job. (Huh???) But the good news is, I have another interview tomorrow, for another high school math job out in a rural district.

Oh please please please please please please please let me not blow it...

This isn't looking good...

2007-08-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly a week, and I haven't heard back from either of last Friday's interviews. One of my references, who I'm sure they would have called if they were interested, told me she hasn't gotten any calls.

In the meantime, on Monday this week, one of my tutoring colleagues, who went back to South Carolina earlier this summer looking for a job, got a desperate call from a school wanting him to come out, as classes had already started. He wrapped things up that night and took off the next morning. And today, two more of my tutoring colleagues had interviews, then found out by the end of the evening that they'd gotten their jobs.

I'm really happy for them. No, really, I am. But man, I'm also exceedingly jealous.

There's one more week before school starts. Maybe some other district will get incredibly desperate and actually want me to teach for them.

This week's interviews

2007-08-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, things are looking up, as I had three interviews this week. The first one was the other day, and in a district over seventy miles away, for a high school math position in a rural district. It would have been an interesting job, but Laura and I would have had to make a whirlwind move, so it's probably a good thing they called yesterday and told us I wasn't a finalist. Today I had two interviews for jobs closer to home, although neither one is terribly local. The first is in a blue collar area to the south with a diverse population, including quite a few immigrants. It's an older school in a nice neighborhood, however, that looks like a small college campus! The biggest strikes against this job are the distance and the lack of technology; I'd have my own computer, but for the students about the best I can get is an overhead projector. The other district is more affluent and to the east, and while it's also a long drive, it's not so far, and there are several routes I could try. This is one of those schools where parents wonder why their students are getting "only" an A- (or so I was told during the interview). It sounds like a good fit, and it would be a great place to work. I even think I did all right in that interview, so my fingers are crossed. Let's see if I get offered one of these. And if not, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if I get a few more interviews next week, as the start of school is only two and a half weeks away.

A glimmer of light

2007-08-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know, no calls or nibbles or anything else all summer, and suddenly today, BOOM, I have two interviews lined up this week. One is pretty far away, which would probably involve a whirlwind move; the other is in a district I hadn't even applied in, but they got my name through my university placement office. It's also far, but at least commutable from here. After the interview was set up, I went ahead and applied there (thank goodness for online applications). So, wish me luck. And these may be the first of many interviews — unless I get an offer from one of these schools...

Happy (?) blogiversary

2007-08-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today, I very optimistically started this blog, newly hired for my first full-time teaching job, to record my experiences, the highs and lows, and all that. If I'd known there would be a record-shattering teachers strike, a long time with no certificate, and no new job after that one, I sure as @#$% wouldn't have been so chipper and optimistic about the whole thing! >SIGH<

So, what's the latest? It's been a more frustating than usual summer. I got a late start on getting applications in, so I haven't had any interviews at all yet. There are a few math jobs out there, but frankly, it's not looking good. Still, there are a few more weeks before school starts, and some districts are still dealing with transfers. Sadly, some are also still negotiating with their teachers' unions. Did nobody learn anything from that strike we went through?

So, it looks like I'll be looking for another job in a few weeks. Oh, I'll start my usual subbing-and-tutoring grind, but I plan to get off that treadmill as soon as I can. Why do the governor and the superintendent of public instruction bemoan the lack of good math teachers in this state when some of us can't even get a job?

Okay, rant over. If there are any developments, I'll post them here, but if nothing ever happens here again, I'm sure you'll understand.

The Year in Review

2007-07-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

It has been some time since I've been able to get to this blog, as I've been busy with all kinds of things lately. Summer will do that to a teacher, as he or she can finally take care of some things that have been put off for a while. And I was also off on a trip to California last weekend...

So now, it's time for my annual year-end-wrap-up post. (Er, I have done at least one of these before, haven't I?) I feel that, more than ever before, I'm a good teacher. My management skills have gotten much better, and I just seem to have it now. I also had a good year, with at least four jobs that lasted at least a week (a good sign that teachers and the district trust me), two of them teaching high school math. I had many students tell me that I was their favorite substitute, and (as it turns out) for all of the right reasons. It was also an extremely stressful year, as I worked two jobs four days a week, and it showed too often. The funky weather in late fall and early winter didn't help, either, as it resulted in some smaller-than-anticipated paychecks over the winter. Money has been tight all year, and so I'm determined to get a full-time contracted job this fall somewhre, or I will have to leave teaching. It may be temporary, however, as another job may give me the cushion I need to actually get my teaching career on some sort of track.

Highlights of the past school year:

Subbing for one of my old high school teachers. Much to my surprise, when I was subbing high school Spanish this spring, the regular teacher came in to get me up to speed, and I recognized her at once. We were both delighted, although it's been long enough that she didn't remember me (and I didn't expect her to). Her students were surprised that day when I told them, too.
Lots of work, and assistance and support from the staff, at the junior high school up the road. Great place, great kids, and a nice stroll to get there.
Inadvertantly meeting one of my friend's daughter's boyfriend when he did a terrific job reading one line from Romeo and Juliet.
Two different long-term math subbing jobs at the same high school, for two different teachers who both needed foot surgery. On one of the jobs, I had no job the day before it started, so I went in to talk about what was going to happen. I walked through the door and heard, "...and here he is now." By coincidence, I'd come towards the end of class just as the teacher was telling everyone he was going to be out, and who his substitute teacher would be. It couldn't have worked out any better if we'd planned it.

Lowlights of the year:

Being offered a job in October, only to have the school turn around and withdraw the offer because the district couldn't clear me quick enough. What was worse is that they didn't even tell me until I contacted them to find out what was going on. Needless to say, I'm not going to even accept an interview at that school again.
For the first time ever, I had to leave a class, and leave an assignment early. I got terribly sick one day this spring, but perservered, thinking I could do it anyway. Once the job started, however, I realized that it wasn't going to work, and even left the room unattended for a few moments to take care of things. They were able to get a sub for me, at least, but I wasn't happy that I'd done that.
On a similar note, through a miscommunication, it turned out I had a job that I'd missed seeing on the sub system, so I got a call from the secretary asking, "Where are you?" That's the first time I can recall ever being that late for an assignment. Fortunately, no harm was done — another sub took the first part of my first class — and everyone was cool about it.

I have a few things I may add over the next few weeks, and I'll also report on the job hunt progress, but in general I suspect this summer is going to be quiet on this blog. But keep checking back anyway, you never know what will happen.

And so it ends...

2007-06-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

The school year is now officially over, and frankly, not a moment too soon. I am incredibly burned out, after subbing all day just about every day and tutoring four nights a week, just to keep my head above financial water (and even then not always quite). There wasn't a lot of actual teaching to do this past week, as I showed a couple of videos, gave some high school science students time to cram for the final, and helped preside over two different field days. But now that that's done, I can (I hope) get into high gear with the applications. Of course, I've now heard back from one district that basically said, "Thanks but no thanks." This is not helping my self-esteem here, people! Oh, well, I still have a couple active applications out right now, lots of other districts to apply in, and time to deal with it all, I hope. But if I don't get something for the fall, I will have to investigate other options, I'm afraid, because I simply can't keep this grind up for another school year.

Soon, I hope to tell you all about the highlights and lowlights of the year, and I also have a couple of books I've read recently and want to review here. And there's also the always entertaining and enjoyable application process to keep you posted on. So I won't be completely silent this summer. But I may not be posting quite so regularly, either.

Into the home stretch

2007-06-17T19:03:00.001-07:00

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I just hope it's not an oncoming train. There's only one more week left of school, in both districts that I work in, and everyone is getting a little antsy about it. Since everything that needs to get done is done, it's now a little looser, but a lot of people — students and teachers — don't quite have their head completely in the game. The best example was a two-day elementary PE job I had this past week. It's a large school, so they have two PE teachers, which was a nice incentive for me to take the job, as I knew someone else would be in charge and I'd foller her lead. There were a few classes out for field trips, and the second graders used their time to rehearse for the end-of-the-year music performance, but otherwise it was pretty good. Much of the equipment, however, was already tied up for Field Day this week, so they weren't able to use it in the gym. to further complicate matters, the music teacher was out and couldn't get a sub. They've done this before, however, and combined the PE and music classes for some exercises. The kids are used to it, and did a good job. It is quite a sight to see about eighty first graders all doing Tae Bo in a dimly lit gym, but they did great.

Good news on the job hunt: I got another application in, and this time it only took me two days. This was a district I'd already applied in before, and they still had my electronic application, so all I had to do was update things, make copies of my paperwork, and write a new cover letter. As this was a district that contacted me last month and encouraged me to apply, I think I have a decent shot. But no, I won't rest on my laurels here, as I have a list of about two dozen other districts. I'd better get started, then...

A week's worth of work

2007-06-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've had an interesting job this past week: Elementary school librarian. Since the end of the school year is coming up, it's been interesting because nobody's allowed to check out books (although renewals are fine), and all of the books need to be back soon. So I've been getting a lot of books and, thanks to some wonderful student and parent volunteers, shelving very few of them (although I do my part). And I've shown the DVD of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi about twenty times, so I am really tired of it. The soundtrack is still going through my head! I'm there one more day tomorrow, and then there's only nine days left in the school year.

The best part of teaching elementary this week, however, has been the late start. I thought about sleeping in, but decided to use the time instead to work on job applications at last. And do you know how many applications I was able to fill in, at the rate of an hour a day? One! Oy, there has got to be a better system! Fortunately, I already have two more days of elementary school (PE this time) coming up later this week, so at least I should be able to get a good start on my next application going this week.

Occupational hazard

2007-06-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was teaching junior high PE. Okay, all I was really doing was timing them during their weekly run, but at least I was doing something (unlike those days that are nothing but the same video over and over). The weather was warm, sunny, and gorgeous. So naturally, I got sunburned on my arms and legs, and even a little on the back of my neck. Fortunately I thought to wear a baseball cap and sunglasses, so my face is fine.

Just when I think I've taught it all...

2007-05-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

Over the course of my subbing career, I think I've "taught" just about every subject there is, including welding, auto shop, home ec, band, and choir.

Today, however, I got a new one: Forensics! Since finals are coming up, about all I had to do was be the warm body with a pulse as they made final preparations for their presentations and the final exam, but at least I can say I've taught it.

Okay, I've got to check out this book

2007-05-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

My lovely wife Laura always finds interesting links for her blog. One is about a new-ish book, The Case Against Homework. Sounds interesting, and if Laura's serious about checking out of the library, I'm going to read it, too, methinks.

One giant step...

2007-05-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

Thank goodness for long weekends, especially when there's no tutoring on Monday. (I do not know why we get Memorial Day off, but not any other holidays during the school year. Good grief, this year we even had to work on Halloween! Can you imagine how many kids actually showed up?) Not only did I clean out the gutters today, I also went through my huge pile of teacher stuff and got it all sorted and organized. The good news is that I now have quite a few current letters of recommendation (and even a few older ones), with more coming. I also found, to my surprise, a mostly positive evaluation from my last contracted job (the one where the year started off with a seven week teacher strike and never really got any better from there), and a few other items that should help in the job hunt. Tomorrow, I'm teaching junior high math at the school up the road, and the video production teacher is going to have a team recording me teach, so that ought to be a good addition to my application portfolio. So very soon here I should be able to finally get going on applying for jobs! Let's hope it works...

Coming soon to a theater near you (I hope)

2007-05-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

It looks like math geeks have a big-budget movie adaptation to look forward to, although more likely it's going to play festivals before going to DVD by this time next year. So what is it? Take a look right here.

Close encounters of the teacher kind

2007-05-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

Two interesting encounters this week:

I was substituting elementary PE earlier this week, and one student asked, "What's your first name?" I gave my official needs-to-know answer and replied, "Mister." She was persistent, however, and asked, "Are you Eric?" Turns out that she'd gone to the same tutoring center I wok at evenings, and remembered me.
The other night at the grocery store, the bagger asked, "Aren't you Mr. Gjovaag?" (Extra props to her for getting my last name right, since I usually go by Mr. G.) I have been her sub a few times at one of the local high schools. My wife grilled her on what kind of teacher I was. It turns out I'm a good sub, but this student wisely didn't commit to what kind of teacher I am.

I Am a Teacher

The latest update

Roller-Coaster Day Back at Work

*SIGH*

Update (it doesn't look good, and yet...)

The hunt goes on...

So far, a busy summer

Busy, busy, busy...

A (mostly) quiet week

It's catch-up time!

Damn

The latest update

The latest update

The week in teaching

The week in teaching

Last week in teaching

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Well...

An update, and the last fortnight-or-so in teaching

Last week in teaching

It's official

At last!

I Am Not a Teacher

Things are looking up!

Hmm...

Winding down?

The latest update, and some housekeeping

And away we go!

Cross those fingers again

Summer update number 1

Job hunt update

No joke!

Jaime Escalante 1930-2010

Update

A little too close to the truth

Naked Pleading on behalf of another teacher

Good news, everybody!

Merit pay for teachers? Why?

Watch my face plant!

Ouch!

Admin - Comments

Odd moment of the year

Ungh...

A long and challenging fortnight coming up

Picture Day!

Oh, dear...

School started today!

Year 2, Day 0

Mixing things up

School's out!

WOO-HOO!

I've just signed my first ever contract renewal!

Something I thought I'd share

What I'm thankful for

Finally, a chance to breathe

Yay, it's over!

Quick update

Here we go again...

One down, 179 to go!

Weekend update

Two steps forward, two steps back

Here we go...

Son of a fuzzy elephant!

Five years ago, and one week to go

I've started the new job!

It's official!

One month to go...

A Jolt of Excitement

The waiting is the hardest part

The countdown continues...

Still going...

Now it's REALLY official!

And it just keeps going on...

Now that I have a new job...

I got the job!

Summertime, and things are just getting started

The latest update

This past, exhausting week

Steps foreward, steps back...

Spin those prayer weasels!

SIGH