New Job

A few days before Christmas, I started to feel a little burned out as a sub. For anyone who was unaware, I have been enjoying the footloose and fancy free occupation as a substitute teacher since September.  I got to meet so many neat people who I have learned a lot from, and I loved teaching and getting to know so many students. My favorite aspect of being a sub was the fact that I was often requested to sub at Jake's school! I even got to work directly with him on a few days.

Anyways, as much as I liked it, I didn't have health insurance, nor did I love dealing with some of the nastiest school secretaries to walk this planet. I got to meet some really nice ones, but some were demons. That is what really made me feel burned out. Day after day of working with the glittery eyed beasts who sit behind the front desk just waiting to make you feel like you are less than a human being tends to make a girl tired.

So I have been applying for any openings in the school district where I could settle down and have a little mailbox in the teacher's room of my own. That's all I wanted.

I have interviewed far and wide without much luck (the teaching market is glutted with new, fresh faced college graduates) and a few days after new years, I got an unexpected job offer for a job that I had really wanted.  So, the first week of January I started training at Lincoln alternative high school to work in a new program for students who can't quite handle normal high school. I work in a computer lab with a program that offers about 100 different high school classes, all completely online. I work with three other amazing teachers and we are quite the team. My responsibility lies over creating and evaluating the effectiveness of each class. So when things are quiet I will go through a few lessons of Art, or U.S. history, or P.E., or anything. Just yesterday I created an economics class.  I am also in charge of community service. Some kids have the chance to earn an elective credit through doing hours of community service and I get to help set that up.  It is fun to see them excited about serving others.

The kids I teach are not what others would consider bright stars of this generation. There are students who have parole officers I keep in constant contact with. There are teenage parents who attend around babysitting schedules. There are students just months younger than I who have not been to school since they were 14. And you know what? I adore them. A few days ago we had our  first group of students finish a class. I am so proud of each and every one of them and I know they are brilliant. I am honored to be their teacher.  I will fight for them, and I will make sure that I help them go as far as they want to. Yesterday a kid asked me to help him start looking at college requirements. My heart is full. I am fulfilled. 

They recently did a news story on this new program. http://www.kidk.com/news/82003832.html