Just in time for the Mardi Gras season, I've decided to over do it with work. Instead of working thirty-five hours a week, I'm now working closer to fifty-five hours a week. Maybe for Lent I can give up work and go on vacation. Why the change? I switched jobs. Instead of working as a teacher's aid with youth in custody, I'm now working at a private Catholic school teaching seventh and eighth grade Language Arts. I officially started teaching on Monday and I am wondering what I was thinking when I left my job of relative ease for a this new one. Let's just say that the discipline issue is much harder right now at the new school. I teach two classes of thirty-five students each, so technically I'm part time. They are a rowdy, rambunctious group and unfortunately I can't hold the threat of incarceration over their heads like I could in my last job. Truth be told, I'm enjoying myself even if I am working my butt off trying to figure out what to teach and how best to teach it for the next few months of school.
And as for the Catholic part, everyone has been really nice. According to a few people, rumors are flying that I'm not Catholic and some even hint that I'm LDS. I'm sort of enjoying being in the minority again. At least they don't hold anti-Mormon seminars like all the Baptist Churchs in my childhood neighborhood did. And so far no one has tried to tell me that they know more about my religion than I do. The highlight of my short week was when one student came to see me after school. First he asked me to tell him more about myself. Not knowing what he wanted to know, I kept it to the basics: I'm married and I love Shakespeare. Then he said, "I don't want this to sound bad or offensive, because it's not bad, but there are rumors that you're of the LDS faith and I'm just wondering how you're going to handle teaching in a Catholic school?" What a great question and what a great kid. And it's because of kids like him that I decided to try teaching seventh and eighth grade. I just hope I won't let them down.
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3 comments:
Wow, it sounds like a neat job and I bet you'll be so good at it. At least if things get hard you can be grateful there aren't any arrogant RM's in there with you :)
Keep posting your teaching stories. I love reading them.
I'll totally understand if you don't have time for our book club right now. I will be sad but I will someday get over it. Maybe.
Thanks for the vote of confidence. This last week has been so crazy! So, it seems like I will need to take a break from extra-curricular reading even though I hate to put our book club on hiatus. Right now I'm rushing to read To Kill a Mockingbird. At least it's a book I've always wanted to read. :)
Aaaaaagh! I can't believe I missed this development. I thought I had your blog feed in my Bloglines, and I didn't. How exciting and scary - although it sounds (in your more recent posts, after this one) like you're getting a great handle on it. Way to go. That's awesome - and I'm betting you make a great teacher.
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