Job Hunting

Job hunting is certainly a chore. It seems like there is always another district I should have thought of. It would be easier in a sense if I were a traditional student without a husband and home when looking for a job. That way I wouldn't feel tied down to central Ohio. As it is, I would really like to not have to drive more than 30 minutes from Westerville. Each cover letter needs to be individualized. Each resume altered a little. Each application a ridiculously long process. On top of that, you never know when, let alone if, you will hear from anyone. I am a planner and not knowing what my life will be like in the fall is difficult and stressful for me. If anyone has any knowledge of upcoming openings in central Ohio for 7-12 life science, let me know!

taking on too much

In my Teacher Leadership class, I had to complete the Myers-Briggs personality test. It turns out I'm an Extrovert (big surprise there, haha), iNtuition, Thinker, and a Judger. It is important for me to remember that these are good or bad results, but just results that provide self-awareness. This site gives more info on my personality. One thing that really rang true is that I tend to take on more then I really should.

This is why I ignored my husband's plea that I not take classes this term. I could feel the snowball effect that would happen if I didn't take classes. I would have to push back my graduation date by three terms, pay for the classes out of pocket (I get tuition waivers b/c from Otterbein), and maybe not take the classes at all if life got stressful in other ways and fail to graduate. As a result, I'm trying to push through my three classes, my full-time OC job, subbing 3-5 days/week, and the process of buy/renovating/moving into our first home. This was a lot.

Perhaps my husband was right, and I should have taken the term off. Then again, maybe a year from now I will be teaching full-time, pregnant, and SO glad I have my degree! Can you tell INTJ's are planners??

first in-class arrest today

Today I subbed at a local high school for a music teacher. There was nothing left for my students to do, so they were just sitting around talking. I noticed one period that 3 of my 8 students in the class had disappeared. Five minutes later, a police officer and vice-principal walked in my class and took away one of my remaining students to arrest him. Apparently he showed my three disappearing students his bags of weed and vikadin. They quietly slipped out of class to tell the school administration. Who knew? I think I catch a lot as a teacher, but I guess I miss a lot, too. I had no idea this was going on until it all went down. Turns out the kid has gone through this many times before and has been through rehab, too. What a shame.

If you need a sub

If you need a substitute, here are some do's and don't's from my perspective, the perspective of a sub:
1) Leave a class list and an accurate seating chart. I can't say how many times I don't even know who or how many students to expect. Seating charts are out-dated 9 times out of 10 once the second semester rolls around. What if there's an emergency and I can't tell the administration who was in my/your class?
2) If you expect excellent or lazy behavior from your students, that is fine, just let me know. If you let your students run around all crazy, you've made my job 5 times harder, especially if you don't tell me that's the norm.
3) Leave me lesson plan options. Don't assume that I know everything or nothing about your subject or technology. Leave options, so if I feel comfortable going over your material, I can. If I know nothing about it, leave me something simple like book-work or a movie as a second option.
4) ALWAYS leave me something to do! Over-plan if necessary! Having nothing to do is a painful experience as a sub. Imagine how your students behave for you on their worst day, and now multiply it to see how they treat a sub. Give us something to accomplish or there is mayhem!
5) Leave things where we can find them and leave the teacher's computer logged on for us. Imagine moving into a fully furnished house and being told to find the garlic press. You may have an idea of where to look, but the owner may have thought a different place was logical. Leaving a working computer for us is just courteous. It is like leaving the remote control out so a guest can watch TV during downtime. We need the downtime just as much as you do.
6) Say thank you. You know who subs for you. We leave feedback on papers in your room and online. If you think your job as a teacher is thankless, try being a sub. We work hard at half the pay and no benefits. It would go a long way. It isn't easy walking into someone else's room, dealing with someone else's organization, and trying to make it all work.

Thanks, and thanks to all the teachers who do as much of this as possible!