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12/12/2008 The End is in Sight!In less than one week, I will have actually survived my first full semester as a real live high school teacher, and, as I haven't written in months (when I have time to write, there's nothing to write ABOUT, and when I have stuff to write about, there's no time because I'm usually working about 60 hours a week), I thought it might be nice to recap, at least in a vague sort of sense.
Teachers have been in the news in a negative sort of way for blogging about what goes on in their classrooms, and, as I appreciate and value and desperately need to keep working at my job, I'm not going to go into anything even resembling details. What I will say is that this job is a lot darned harder than most people think it is! I'm grading homework almost every night, and I'm already seeing my summer dwindle in the face of not-to-be-missed professional development opportunities (I'm about 100 hours short of the promised land, and if I actually DO everything everyone wants me to, I'll be about 100 hours OVER by next August). I'm rushing to get all the homework graded this weekend so I can actually relax over the holidays (okay, I need to stop kidding myself - I won't relax, I'll be writing lesson plans for NEXT semester, but at least the homework will be graded). I guess I'm just a disgusting overachiever, but I really do take this job intensely seriously - we really do mold the future, and I want to mold it the best way I know how.
For the most part, though, I'm having a lot of fun. I get to spend my days reading great literature four times daily (okay, I'll admit it - I don't love great literature all that much, as I've said before, and by the third time, I'm usually bored - I now understand why colleges use those huge lecture classes: so they can do the lecture just once and be done with it!). If they'd just pay me about half again as much money, I'd do this forever (and I will probably do it forever anyway - this economy is not good for English majors, especially ones who focused in creative writing, and I like this job better than I've liked anything else I've done).
Not much is going on on the Certification Road. I've met once with my certification committee, and I have been observed to within an inch of my life. I've got another meeting next week, and I'm starting to relax about this stuff - my mom keeps saying it's just hoops they have to jump through and if they didn't think I could do the job, they wouldn't have hired me in the first place, but I'm a Polish worrier, so I stress anyway. I need to take one more certification test (two if you count the Psychology test I'm not required to take but would like to take), but I am waiting for my income tax refund (see earlier posts for expenses related to THAT, which are, well, expensive). If all goes as planned, I'll be permanently certified by this coming August and can finally close the chapter in my life entitled "Alternative Teacher Certification" and open one called "Certified Teacher."
Personally, I'm single just now because I'm too busy to date, but I'd like to get back out there sometime in the not-too-distant future. I got dumped just before school started (a long story and I'm still angry about it), and I miss being in a relationship, but I'm not sure I have much to give to one just now due to my insane work schedule. I'm also the Speech and Drama coach, and this demands plenty of my free time, as if grading English papers didn't take up enough of my personal time.
Side note: I got an iPod Touch with my check from the Government last May, and I have discovered the Joys of Podcasts. Some favorites include The Geologic Podcast, Escape Pod, PodCastle, ClonePod, Astronomy Cast, NPR Science Friday, and the English teacher's delight, The Princeton Review Vocabulary Minute. I plan to get a laptop of my own FINALLY with this year's tax refund, and I am already anticipating many hours of happy listening. Of course, www.wnua.com still has the best smooth jazz anywhere, but I can't get it in my car. *sigh!*
Other than that, what can I say? It's a Friday night, and my big excitement is getting up early tomorrow morning to take Cleopatra to the veterinarian in Owasso. GOD, I'm boring! 3/18/2008 On The Job Hunt (or Why I Am Frustrated With Online Teaching-Job Websites)Happy March, pals and gals, that time when teachers start thinking of the next academic year. For me, it is a time of furiously looking for a job, preferably (once again) within driving distance of my folks' (thank you for the raises, Governor Henry, but the sad fact is that I still can't pay my student loans AND rent, especially after I bought the new car last fall).
The question then becomes, Where to look? How?
I've heard the Internet is a wonderful tool for finding a job. Well, sort of.
For businesspeople, there is Monster.com, Yahoo! HotJobs, CareerBuilder, and I'm sure many others. For teachers in Oklahoma, there are two that I know of: OklahomaTeachingJobs.org, and Teachers-Teachers.com. Each site has its strong and weak points, but overall, I'd say that they both could use a LOT of help.
I'll start with Oklahoma's site, OklahomaTeachingJobs (there are links to both sites in my Links list on the main page). The site is well-designed, I think, and it's easy to search by region (important, when you can't afford to move). I like this site a lot, except for one thing: no one updates it as the jobs are filled - I saw listings last week that I know were filled last year - I can tell by the post date. Some are even older than that. So it's hard to know what is actually available, and makes the state of Oklahoma's education look a lot more desperate than it actually is.
The other site, Teachers-Teachers, is not nearly as well designed as the first. It is designed to do a lot more than I need it to, for one - I don't want to spend all day scanning and uploading my certificate, certification test scores, resume, and everything else - just give me an address and I'll mail them to the schools I'm applying to. I don't want to use this site to map my entire professional history - I have a resume for that. All I want to do is to see where the job openings are, and whether or not I'm qualified for them. Another thing I don't like is the inability to search by region within a state - it doesn't help me to know that there are openings in the Panhandle - I can't afford to move there (and would hate it anyway - all that's out there is dirt, or so I'm told, and I'm a city girl at heart) I want to know what there is within an hour's drive of Grove. All of that, and their site is behind in removing old or filled positions as well, once again inflating the job market to poor unemployed educators.
So basically, both sites suck, and I am getting discouraged.
On another note, I want to apologize for not chronicling my adventures in awhile - the truth is, I've basically spent my time substitute teaching and haven't had any adventures to speak of, or at least none appropriate for this forum. 7/25/2007 The Joy, Glory, and Wonder that is AP Summer InstituteIt's been over a week since I got home from the Advanced Placement Summer Institute workshop I took completely on my mom's say-so July 9-13, and that means that I have been negligent in my reporting. In my defense, though, I have been busy sending out job applications to all the schools whose teachers I met at APSI and encouraged me to apply for openings they had. That was an awesome part of the week, meeting teachers and hearing about job openings I didn't previoulsy know about (which just goes to show that it's way better to know someone on the inside than all the online postings in the world - I don't know that that sentence makes all that much sense, but hey, I've been up almost twenty hours; cut me some slack, please!). So I've been filling out applications and continuing to tweak my resume, plus working at my new part-time summer job selling clothes for Stage, a clothing store here in Grove. So yeah, I've been busy.
But I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about how much I learned at APSI, which was a lot! After this one week, I now feel prepared to teach Advanced Placement Language and Composition, and would not hesitate to do so, whereas before the workshop, I would have felt set adrift in a sea of brainiacs with no shore in sight. I now know exactly what is on the AP Language and Composition tests: I have copies of every test they've released over the last fifteen years, I believe, and I have scored samples of all of last year's essays, with commentary and rubrics. I'm still not scoring very accurately, based on the practice sessions we did, but I feel like I was getting closer the more we practiced.
And really, I don't think the test is all that big a deal, except for the time limits, which are insane - I think students have two hours to do 50-some-odd multiple choice questions about several passages they have to analyze (and analyzing is a lot harder than just reading - although in my defense, I would have passed the multiple choice section using my regular "skimming" method I use on tests, but I wouldn't have made a very high passing score) and only two hours to write three essays - it's an exercise in time and crisis management, and I understand that a lot better than I did before the workshop, that's for sure! But I learned some good time management strategies to teach the kids, too, and I feel really good about almost everything - I'm great on multiple choice, I can nail the synthesis and general argument questions every time, but I'm still tripping up on rhetorical analysis - I'm just not used to looking at a piece that closely (if I had been, I might have done much better in college - they seemed to think I already knew how at OU). But even over just the week, I learned a lot about it, and I feel confident that as time goes on I will keep learning more and more and honing my skills even more sharply.
Plus, we got to stay in a really nice hotel in Tulsa - the Doubletree - and Mom, Jan, and I (we all hung out together since we had carpooled in Jan's car to Tulsa - Jan is one of Mom's colleagues - she also teaches AP) even got to eat dinner with Weird Al Yankovic on our last night at the hotel (see my MySpace Blog here for more details - and you'll have to click the link on my main page, because I'm too tired to link properly).
There were only a couple of things I didn't like so well, and I think it was more of a personality thing than anything else - I get frustrated sometimes with all of this "teach to the test" garbage. I mean, sure, I know the test is important, but I don't think the test is the end-all and be-all, and I thought we focused a little too closely on the test and not enough on the actual learning, but as I say, that is just my personal preference. The only other real issue was the food - everything was white and heavy (white bread, white bagels, etc.) and I didn't get enough fiber! Next year I will pack fiber supplements, and maybe my own lunch - as I said many times, I'd have been so much happier with a turkey sandwich and a big salad - they had stuff like lasagna and turkey and dressing, for gosh sakes, and I'm used to eating more lightly at lunchtime.
I'll definitely go again next year - I wonder if they'll let me do all three English workshops back to back (AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, and Pre-AP English) next year? I'm all for it, so long as the state wil bankroll it for me. I also saw that they have AP Psychology too, and I'd love to learn to teach that as well. *Sigh!* So much to learn, so little time! 6/2/2007 An AddendumI almost forgot to mention that Sandy Garrett is the State Superintendent for Public Instruction of the State of Oklahoma - that was really thoughtless of me and I apologize. Sometimes I am a bit scatterbrained, and in my quest for brevity I leave out important facts. 5/29/2007 Guess Who Was Having Lunch At The Same Place I Was Today?Today was the first day of the end-of-year professional development at the high school. I had planned to sit in on the morning session, as it was an extension of our latest book group. I had planned to head home afterward, but when Mom invited me to lunch, there was no way I'd say no (I make it a policy to never turn down free food). Several of the teachers from the session we'd just finished came with us as well, and we decided to eat at a cute little cafe near the school. At some point, a woman in jeans and a red sweater walked over from another table and started talking to my mom and a couple of the other teachers. I was at the other end of the table and the ambient noise was too high for me to hear anything, so I just smiled and looked pleasant.
We ate and left, and I got caught up in the afternoon's vertical team meeting - I hadn't planned on attending, but Mom thought it would be a good experience for me. I learned a lot, but I completely forgot to ask about our mystery visitor until we got home and Mom was telling Dad about seeing Sandy Garrett at the restaurant. I said, "Oh, was that who that was? How cool!" Mom said she was in town on vacation.
I don't want to be obnoxious and invade her privacy, so I won't say anything else about it, but I thought it was really neat and wanted to share it. 5/18/2007 I Passed the Journalism Test!I just got an e-mail from the administrators of the Certification Examinations for Oklahoma Educators, and I passed the Journalism test! YAAYY!! I'm so excited!!
I think my next test will be the Psychology/Sociology test, but I may take the Oklahoma Professional Teaching Examination (OPTE) next instead, since that one is required and Psych/Soc is not. Also, I think I should wait to test again until I can pay for it out of my own money - I love my parents, but there's no reason to ask for more money than I absolutely need, so we'll see.
I would write more, but I volunteered to help with crowd control at tonight's Yearbook Release Party at the high school, and I need to get going - I didn't know scores were being released today until I got home and I had a letter reminding me that I would need to send in paperwork to get the new subject area added to my certificate (the paperwork is already filled out and ready to go, along with the $10 certificate processing fee). I'll be mailing that on my way back to the school in a few minutes. 5/17/2007 Blind Trust and the Advanced Placement Summer InstituteI am now signed up to attend the Advanced Placement Summer Institute. I have no idea what this actually entails, except that I think I'm going to learn to teach Advanced Placement English, which is a good thing, and may help me get a job this fall. But it should serve to illustrate how much I trust my mother's judgement in these matters, as I let her sign me up for something that I really don't know anything about. The upside of this is that she did the same thing last summer with the National Writing Project's Rural Mini-Institute that I attended, and that turned out really well, and I got a lot of really great ideas for my future students. So I am trusting that this will be just as good. The only thing that sucks is that I'll be there the morning of my birthday (we'll finish at noon that day since it's Friday), and I usually try to sleep in on my birthday. Oh well, I'm sure it will be worth it (and if not, it's great ammunition for a guilt trip, if I did guilt trips, which mostly I don't). My Horror-Scope and Related ThoughtsThis is my horoscope for today. Read it first, and then I will comment.
The good news is this: it can only get better. For today, however, there may be some trying times in store, dear Cancer. If you're a parent, the children will ask, "Can I please?" every five minutes, and at work you will feel pressure from all sides. Not even your love life is immune from the feelings of doubt that seem to hover over your head. No form of compromise is possible for you today. Just sit tight and know that calmer days are coming.
Okay, now you've read, and I'll tell you how appropriate it is (the simple fact that I am writing in the dreaded second person will speak volumes to those familiar with my literary habits). I don't have children or even a real job, but I am feeling massive amounts of pressure from all sides, and when I am squeezed, I tend to squeeze back first and ask questions if I feel like it after my equilibrium is restored.
Let's start with yesterday. I got called in to work, which automatically means it should be a good day, and the call didn't come in until around 11 a.m., which made it even better (I am most emphatically not a morning person). Plus, I got two full days out of the call (a full day and two halves), which is even better! And my assignment for the day seemed simple enough: babysit ISI (In-School Intervention; we would have called it ISS-In-School Suspension) from 1 until 2:40 p.m. I wouldn't even have to take roll; I just had to make sure they sat down and shut up. Seems simple enough, doesn't it?
Well, let me tell you, it was the worst hour and a half I've had in recent accessible memory. I was ignored, sassed, threatened, and demeaned. I was so stressed out I was shaking and sweating. I was scheduled for ISI on Friday also, but I told my administrator that I just couldn't do it, and having to admit my inability made it all the worse in my own eyes (my administrator was really nice about it, and she shifted me to a different assignment for Friday).
After school, I had to get a PAP smear, which is not any fun at all, and is almost completely unrelated to my tale of woe, except for the fact that it made my already-through-the-roof stress levels shoot up even more (for those who also read my MySpace blog, I have not blogged that yet because I'm waiting for the lab results before I celebrate that everything is fine, even though the doctor said it all looked fine).
Then today I subbed for a social studies teacher who had his students watching Miracle (this is a Disney movie about hockey that I've not seen). Now, I don't have a problem showing movies to students, but yesterday in ISI I asked a student to copy newspaper articles since he was finished with his work, and he refused on the grounds that it had nothing to do with school (he got in trouble when I called my administrator for help; the rules say I can assign anything I want to if they finish their assignments). But did the students today complain that Miracle did not have anything to do with what they were studying? Hollow laugh. Of course not! They only complain if it's something they don't want to do!
Why, oh why do these kids not care if they learn anything or not? Has the education system in this country really failed them so badly? If so, what can I do about it?
Then when I got home, I got in an argument with my dad about literature, and what makes a book good (see my MySpace blog for more information on this). He seems to think that it has to do with universality (and I agree), but we couldn't seem to find common ground on what was universal. So I feel squeezed again, because I don't think anyone is listening to my point of view as a recent student and new teacher. He just said I should talk to my mom and other teachers about it, but I've done this in the past with basically meaningless results (they just say, basically, that we teach these books because we've always taught these books. Case in point: my junior year in high school we were supposed to read Death of a Salesman, but someone stole the key to the test, so we skipped it. I think that is pathetic).
So I'm discouraged, disheartened, depressed somewhat, and definitely pressured and riddled with self-doubt. I hope my horoscope is right that the feeling will soon pass. 5/4/2007 Back to Work... and MAN, Did I Have A Bad Day!Today was my first day back to work since I was approved for licensure through the State, and while I was thrilled to be back at work making money, to say the least, after the day I had today, I am once again questioning my own sanity in completing this process and planning to teach.
To make a very long story short, I had to call my administrator down once, I sent two children to various offices for various offenses, and two of them more or less walked out without permission. I was harassed verbally on multiple occasions by wiseapples who didn't think they should have to do anything I said, and one of the idiot freshmen threw a wadded up piece of paper at me (that was when I called my administrator, of course). Oh yeah, and one gentleman cussed at me (how could I possibly forget that one!?!).
I know there are only a few weeks of school left until summer vacation, but I don't believe that that should be an excuse for childish, disrespectful behavior, which is what I saw today. On the other hand, I almost went in expecting it: one of my first few gigs subbing ever was for this same teacher, and one of her little darlings saw fit to stick a sticky note (Post-It, if you prefer brand names) to my forehead after I asked him to go get an admit to class (he was tardy). After that humiliating experience, I wouldn't have been surprised by much of anything those children chose to do, even as I hoped for at least some semblance of civilized behavior.
My question is, how do these children (and they are children; despite their ages, they refuse to earn the title of young adults) get to be freshmen or sophomores in high school without any idea what civilized conduct is or should be? How do they think they're going to survive in the world outside of school with the attitudes they have? Getting sent to the principal's office is, after all, small potatoes compared to being fired or getting arrested, which are both likely possibilities for this bunch. Serving detention is a picnic compared to serving a prison sentence. And I'm only speculating; I've never been fired, arrested, or in prison, and I plan never to be, but still, these punishments are probably worse than even I can imagine!
But for all my frustration, I did not lash out at any of the children, and I managed to contain the type of sarcastic remarks that got me into "trouble" earlier this spring (I blogged it, but I can't think of the date offhand or I would refer to it directly). Most importantly, I did not hit the wiseapple who, when asked politely to spit out his gum, responded, "No, I won't," and then refused to report to the principal's office as directed. I really, really, really wanted to hit him, but I didn't, which was probably a smart idea, considering he was about half a foot taller than I am and certainly outweighed me. I held my ground and stared him down and just kept repeating, "Go to the principal's office," over and over as my Ruby Payne seminar co-participants advised, and finally, he left the room, at which point, I called my administrator and reported the altercation as I had been instructed.
Still and all, though, I'm glad to be back in the classroom, and even more excited to find a permanent teaching position in which I will have my own students for whom I can write my own lesson plans and make my own rules, which I will then carry out. Everyone I've talked to says it's way easier when you're working with the same kids every day, and I'm really looking forward to trying out some of my ideas. 4/23/2007 It's Been A Busy Few Days!It's been a busy few days on the Certification Road - part of that is my fault, but part of it is the State's fault, but I'm not going to whine at this point, because it's over!!
The first thing that happened recently is my interview with the Teacher Competency Review Panel (that was this past Thursday). We left the house at 7 a.m. to drive to Oklahoma City to do this, and also to have my fingerprints scanned electronically, as my last set was rejected (like that was a big surprise!). The whole thing took just under an hour - my fingerprints scanned easily into their computer, and the interview was quick and painless (mostly I asked them questions!). I just got the letter today saying that I am officially on the list to be recommended for licensure at the next meeting of the State Board of Education, which is this Thursday, after which I can go back to work as a sub with unlimited days and a 50% pay increase! So I'm excited about that; I've been out of work for too long.
The other thing I did was take the Journalism certification test on Saturday (that was the part that sucked, doing the interview and the test basically back-to-back. But I didn't know when the interview was going to be when I signed up for the test). It was hard, and I'm not sure how well I did. Mainly where I think I didn't do well is that they would tell me some convention of page layout and say, "Why is it done this way?" I, of course, really didn't know. On a couple, I wanted to write in, "Because Janet says so," and leave it at that (Janet was my mentor at the Grove Sun Daily, and most of the conventions I know she taught me, she just never taught me why, because it wasn't important at the time; I just did it her way because she had more experience than I did).
However, I didn't leave the English test feeling all that good about it, and I wrote a really good essay for the Journalism test, so I think there's a pretty good chance that I passed; now I just have to wait and see how it all comes out. Wish me luck! 3/22/2007 I Guess I Spoke Too Soon... Fingerprints Denied Again!I guess I spoke too soon... I reported a week ago today that I had not heard anything from the State Department of Education about my fingerprints (the 15th). Then on Monday I recieved a letter dated the 13th saying that once again my prints had been denied because the ridges were not clear enough. *Sigh!*
So I called the Alternative Certification office and talked to a very nice person who did not tell me his name and asked if there was any way I could be scheduled to interview even though my background check was not complete. I explained that Grove is a long way from Oklahoma City and that if there was any way possible, I'd like to only have to drive down once, and could I have my fingers scanned at the same time I was interviewed. He said that that was not the way they usually did things, but that he understood my situation and would sign off on the exception. He said he'll be sending me a letter soon inviting me to interview, and to try and get to OKC as early as I could, in case they had trouble obtaining my fingerprints at their office, which would require a trip to the OSBI office to keep trying. He also requested that I go bacck to the police station and try to get my prints taken one more time, which, since it doesn't cost me anything but time and postage, I will do, maybe tomorrow. I thanked him profusely for all his help, of course.
He also said that all the interviews will be done on April 19, which is two days before I take the journalism test, so I'll be busy that week! 3/15/2007 No Word on the Latest FingerprintsIt's been awhile, and I still haven't heard anything from the State Department of Education about my latest set of fingerprints. I'm hoping this means they're readable. It took them less than two weeks to reject the first set, but it's been over that on this set.
In other news, last week I finally ran out of days that I could sub - I didn't know there was a limit until the middle of last month, but apparently uncertified subs are only allowed 90 days in the classroom - once I get my license, though, I can start again and there is no limit, so I'm hoping things will move a bit more expeditiously so I don't have to deal with finding a part-time job for such a short time (it's only about five months until school starts again in August, and that's a really short time to be working, especially since I'm really hoping to be able to attend the National Writing Project's Summer Institute this year - working would definitely get in the way of that, since the institute is five weeks). 3/6/2007 Studying Another Book With The TeachersWe started another book study group today after school, and wow did we ever have a lot of teachers there! There were somewhere between ten and twelve at the group we had last fall, and over 30 there today! Still, though, last semester's group was for the high school only, and this semester, they opened it up to the whole district. This is a good thing, because we are studying poverty, which doesn't just affect students and teachers at the high school. I am proud of our district that so many people came - of course, there was food, which will get almost anyone off their butts to do something, but I think most of those teachers were there for more than just the food, which was also a good thing (I need my cynicism countered regularly, or it gets out of hand).
So I'm glad so many were there, but I'm not all that thrilled with the book so far (of course I've already read it - I read it on Saturday. Did you really think that someone with as long a book list as I have would ever show up at a book discussion without having read the book? Okay, so I often showed up to my college lit classes without having done the reading, but that's different). It's great for explaining and defining the problem, but I often look to this type of book for a simple, concrete solution to the defined, explained problem, and I don't see one in this book, and that's frustrating to me. My mom says that's the kind of thing we'll be working out in the discussion group, but so far all we've done is watch video clips that reiterate the problem, which doesn't do me much good. I know poverty is a problem in this community, and I know that students in poverty look at the world in a much different way than my white middle-class self, but what I don't know is how to deal with it in practical ways. I'm hoping that in the next few weeks I will learn some of these things from this group (although based on today's meeting, I'm not all that hopeful, which is very sad. I mean, I liked the video clips we watched, but I would have rather had discussion - but I also know that's tough with a group that size - so we'll certainly see how it goes).
By the way, the book is Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. I will add it to my book list. 3/4/2007 The Windows Live Messenger Campaign for CharityI'm involved in teaching because I want to make a difference. This is another way I can do that, and I would encourage everyone who uses Windows Live Messenger to likewise get involved. One person can't do much alone, but together, we can accomplish great things. 2/26/2007 Got Fingerprinted AGAIN today...I finally got my fingerprints taken again today - I should have done them last week, but I was just way too tired after work last week. I didn't know my dad's truck was going to need to be in the shop this week or I would have done it then (this seems like a non sequitir, I know, but it makes sense when I mention that when Dad's truck goes in the shop, he drives my car). Fortunately, he spent most of the day today in his office, and I was able to get my fingerprinting done around lunchtime.
The funny part was the timing - I left the house at exactly 11 a.m., and I got back at 12:03, after telling Dad the trip would take about an hour, which was just a guess!
The rest of the process wasn't what you would call fun-filled or exciting. I didn't catch the name of the officer who took my prints this time, but he was really nice about it (when I left, I told him, "Thank you for turning me into a rubber stamp today!"). It's a longish, incredibly messy process that was exacerbated by the fact that several of my prints had to be covered over with white stickers and done over, because the officer wasn't satisfied with the quality of the imprint - this is a good thing, I suppose, because he's trying to get me a set of prints that the state will accept, but the downside is that even with all the extra work, we're still not sure my prints will be acceptable. The first time I had my prints taken, the officer told me that since women have softer hands than men, it's harder to get classifiable fingerprints. Add to that the fact that I've got pretty small hands and really shallow ridges (because I exfoliate, I think), and I'm pretty much screwed in the fingerprints category.
If this set isn't acceptable, Dad and I are going to drive to Oklahoma City to have my prints digitally scanned with this fancy machine they're supposed to have at the Department of Education office, which should eliminate the problems (we hope). I plan to call them and ask if there's any way they can go ahead and schedule my interview so I can get that and my fingerprints done all in one trip - Oklahoma City is about a three-hour drive from here. Still, though, I'm looking forward to the trip in some ways - it'll give me a chance to visit with my two brothers-by-choice, Dave and Rob, both of whom live in that area.
Based on the time it took for the last set of prints to be processed, I should know by this time next week if they were okay or not, so watch this space for more details! 2/21/2007 Mildly in Trouble (But It's Not REALLY My Fault...?)I got in a little bit of trouble at school today, and it's got me feeling upset and angry, but mostly because I didn't really do what the bratty children said I did.
Here's what happened: Last week I subbed all week in the afternoons for the freshman Public Speaking course. Now, this particular group of freshmen is known throughout the school district for being almost completely out of control (case in point: there are somewhere between 150 and 200 of them. At one point last semester, only 14 of them weren't on the failing list in at least one class, or so I heard). As usual, they were only slightly better than wild animals, and by Friday, I'd just about had it. I asked one of the classes (the whole class, not any particular student), "Do you all have some sort of problem with silence? Because if you do, you're more than welcome to go discuss it with the counselor, but you've got to stop disrupting my class!"
Today my principal came to see me and told me he'd had complaints from two mothers of children in that class saying I said their child was "retarded" and that I said "they needed counseling." In the first place, I would NEVER call ANYONE retarded - I hate that word, and if I catch any of the kids using it, I read them the riot act, to the tune of, "That's incredibly disrespectful and I don't ever want to hear it in my class again."
As to the "counseling" complaint, I explained to the parents (in writing on the complaint form - there was a space for teacher rebuttal) exactly what I'd said and why, and I apologized if their children had taken it personally, as I was speaking to the whole class, collectively. Furthermore, if those particular children weren't causing the problem, I wasn't talking to them at all (I forgot to mention that in my rebuttal, but I would think it would be self-explanatory). I didn't mean to express my frustration so blatantly, but every person has their breaking point, and I think I've found mine. I hope I can learn some more patience and restraint, but I hope even more fervently that these children can learn some self-control so I don't have to lose my temper.
I explained all of this to my administrator when he brought me the complaint forms. I hope he believed me, but I definitely appreciate his taking the time to hear my side of it. It's a mark of pride for me that I've been subbing 2 1/2 years and these are my first complaints (and I've had a lot of praise, too - it's just not been in writing, sorry to say). I'm still continuing my journey on the Certification Road - I know it'll be better when I've got the same kids all the time. Fingerprints DENIED! (Grrrr!)Remember not that long ago that I had my fingerprints taken for my background check? Well, I got a letter in the mail yesterday (which was dated Feb. 14) saying that my ridges weren't deep enough and I have to get the prints taken again. Fortunately, I don't have to pay another fee, or I'd be really upset (not that I'm not already)!
I planned on getting them re-taken after school today, but I was up late last night visiting with my brother and his girlfriend, who were in town to see the play our mom is directing for the community theater, and I forgot my fingerprint cards at home when I left for school. I'll take care of it tomorrow. 2/19/2007 Registered to Test (Again!)Here I go again! On April 21, I will be traveling back to Tulsa to take the Journalism test so I can be certified to teach that, as well. I've mentioned before that teaching journalism was a big part of my goal when I set out to become certified. I've had a look at the study guide, and with a little work, I think I'm going to do just fine, especially since my personal concerns are no longer concerns (translation: he dumped me).
For those keeping score, the test fees were $100, bringing the grand total of what I've spent to $452 (see previous posts for a breakdown of what's been spent and where). This certification business sure is expensive, but I know it will be worth it in the long run.
In other news, I haven't heard anything yet about my fingerprints or application to interview - I've been meaning to call and make sure they got everything, but I've been working (I subbed for the Public Speaking class half a day all last week, and this week I'm in the Writing Lab all week), and the Alternative Certification people are tough to get on the phone - as I've mentioned before, they don't have a switchboard, just a busy signal, and it gets annoying, having to call back every 10 seconds for 30 minutes to get to talk to anyone. If I haven't heard by the first of March, I'll probably try to call them.
I've had several other conversations with my old Journalism teacher while I've been subbing (I usually run into him in the cafeteria during lunch) and he seems even more eager that I should take over the Journalism department next year (I think so he can focus on his soccer players) - I'm hoping he's been mentioning this to the administration, and not just to me.
I'd best get to studying, but I'll write more as I know more. 2/6/2007 The Check's In The Mail!My application for the Teacher Competency Review Panel is in the mail, as well as my fingerprints for the background check. I also sent them $162 in fees, of which the TCRP got $100 and the fingerprint people got $62.
Which brings the grand total of what I've spent now on this process to $352.
Now all I can do is wait for them to contact me to schedule my interview. 2/5/2007 The Essay Is Done!As of about five minutes ago, my essay for the next part of my application to be certified as a teacher is finally complete!
It's taken me a long time to get here, part of which is my own fault and part of which is determined by the circumstances. I'm a deadline-driven creature, and so a project without a deadline almost never gets finished - I dither around about it forever. I tried setting up some deadlines of my own (I'm going to have this done by the end of Christmas break, I'm going to have this done by February 1), but my self-imposed deadlines never seem to work.
Not to mention that I've been busy with personal issues that I should not have allowed to get in the way of my career aspirations, but sometimes I'm not as smart as I think I am, and this time I allowed myself to become distracted. That ends here (the distraction, not the personal issues. I think the photo in one of my previous entries shows that the issues aren't going anywhere anytime soon, or at least not if I have anything to say about it!).
But the catalyst to my finishing this up was a call I got today from the high school secretary telling me I am running out of days to sub. I had heard rumors that there was a limit on days for uncertified subs, but no one had ever mentioned it to me, so I didn't worry about it. Come to find out today that I should have - I have less than 20 days left, and there's a lot of school year left, not to mention that I don't have another job lined up, and so will be really, really broke when I run out of days. But once I'm licensed, I don't have a limit anymore, and so I can continue to work.
I've got to go to bed now, so I'll save the financial update for tomorrow, when I will put this stuff in the mail (also it needs to be notarized, and I'll be using a different notary than my usual one, and I can't remember if the bank charges for that). |
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