5 posts tagged “school”

So I would really like to get into all the details about me getting my teaching job, but right now I want to vent about my day. I went to the school board and signed all my paper work, including my teaching contract. That was a piece of cake. Then I went to my school and saw my classroom for the first time. Please keep in mind that tomorrow is the first day of school. My room was extremely bare. I do appreciate and feel extremely lucky to have assistants (whom I just met today) that have worked in Pre-K before, so they did the best they could with what they had. However, the room is lacking TONS of stuff. But instead of being able to start preparing my classroom for children the next day, I prepared my classroom for a hurricane, and for a hurricane shelter. Not only did I have to move furniture to the middle of the classroom away from windows, but I also had to hide some teaching supplies in case my room gets used as a shelter, because my school is a shelter location. Also found out that even though tomorrow SHOULD be the first day of school, it is not. The school district decided to close the entire district due to Fay. Wednesday is still up in the air. It doesn't matter though, whatever day I return to school, it will be the first day of school and I will not have a classroom prepared. Needless to say, I'm freaking out!

Oh did I mention that the school district called me to tell me I had this Pre-K position on Friday? Three days ago? At 3:15pm? Yeah....so I am just going to take this one hour at a time. Day at a time just won't cut it now.

Don't be fooled by my frustrations. I am extremely happy and joyous to have a teaching position, especially in Pre-K! That excites me and I know that these first few days and maybe week or so will be rocky, but I know that everything will smooth over eventually!

I have a job! yay! :)

What are you most looking forward to in August?

• the Olympics
  
• getting a teaching position. I have been on one  interview and  I have been sending out my resumes. Waiting to hear back from all these schools!
  
• possibly moving to a studio to save money. If I get a teaching position I will hopefully be moving out of this apartment and moving into a a studio. The goal for moving is around Sept. 1.
• Most of my fall shows are coming back in August: The Hills, Greek, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill
• The Academy Is...new cd "Fast Times At Barrington High" comes out
• Entourage Complete 4th Season comes out on DVD
• summer camp ends, public school starts, master's classes start again

That's August in a nutshell..

I am not really looking forward to my 2nd appointment for my laser hair removal. But I paid for it and it's got to be done.

it seems thats about all I do. Nothing seems to make me happy. I can't just settle with what I have. But then again, I have never had anything worth settling for. So here is the plan for now.

• attempt to get a teaching job for this school year
• if i don't, i still have that tutoring position

(i just need something that will give me at least a year of experience, and also get my references for future job choices)

• apply for the DoDEA or some kind of overseas teaching position

                         OR

• apply for some out of state teaching position.
  

It's just that Florida is getting worse and worse. Everything I was told is now untrue. Maybe I was living in a fantasy world thinking that I could live where ever I wanted and get a teaching position anywhere because everyone always needs teachers. However, it's not about needing. It's about schools being able to afford teachers. And Florida's school system is so messed up. And I have been told that it is only going to get worse. I love the area, hate the system.

I just want to be happy. I don't want to settle for just anything. I want to be happy with what I settle with. I shouldn't have to comprise or sacrifice one aspect of my life in order to happy in another.

I have been so busy, that I just haven't been able to update. Not that I should be worried, because I think I am the only person who reads my blog. But that's okay. In the chance that someone else besides myself reads this, here is what I have been up to.

Roomates: My friend and her boyfriend were kicked out of their apartment 3 months early so the apt complex could renovate. They have put money on offers for houses, and are waiting to hear back from the bank and the real estate agent. In the meantime, they are staying with my in my apt. They have a little dog and a cat. So now it is Me, Kyna, Spooky, Lindsey, Patrick, Abbie, and Carly living together. So far so good. We were roommates in college and we do a lot together.

The cats: Kyna is still a mean little girl, she does not like Carly and Abbie. She hardly ever leaves my bedroom and when she does she makes sure to "disturb the peace" as Lindsey says, by hissing and growling at all the other animals. Spooky was limping on his front paws a few weeks ago so I took him into the vet. His paws were healing from the declaw and his overweight-ness was putting pressure on his sore paws. Now him and Kyna are having their food monitored. Spooky hates it and whines and whines for food all day long, but he has gotten much skinnier. Kyna's weight has not changed. Also Spooky and Carly are boyfriend/girlfriend and share their litter boxes and wrestle all over the place. They are too cute! They will miss each other when Lindsey and Patrick leave.

School: I cannot wait for this semester to be over. My one child care class has been so frustrating because the teacher has not done a good job of presenting the information to, and also clarifying what he wants us to do on assignments and projects. Actually, right now I should be working on a huge project/presentation that is due tomorrow. But I am procrastinating! I have sent in my papers to finally become a Florida resident for tuition purposes, but I guess the change hasn't gone through yet, because I am still having to pay out of state tuition for this summer tuiton, which is causing me to take out an extra 5,000 dollars for student loans. I do not like to think about student loans. They will never end. My life will be complete when those are done and payed for!

Teaching: Well the good news is I do not have to sub anymore this school year. The bad news is, my job makes me feel useless. I am a tutor that goes around to 9 classrooms a day and pulls the children that are struggling with reading. I work with them for 30 minutes, and then move onto the another class. In two days I visit 17 classrooms, and work with a total of 60 children. I am suppose to help these children become better readers by the end of the school year. However, I came in at that last 8 weeks of the school year, not knowing any of these children's abilities. So it has been a struggle to teach these kids that are already way behind then they should be. The only way I get through the day is to remember that it's only a temporary job. I am not sure how the other tutors can do this every single school year. We are part time employees. We are only paid for 5.75 hours, but we are there for 6.75 hours. No benefits. Unpaid lunch. It really is not a great job. I really want a full time postion, and with the closing of three elementary schools in my school district, all those teachers get a job before me. So yet again I am screwed. I am going to now depend on the district job fairs in June. And if worse comes to worse, I will attend the State job fair, and if I have to move else where than so be it. I am so sick of being at the bottom of the teaching ladder. I have a degree. I am doing work that is below me. I am sure that sounds stuck up. But I did not work my butt off in college to get a degree in 3 years to be a tutor for 5 hours a day.

Well I have super tired now, and super frustrated. Whenever I think about my stinky situation and not having a teaching position, I get upset. So I am done talking about it. I'll be back later

I never knew it until I one of my classes talked about stress and how we build it up on ourselves, and I thought, yep, stress is definitely a motivator of mine. It is evident in the fact that I will procrastinate until I can no longer take the fact that something is due and I have yet to start it, the stress of getting it done on time motivates me to get it done!

I have been putting off this research project for one my classes for quite some time. I have been lazy and sitting on my ass, telling myself I could be working on it. Well now that I am about to start my new job, and this project is due next week, I figured its about time I just buckle down and do it. And do it I have!

For this project I have to:

• find 6 peer reviewed articles no earlier than from 2000 relating to my topic
• read those 6 articles.
• write a summary thing about each of them
• compile a 2 page synthesis about my readings
• create some kind of 20 minute presentation to my cass
• create some kind of activity for my peers to do as part of my presentation

So reading 6 articles in one day is boring, and my ADD would not allow to me to focus and concentrate correctly, creating messy work. So I have split up my work with reading and writing about article in the AM and then one in the PM so that by Saturday I have the whole day to work on the synthesis and presentation.

Between reading and writing about the two articles for that day, I am doing some major spring cleaning and getting rid of junk.

Pretty much the goal is that by Sunday night, I will only have one huge project left to work on. The end of the semester is almost near, but then as soon as its finished, I start my summer semester--with THREE classes! If everything works out, I will be a full time (meaning 8 hours 5 days a week) summer camp counselor. On three of those 5 days, I will have to drive straight to class ( an hour away) for class from 5pm-9pm. My summer is going to be crazy busy, but definitely worthwhile! I am used to working and being in class over the summer. Summer has always been about getting school and work in as much as possible. Fun. Umm....I'll have fun when im dead?!?? IDK!