I started work yesterday and I was *so* nervous yesterday morning. From the way people were talking I was picturing students that would glare at me and refuse to participate in any of my games, etc. Not so. They may be tough kids but they are no different, really, than all the other teens I've ever worked with. So I'm happy.
I'm living in a beautiful place. I'm married to a great man. My dog, although she is suffering from allergies, is pretty happy because she gets to go on hikes regularly. My health is good. And now, I love my job.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
stupid training!
UGH! I am required to attend Project Based Learning training for three days. This is a problem because 1) I think PBL is cheesy compared to education abroad and in terms of how it prepares you for sitting in lecture halls in college and meetings at work. 2) This particular training is for 9th grade teachers. I teach 11th and 12th. 3) PBL is much easier to use in science and maybe even math, also business, video production, those sorts of classes. It's way hard to use in English beyond creating a publication of some kind--how many brochures can one class produce?--(and I believe history may be the worst, but I can't claim that that is a problem for me, unfortunately). 4) PBL is for long term projects and I am working with a super transient population--my classroom apparently has a revolving door. And worst of all, 5) we're given long periods of time to talk and plan with other faculty from our schools, in the hopes that we will plan an interdisciplinary project and such, and it affords the lovely opportunity of taking care of a lot of nuts and bolts stuff, too, right? Except I'm the only teacher there from my school. So yeah, I'm twiddling my thumbs. I hate wasting my time!
I went to my first ceramics class yesterday, on the bright side. That promises to be challenging and interesting. I love clay.
I went to my first ceramics class yesterday, on the bright side. That promises to be challenging and interesting. I love clay.
Friday, August 13, 2010
shooting stars
It's that time of year when I guess the Perseid meteor shower is to be expected. Last night Jeff and I rolled up in blankets (and I eventually got my sleeping bag--oooh I, love my sleeping bag, it's so cosy) and lay out on the driveway and watched the shooting stars. It was so beautiful. Looking up into the night sky always gives me an unpleasant sense of vertigo, but I got over it eventually and just tried not to think about it. And it was so beautiful. We got sleepy and when we finally went to bed, I missed the night sky.
We've had a whole drama over the sprinkler system and I think as a result of two stressed out voicemails I left for the owner of the house she's not too enchanted with me. But the yard was flooding! And we told her this was a problem a week ago! In any case it all seems pretty well fixed now. I just have to reprogram the system because it's still set up for the test I ran today.
Training for work starts Monday. :P This is not good news and I resent it and I'm convinced it will be a complete waste of time. And time happening during hot, perfect-for-swimming-in-the-lake weather, too. I hate staff development. It exists to keep administrators feeling like their doing something to make teachers better, and to create work for people who do the trainings. WASTE OF TIME.
Jeff is at his third blues jam in 7 days. I'm glad! He needed to feel like there is a music scene here. I hope he makes some good friends and starts a band.
Ooh, and I almost forgot: Monday I start a ceramics class. I'm super excited for it!
We've had a whole drama over the sprinkler system and I think as a result of two stressed out voicemails I left for the owner of the house she's not too enchanted with me. But the yard was flooding! And we told her this was a problem a week ago! In any case it all seems pretty well fixed now. I just have to reprogram the system because it's still set up for the test I ran today.
Training for work starts Monday. :P This is not good news and I resent it and I'm convinced it will be a complete waste of time. And time happening during hot, perfect-for-swimming-in-the-lake weather, too. I hate staff development. It exists to keep administrators feeling like their doing something to make teachers better, and to create work for people who do the trainings. WASTE OF TIME.
Jeff is at his third blues jam in 7 days. I'm glad! He needed to feel like there is a music scene here. I hope he makes some good friends and starts a band.
Ooh, and I almost forgot: Monday I start a ceramics class. I'm super excited for it!
Saturday, August 07, 2010
BACK!
We're back in Mount Shasta! I'm so ecstatic!
And yet it feels so right I hardly notice it most of the time. I feel like I belong here in a way I never do elsewhere. I hope it works out. I hope we can stay.
Jeff (FYI, Jeff is Sean from previous posts--I'm not into pseudonyms anymore, although we'll how that goes) got a job teaching at McCloud High, a tiny school (fewer than 20 kids total). He has a ton of preps so I hope that doesn't make him crazy, but on the bright side, it'll be totally different from teaching crazed 7th graders at Markham Middle last year.
I'm teaching English (ptooey) at Jefferson High, the continuation school in Mount Shasta city.
At the moment the biggest issue we face, aside from finishing unpacking everything, is being very broke until the end of September, when we get our first paychecks.
But going to Castle Lake is free!
And on an unrelated note:
And yet it feels so right I hardly notice it most of the time. I feel like I belong here in a way I never do elsewhere. I hope it works out. I hope we can stay.
Jeff (FYI, Jeff is Sean from previous posts--I'm not into pseudonyms anymore, although we'll how that goes) got a job teaching at McCloud High, a tiny school (fewer than 20 kids total). He has a ton of preps so I hope that doesn't make him crazy, but on the bright side, it'll be totally different from teaching crazed 7th graders at Markham Middle last year.
I'm teaching English (ptooey) at Jefferson High, the continuation school in Mount Shasta city.
At the moment the biggest issue we face, aside from finishing unpacking everything, is being very broke until the end of September, when we get our first paychecks.
But going to Castle Lake is free!
And on an unrelated note:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)