Updating: Because the school pays me no matter what I do
Man, this has been a rough month. Of course, it seems like this time of year always sucks the enthusiasm right out of you. I suppose a lot has happened though, so it's time for an update. In order to maintain interest, I'll alternate the positive with the negative.
I went to see Amanda for her birthday this weekend. It was great to have a few days to just hang out with her like we used to. The last couple times we've seen each other, we made (or I made) the mistake of trying to squeeze a month's worth of love into a weekend, and it didn't work out so well. I feel like that didn't happen this time. I sure do miss living each day comfortable in the knowledge that I could come home to her, and it was nice to experience that again.
The shitty part about being in Gettysburg for more than a couple days was that I spent enough time there for it to sink in that the college is no longer my home. I saw all of the friends that I used to have. I sat through a GCC rehearsal with some of my favorite people in the world, but none of those people are a part of my life any more. Long story short, TERRIBLY DEPRESSING, and I was not excited to leave.
My job is going really well (other than a few political things). Out of almost 80 students, not one of my kids is failing. I have spread myself really thin to give them lots of support and it has paid off. I can't even describe how satisfying that is. You have to be a teacher to understand it. In a few weeks, I'll be moving into my new state of the art physics room, which will be outfitted with the ten thousand dollars worth of lab equipment I just ordered. It will also have 8 shiny new lab stations, a smart board, a document camera, and my very own office! All of those things will be a major step up from the converted weight room that i'm currently sharing with the entire chemistry department. I'm so excited I could poop.
Things that are not so great about my job:
1. The union contract is still not settled, and things are getting tense. Unfortunately, as an un-tenured teacher, I have to stay neutral in the conflict, and that's starting to generate some ill will towards me and the other new staff. Sadly, the measures the union wants to take will hurt the students (in order to put pressure on administration) and my personal philosophy forbids me from doing that, no matter how much money I'm making.
2. My supervisor keeps stepping on my toes. He has now transferred three students from honors physics into my class (at the very end of the quarter) without consulting me. Obviously, this reflects poorly on the other physics teacher, which is putting a strain on our working relationship.
3. I caught two of my students cheating and had to nail them to the wall. There's no way to describe how demoralizing that is.
The choir that I joined is actually a lot of fun. They're not super talented, but it's a great social outlet. We have performances looming, and I'm not sure if we're ready, but I guess we'll see.
Lilly is still adorable.
I miss the hell out of Amanda
This concludes my long, boring, irrelevant update.
I went to see Amanda for her birthday this weekend. It was great to have a few days to just hang out with her like we used to. The last couple times we've seen each other, we made (or I made) the mistake of trying to squeeze a month's worth of love into a weekend, and it didn't work out so well. I feel like that didn't happen this time. I sure do miss living each day comfortable in the knowledge that I could come home to her, and it was nice to experience that again.
The shitty part about being in Gettysburg for more than a couple days was that I spent enough time there for it to sink in that the college is no longer my home. I saw all of the friends that I used to have. I sat through a GCC rehearsal with some of my favorite people in the world, but none of those people are a part of my life any more. Long story short, TERRIBLY DEPRESSING, and I was not excited to leave.
My job is going really well (other than a few political things). Out of almost 80 students, not one of my kids is failing. I have spread myself really thin to give them lots of support and it has paid off. I can't even describe how satisfying that is. You have to be a teacher to understand it. In a few weeks, I'll be moving into my new state of the art physics room, which will be outfitted with the ten thousand dollars worth of lab equipment I just ordered. It will also have 8 shiny new lab stations, a smart board, a document camera, and my very own office! All of those things will be a major step up from the converted weight room that i'm currently sharing with the entire chemistry department. I'm so excited I could poop.
Things that are not so great about my job:
1. The union contract is still not settled, and things are getting tense. Unfortunately, as an un-tenured teacher, I have to stay neutral in the conflict, and that's starting to generate some ill will towards me and the other new staff. Sadly, the measures the union wants to take will hurt the students (in order to put pressure on administration) and my personal philosophy forbids me from doing that, no matter how much money I'm making.
2. My supervisor keeps stepping on my toes. He has now transferred three students from honors physics into my class (at the very end of the quarter) without consulting me. Obviously, this reflects poorly on the other physics teacher, which is putting a strain on our working relationship.
3. I caught two of my students cheating and had to nail them to the wall. There's no way to describe how demoralizing that is.
The choir that I joined is actually a lot of fun. They're not super talented, but it's a great social outlet. We have performances looming, and I'm not sure if we're ready, but I guess we'll see.
Lilly is still adorable.
I miss the hell out of Amanda
This concludes my long, boring, irrelevant update.