(no subject)
So. You guys.
I was going to save this until I'd actually made a decision, but whatever, you deserve to know. I've spent the last few days telling random faculty members, my students, my MySpace friends through cryptic means, and the cashier at Publix today, so why not my LJ friends?
The third marking period ended on March 27th, the day before the students started Spring Break -- and, not coincidentally, the day our principal announced contract renewals. I'd known I wasn't getting renewed since the day after this incident, which involved a subtle threat to shape up or ship out, basically (although I didn't really need to "shape up," and they knew it), and set the tone for a year-long battle with my administration that involved inadequate facilities, inappropriate demands on my curriculum, and the complete removal of my authority in the classroom -- up to and including the redecoration of my room without my knowledge or approval.
So it wasn't like I was unprepared to walk into her office and have her hand me a non-renewal letter. And when she did, and she sat back in her chair and smirked at me, I glanced down at the letter to confirm the inevitable and smiled.
Non-renewal.
"Cool," I said. "So...do I need to sign anything?"
She blinked. I smiled. She shifted in her chair. I kept smiling. "No," she finally said, drawing out the first letter and biting off the second. She looked sour all of a sudden, like she'd just taken a bite of something unpleasant but didn't want to spit it out in front of me.
I just kept smiling. "In that case," I said, "it's been an interesting year. I've learned a lot." And I stood up and walked out the door.
But I wouldn't have cheerfully accepted my fate without a backup plan, would I? Well -- okay, yes, I probably would have, but only because I'm so happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But in this case, I didn't have to.
Why, you ask? Because I'm going to law school.
I didn't mean this to be my contingency plan, but it started to make sense around Thanksgiving -- so I sucked it up and registered for the February LSAT. And I scored well. Really well. Like, 98th percentile well. And apparently once you cross the 170 mark, everyone wants you. I've gotten fee waivers from schools I never knew existed -- and schools whose reputations precede them. I've gotten letters that imply certain acceptance, and I've gotten letters from schools that probably already knew they were going to waitlist me (thanks, William & Mary!). I'm still getting letters, and everyone's application deadline has already passed.
But the best letter I got? The one that offered me a fee waiver and $20 in iTunes downloads, just for applying.
Shady recruiting, you say? But no! This is the school that, once upon a time, flat-out offered me a full-tuition undergrad scholarship before I'd even applied. This is the school that makes a living on "shady" recruiting. This is the school I've always sort of loved, even though they handed Florida the first loss I ever witnessed in person -- and beat us out for the SEC Championship later that year. This is the University of Alabama.
It's a first-tier school, it offers every student a chance at a law clinic, it's the 11th ranked public school in the country (and probably the best in the Southeast). And they offered me free music for applying, so they clearly know the way to my heart. (Apparently I wasn't clear about this before, but I didn't gush about Bama at first because it's clearly the favorite, and I think we all know how I treat my favorites.)
So that's one contender.
The other is FSU. Which, aside from being a natural enemy whose colors make my eyes bleed, is actually a reasonable choice. It's not far out of the first tier, it's in-state, and it's the second-best law school in Florida (the best wouldn't accept the February LSAT, or we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now). So if I want to stay in Florida, it's a good choice.
If I want to stay in Florida.
So I've got a visit to enemy territory on Friday and a visit to Bama on Tuesday. And then I'll have a decision. And it's not going to be one that keeps me in Orlando or in education.
Well, not as a teacher, at any rate.
I was going to save this until I'd actually made a decision, but whatever, you deserve to know. I've spent the last few days telling random faculty members, my students, my MySpace friends through cryptic means, and the cashier at Publix today, so why not my LJ friends?
The third marking period ended on March 27th, the day before the students started Spring Break -- and, not coincidentally, the day our principal announced contract renewals. I'd known I wasn't getting renewed since the day after this incident, which involved a subtle threat to shape up or ship out, basically (although I didn't really need to "shape up," and they knew it), and set the tone for a year-long battle with my administration that involved inadequate facilities, inappropriate demands on my curriculum, and the complete removal of my authority in the classroom -- up to and including the redecoration of my room without my knowledge or approval.
So it wasn't like I was unprepared to walk into her office and have her hand me a non-renewal letter. And when she did, and she sat back in her chair and smirked at me, I glanced down at the letter to confirm the inevitable and smiled.
Non-renewal.
"Cool," I said. "So...do I need to sign anything?"
She blinked. I smiled. She shifted in her chair. I kept smiling. "No," she finally said, drawing out the first letter and biting off the second. She looked sour all of a sudden, like she'd just taken a bite of something unpleasant but didn't want to spit it out in front of me.
I just kept smiling. "In that case," I said, "it's been an interesting year. I've learned a lot." And I stood up and walked out the door.
But I wouldn't have cheerfully accepted my fate without a backup plan, would I? Well -- okay, yes, I probably would have, but only because I'm so happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But in this case, I didn't have to.
Why, you ask? Because I'm going to law school.
I didn't mean this to be my contingency plan, but it started to make sense around Thanksgiving -- so I sucked it up and registered for the February LSAT. And I scored well. Really well. Like, 98th percentile well. And apparently once you cross the 170 mark, everyone wants you. I've gotten fee waivers from schools I never knew existed -- and schools whose reputations precede them. I've gotten letters that imply certain acceptance, and I've gotten letters from schools that probably already knew they were going to waitlist me (thanks, William & Mary!). I'm still getting letters, and everyone's application deadline has already passed.
But the best letter I got? The one that offered me a fee waiver and $20 in iTunes downloads, just for applying.
Shady recruiting, you say? But no! This is the school that, once upon a time, flat-out offered me a full-tuition undergrad scholarship before I'd even applied. This is the school that makes a living on "shady" recruiting. This is the school I've always sort of loved, even though they handed Florida the first loss I ever witnessed in person -- and beat us out for the SEC Championship later that year. This is the University of Alabama.
It's a first-tier school, it offers every student a chance at a law clinic, it's the 11th ranked public school in the country (and probably the best in the Southeast). And they offered me free music for applying, so they clearly know the way to my heart. (Apparently I wasn't clear about this before, but I didn't gush about Bama at first because it's clearly the favorite, and I think we all know how I treat my favorites.)
So that's one contender.
The other is FSU. Which, aside from being a natural enemy whose colors make my eyes bleed, is actually a reasonable choice. It's not far out of the first tier, it's in-state, and it's the second-best law school in Florida (the best wouldn't accept the February LSAT, or we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now). So if I want to stay in Florida, it's a good choice.
If I want to stay in Florida.
So I've got a visit to enemy territory on Friday and a visit to Bama on Tuesday. And then I'll have a decision. And it's not going to be one that keeps me in Orlando or in education.
Well, not as a teacher, at any rate.