New Job Prospects

K'Fain, Catie, and I always said it would never happen to us.  Every single time the question was asked, we would cringe in disgust and immediately refute it.

"Oh, you're getting an English degree.  What are you going to do with that?  Teach?"

First off, this is offensive.  As if the only thing that an English degree gives you the ability to do is teach other people English.  I guess that they think that us guarders of the moth-eaten texts must have a single track mind and want to inflict learning on the world at large.  Never mind the huge number of publications that need writers and editors.  Forget the fact that reading comprehension, higher level thinking skills, creativity, imagination, and an exposure to a wide variety of issues comes from an English degree.  And never mind the fact that many English degree holders have gotten very distinguished M.R.S. degrees in life that have made teaching unnecessary.  Regardless of these things, no, we shouted, we didn't want to be teachers.

Then Catie got a job as a Parapro and she's getting her Master's in Education.

And I work for a nonprofit out in Los Angeles that tutors in some of the lowest-performing schools in the region.

Tomorrow, I find out if I've got a job with City Year Care Force.  I really want it.  I know that I do.  I think that it's an amazing experience that could very well change the course of my life.

But...

I bought the Kindle edition of Teach Like a Champion because it's not going to be available for another month in book form and I wanted to implement the tips in there into my teaching as soon as possible.  I read education-oriented articles.  I'm constantly checking out books on contemporary education.  I find myself making flash cards, crunching student data, fretting about the achievement gap, and praying not to get the elementary school crud again.  But, I love my kids.  My third graders are fantastic.  My first graders are so full of life.  I know that I can make a difference there.  I know I can.  But, I'm just getting good at this and this job is almost over.  I've only got three months left in this job.  That's nothing.

I said that I'd never come back for another year in Los Angeles.  I can't take it.  This isn't my city.  But suddenly...I find myself thinking how much better I could be next year.  I'm thinking about what I would have to do become a teacher once they stop firing all the teachers out here. 

Never say never, I suppose.  I just may find myself spouting rhetoric at kids for another year.  But I want it to be the same kids.  I came here to do a job...and it most certainly isn't done yet.