On Wednesday, May 2nd, someone very important to me mentioned that I hate my job casually in conversation, as if this was a known and well-established piece of knowledge between us. I stopped her: “… Wait. I hate my job?” While I try not to make a habit of defining my reality based on what my friends think, and while I do appreciate the respect most of the other people in my life have given me by not necessarily assuming my constant frustration means I hate what I do… I’ve learned and re-learned recently that no matter how much self-reflection you do, at times there’s no clearer mirror to be found than the words of another person.
Why was it so hard for me to decide to stop teaching? Everyone (TFA or no) should be put on administrative leave at the end of their second year, just to see if they’re really…
It’s blog season. New blogs and new bloggers popping up everywhere make me a little excited and a little… frustrated. I love the newness, love the enthusiasm, love the optimistic anticipation. Of course. But reading First Posts is a little uncomfortable for me, because I can remember so well when I felt the same way…
read more »I guess I should feel stressed and anxious. But instead of gnawing on obsessions and replaying scenarios, my mind is skipping ahead, buzzing with ideas and opportunities for next year. Just as I was a little more than two years ago, I’m asking “What should I do next year? What kind of splash should I…
read more »I’m in this crazy land of leisure and not-knowing. Will I be able to continue my grad program if I’m not teaching next year? How long does a period of administrative leave usually last before a decision is made? Theoretically, how hard would it be to get a job if one were to get fired…
read more »I’ve been on administrative leave for the past four school days. My room is clean, my dishes are done, I have a tan (read: sunburn), I’ve run all the errands I can possibly think of. I’ve biked about thirty miles. I even vacuumed my bed. If I weren’t more interested in preserving what little anonymity…
read more »In college, I used to keep a running to-do list with me at all times, with literally everything I needed to do. Laundry, calling home, and friends’ birthday presents went on the list along with the usual email reminders and coursework. For some reason, as disorganized and catch-all as it sounds, it was the best…
read more »I HATE hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate haaaate giving grades.
read more »I had an hour-long discussion about this post tonight, with 8 other corps members, two teachers from KIPP, a TFA staff member, and the special ed executive director for our district. Among the many reactions as to whether competition for teachers is a good thing or a bad thing, a strong voice stuck with me,…
read more »Trayvon Martin is all my kids have talked about for the past month. And with good reason. And with really amazing depth and intuition. My kids know everything. All of it. All the facts and allegations, all the conclusions both specific and societal, all the causes of this and thousands of other events just like…
read more »The day we returned from spring break, my juniors and I had a Class Meeting. We sat in a circle and I forced them to tell me their thoughts on TAKS, our class, whether they thought we were headed in the right direction, and what we could all do to get where we all want…
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