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I am no longer a teacher!
07-04-14 11:12 PM
Singelli is Offline
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I don't quite remember what forum it was in but a little over a month ago, I posted about a job interview that I had done. It was a very tedious task and I was almost certain that I would not get the job. I will not tell all the details since I have written it up elsewhere, but because I feel weird starting off with no prior information, let me at least sum up a few things. Last summer, I had to go through a workshop... It's something teachers have to do quite often and usually it's pretty annoying and usually it is a complete waste of time. However I actually really enjoyed the workshop that I had to attend. The workshop was about many things that dealt mainly in lesson planning. You see lesson planning is a task that most teachers (at least in my school) really hate. Being a teacher is a lot of work and ... as though it is not enough to constantly worry about kids and parents and coworkers, teachers have to grade papers, write lessons, design tests... and did I mention grade papers? It really is a two person job, if not more. And as we sat through that workshop, a lot of really great resources were given to us. It was then that I learned people actually got paid to write lesson plans for this site. I kept wondering how someone goes about finding a job like that. I even told one of the ladies sitting in the room with me that splitting the teaching career into two paths would make either just as endurable. It would be awesome if teachers could just teach for example, or grade papers and write lesson plans. As a standalone tasks, they wouldn't really be so bad. Anyhow, a board of education has always seemed a lot like Congress to me. There are a lot of roles, a lot of ladders, and a lot of politics. One of those roles is called a program specialist. A program specialist is someone basically who is in charge of all teachers under that subject across the whole city or district. So the math program specialist would be in charge of overseeing what all the math teachers teach, what professional developments they are going to, etcetera etcetera. I don't know everything they do, but I'm sure you have a good enough idea from that small list; they're big wigs. Anyways this lady came into my classroom and asked me how I would feel about working outside of the classroom. I was thrilled, thinking back to that workshop from last summer. The interview went terrible, my resume was horrible, and everything that could go wrong during an interview... went wrong. However I wasn't really stressed about it. It's no secret that I've been stressed every year of teaching nearly, and each year gets worse than the last. I have been telling family and friends alike for quite some time now what I would love to take one year off from teaching. Just one year to relax and set my mind straight. Therefore, there was a small piece of me that hoped that I get this job. However I did not go out and seek this job, so I didn't feel like it was something I had to get. I felt like it was an opportunity which had very little probability of being seen through. I knew that my job was not in danger as a math teacher. Even if my current school managed to finally get rid of me, there are always schools hiring math teachers. Probably even math teachers that come with a bad reputation. Well, I know there are many of you in this community who do not have a faith in God. Nonetheless, I have full confidence that God wanted me to have this job. Not only were the interviews terrible and my resume horrible, but there were several amazing aspects of this transition which have made it impossible for me to deny God's hand. ?First let me say that my new job is not writing lesson plans. I don't want to confuse anyone, but it is very similar to what I experienced last summer. It's so similar in fact, that it's hard for me to describe the difference. Before I attempt to describe my new role to all of you though, I'd like to take the time to tell you why I am so amazed to be in my new position. Over 200 teachers applied, but only 12 we're actually hired. I am one of those 12. We're all women and I and the only white one. (That isn't necessarily very important but I do find it interesting.) The things that I do think are important to mention are my our ages and experiences. I am 27... in fact, I only recently turned 27. The next youngest lady of our group is 36. The whole team has ages ranging between 36 and 68. I am clearly the baby of the group. Not only this, but all of the other women are far more experienced. I have taught at one school for 6 years. I've never done anything amazing, I've never gone out of my way, and I've never even hosted any clubs...at least, not enough to make it worthwhile or to make it worth mentioning. Aside from myself, the least experienced person on our team has 9 years experience. However, when I am speaking about experience, I am talking about classroom experience. She has had many more affluent jobs before she was a teacher. All of the other teachers on the other hand, have experience in the teaching field ranging anywhere from 12 years to 38 years. They've taught in the classrooms AND served in the educational field through other educational related jobs. Many of them have doctorates (I only have a master's degree), and some are even National Board Certified. Now, how in the world did I end up in this position? I know there had to have been many more applicants which were far more experienced than I am. I can only shake my head in amazement and wonder what I did to get here. I was most likely the least qualified, the youngest, and the least impressive. But you know what? I couldn't be happier. I have been in this job for about 3 weeks. We write something that is a little broader than a lesson plan. Each one of us is in charge of a certain subject in certain grade levels. For example I am in charge of all high school math. There is another teacher in charge of all middle school math. Then there are teachers which are in charge of different grades for elementary school. Due to the way that we are split up, I actually have the most work. The number of curriculum guides I have to write far surpasses anyone else Basically, what we do is write things called curriculum guides. These curriculum guides are designed so that any teacher in our district can pick one up, open it, in write a lesson plan. The idea is that every teacher across the district will be teaching the same thing, using the same strategies, and following the same basic principles. There are 24,000 high school students in our district. I have no idea about the other grade levels. That's a lot of kids.... and a lot of teachers. Our team of 12 has been put in a position of extreme responsibility. The education of these children is quite literally in our hands. During one of the first days of our orientation, the third top dog (I can never remember her title, but basically she'd be like.... whoever is under the vice president) had a long chat with us. She told us to consider the fact that teachers always complain that the people at the Board of Education were never in a classroom. Then she looked at all of us and asked where we had been over the last several years. She reminded us that she is taking our experience and knowledge as teachers, and putting a new kind of respect to the title. Since we know the nuances of the classroom and we have apparently been judged as some of the best teachers, we will help train the other teachers on how to operate their classrooms and how to get the curriculum out to the students. There are other goals for what we are doing. Apparently some other school districts across the USA have tried to do exactly what we are doing. Houston, in fact did it so well that other schools of the United States have been trying to purchase their guides. The guides started out for sale at $100,000. I'm sure you can guess that it is the hope of our Board of Education that we can produce the same results. They are wanting us to write something so well and so helpful, that we can sell it just says Houston has been selling theirs. See, the district gets federal funding, but federal funding is very limited. It has to be spent in certain ways, and in certain places, and on certain things. If the Board of Education, on the other hand, can produce their own revenue, then they can spend it in any way that they wish to. This includes bonuses for teachers, food for meetings, student supplies... The list goes on. So like I said, this is a big responsibility. Unfortunately, the Board of Education also wants to roll the curriculum out as fast as possible. That means that we need to have the first quarter of it written before teachers start teaching in August. A school year when split into four parts... is four groups of nine weeks. So us 12 teachers have to write curriculum guides for the first nine weeks due by the middle of July. Afterwards, we have to train all the teachers in our district on using the materials we have given them. In other words, the first deadline is incredibly tight. We have to do nine weeks of work in two and a half weeks. Once the first deadline is over though, we will have 9 weeks to write 9 weeks of material. The goal is to always remain 9 weeks ahead of the teachers so that they can be trained in time for each grading period. Writing these curriculum guides can be pretty tough. We were given extensive training for two weeks, and I'm sure that there will be a lot of error the first time around. You see, we can't exactly just pull stuff from the Internet or from textbooks because it's very hard to get permission to do so. Not only that, but if we are to sell our guides, it would make no sense for people to buy stuff that's already printed elsewhere. So for the most part, we have to come up with our own unique ideas for all of our guides. For example, since I am doing all high school math, I am in charge of algebra, algebra 2, geometry, pre-calculus, a class called algebraic connections, calculus, and statistics. Over a course of nine weeks, each one of those classes covers about 4 units or chapters. This means, of course, that I have 28 units to write. All of us on the team have written a test for each unit, so that part is done. These units and these guides have to align with certain standards. I have to look at each chapter in each subject and come up with teaching strategies that I feel will be most effective. I have to write about accommodations, extensions, resources, materials, objectives, cool lesson plans or activities, unique ways to assess students, etcetera etcetera etcetera. On top of that, I have to write a short novel at the end of each guide which is designed to help teachers who are new to the job, or perhaps rusty on some of the concepts. Therefore, I have to go through each set of standards in each book or in each lesson and I have to ask myself what the teacher or student might do wrong. I then have to write about it and hope that the teachers will read that information and use it to their benefit. Essentially, there is a lot of power in my hands and I am being deemed as an expert for math in charge of our entire district. I am very excited to continue in this job. I get a huge office all to myself. Somehow, I was lucky enough to end up with the biggest office. I have so much shelf space that I cannot even begin to fill it all, and my office looks pretty bare because it's too large to fill with trinkets or office supplies. It's on the fourth floor of the Central Office for the Board of Education and it looks over one of the few small parks in the city. I come in very early at 7:30 a.m. and I write. I write until 5:30 and I leave. I don't have to deal with bosses telling me that I can't do my job, I don't have to deal with being undermined, and I don't have to deal with crazy parents or unruly kids. I can just write. And best of all, I can write about math. I am so in love with my new job. It carries a new kind of stress because the deadlines are extremely important and tight, but I don't care. It is a stress that I can handle. It's exciting to have a say in what teachers do and it's a huge opportunity to make an impact on the education for our city. Interestingly enough, I always told myself that I could never do an office job. I felt as though the atmosphere would be suffocating, and that I would never be able to enjoy it. I can't believe just how wrong I was. I'm a little sad to think that this job may only last 1 year and that at the conclusion of this year, I will have to move on and back into the classroom. Don't get me wrong... I absolutely adore teaching. I adore students. I just don't like having my hands tied behind my back and being told that I can't teach because I set high standards. Now, I'm getting the chance to set standards and not have my hands tied behind my back. There are no distractions, no demotivators, and no needs. I am praying that this job will be a continuous one. After all, our first draft is not going to be perfect. It's going to need adjustments and it can certainly be made better. We are not perfect and since this is such an experimental job that has never existed in our district before, there are sure to be kinks to work out. If our district can actually decide that this is the right thing to do, I pray that I get this job next year as well. I am very much looking forward to a years of peace and making an impact .... and having a say so in what gets taught and how it gets taught. I love to write, so this job is absolutely perfect for me! I just had to share my happiness with everyone. I love you and God bless. I don't quite remember what forum it was in but a little over a month ago, I posted about a job interview that I had done. It was a very tedious task and I was almost certain that I would not get the job. I will not tell all the details since I have written it up elsewhere, but because I feel weird starting off with no prior information, let me at least sum up a few things. Last summer, I had to go through a workshop... It's something teachers have to do quite often and usually it's pretty annoying and usually it is a complete waste of time. However I actually really enjoyed the workshop that I had to attend. The workshop was about many things that dealt mainly in lesson planning. You see lesson planning is a task that most teachers (at least in my school) really hate. Being a teacher is a lot of work and ... as though it is not enough to constantly worry about kids and parents and coworkers, teachers have to grade papers, write lessons, design tests... and did I mention grade papers? It really is a two person job, if not more. And as we sat through that workshop, a lot of really great resources were given to us. It was then that I learned people actually got paid to write lesson plans for this site. I kept wondering how someone goes about finding a job like that. I even told one of the ladies sitting in the room with me that splitting the teaching career into two paths would make either just as endurable. It would be awesome if teachers could just teach for example, or grade papers and write lesson plans. As a standalone tasks, they wouldn't really be so bad. Anyhow, a board of education has always seemed a lot like Congress to me. There are a lot of roles, a lot of ladders, and a lot of politics. One of those roles is called a program specialist. A program specialist is someone basically who is in charge of all teachers under that subject across the whole city or district. So the math program specialist would be in charge of overseeing what all the math teachers teach, what professional developments they are going to, etcetera etcetera. I don't know everything they do, but I'm sure you have a good enough idea from that small list; they're big wigs. Anyways this lady came into my classroom and asked me how I would feel about working outside of the classroom. I was thrilled, thinking back to that workshop from last summer. The interview went terrible, my resume was horrible, and everything that could go wrong during an interview... went wrong. However I wasn't really stressed about it. It's no secret that I've been stressed every year of teaching nearly, and each year gets worse than the last. I have been telling family and friends alike for quite some time now what I would love to take one year off from teaching. Just one year to relax and set my mind straight. Therefore, there was a small piece of me that hoped that I get this job. However I did not go out and seek this job, so I didn't feel like it was something I had to get. I felt like it was an opportunity which had very little probability of being seen through. I knew that my job was not in danger as a math teacher. Even if my current school managed to finally get rid of me, there are always schools hiring math teachers. Probably even math teachers that come with a bad reputation. Well, I know there are many of you in this community who do not have a faith in God. Nonetheless, I have full confidence that God wanted me to have this job. Not only were the interviews terrible and my resume horrible, but there were several amazing aspects of this transition which have made it impossible for me to deny God's hand. ?First let me say that my new job is not writing lesson plans. I don't want to confuse anyone, but it is very similar to what I experienced last summer. It's so similar in fact, that it's hard for me to describe the difference. Before I attempt to describe my new role to all of you though, I'd like to take the time to tell you why I am so amazed to be in my new position. Over 200 teachers applied, but only 12 we're actually hired. I am one of those 12. We're all women and I and the only white one. (That isn't necessarily very important but I do find it interesting.) The things that I do think are important to mention are my our ages and experiences. I am 27... in fact, I only recently turned 27. The next youngest lady of our group is 36. The whole team has ages ranging between 36 and 68. I am clearly the baby of the group. Not only this, but all of the other women are far more experienced. I have taught at one school for 6 years. I've never done anything amazing, I've never gone out of my way, and I've never even hosted any clubs...at least, not enough to make it worthwhile or to make it worth mentioning. Aside from myself, the least experienced person on our team has 9 years experience. However, when I am speaking about experience, I am talking about classroom experience. She has had many more affluent jobs before she was a teacher. All of the other teachers on the other hand, have experience in the teaching field ranging anywhere from 12 years to 38 years. They've taught in the classrooms AND served in the educational field through other educational related jobs. Many of them have doctorates (I only have a master's degree), and some are even National Board Certified. Now, how in the world did I end up in this position? I know there had to have been many more applicants which were far more experienced than I am. I can only shake my head in amazement and wonder what I did to get here. I was most likely the least qualified, the youngest, and the least impressive. But you know what? I couldn't be happier. I have been in this job for about 3 weeks. We write something that is a little broader than a lesson plan. Each one of us is in charge of a certain subject in certain grade levels. For example I am in charge of all high school math. There is another teacher in charge of all middle school math. Then there are teachers which are in charge of different grades for elementary school. Due to the way that we are split up, I actually have the most work. The number of curriculum guides I have to write far surpasses anyone else Basically, what we do is write things called curriculum guides. These curriculum guides are designed so that any teacher in our district can pick one up, open it, in write a lesson plan. The idea is that every teacher across the district will be teaching the same thing, using the same strategies, and following the same basic principles. There are 24,000 high school students in our district. I have no idea about the other grade levels. That's a lot of kids.... and a lot of teachers. Our team of 12 has been put in a position of extreme responsibility. The education of these children is quite literally in our hands. During one of the first days of our orientation, the third top dog (I can never remember her title, but basically she'd be like.... whoever is under the vice president) had a long chat with us. She told us to consider the fact that teachers always complain that the people at the Board of Education were never in a classroom. Then she looked at all of us and asked where we had been over the last several years. She reminded us that she is taking our experience and knowledge as teachers, and putting a new kind of respect to the title. Since we know the nuances of the classroom and we have apparently been judged as some of the best teachers, we will help train the other teachers on how to operate their classrooms and how to get the curriculum out to the students. There are other goals for what we are doing. Apparently some other school districts across the USA have tried to do exactly what we are doing. Houston, in fact did it so well that other schools of the United States have been trying to purchase their guides. The guides started out for sale at $100,000. I'm sure you can guess that it is the hope of our Board of Education that we can produce the same results. They are wanting us to write something so well and so helpful, that we can sell it just says Houston has been selling theirs. See, the district gets federal funding, but federal funding is very limited. It has to be spent in certain ways, and in certain places, and on certain things. If the Board of Education, on the other hand, can produce their own revenue, then they can spend it in any way that they wish to. This includes bonuses for teachers, food for meetings, student supplies... The list goes on. So like I said, this is a big responsibility. Unfortunately, the Board of Education also wants to roll the curriculum out as fast as possible. That means that we need to have the first quarter of it written before teachers start teaching in August. A school year when split into four parts... is four groups of nine weeks. So us 12 teachers have to write curriculum guides for the first nine weeks due by the middle of July. Afterwards, we have to train all the teachers in our district on using the materials we have given them. In other words, the first deadline is incredibly tight. We have to do nine weeks of work in two and a half weeks. Once the first deadline is over though, we will have 9 weeks to write 9 weeks of material. The goal is to always remain 9 weeks ahead of the teachers so that they can be trained in time for each grading period. Writing these curriculum guides can be pretty tough. We were given extensive training for two weeks, and I'm sure that there will be a lot of error the first time around. You see, we can't exactly just pull stuff from the Internet or from textbooks because it's very hard to get permission to do so. Not only that, but if we are to sell our guides, it would make no sense for people to buy stuff that's already printed elsewhere. So for the most part, we have to come up with our own unique ideas for all of our guides. For example, since I am doing all high school math, I am in charge of algebra, algebra 2, geometry, pre-calculus, a class called algebraic connections, calculus, and statistics. Over a course of nine weeks, each one of those classes covers about 4 units or chapters. This means, of course, that I have 28 units to write. All of us on the team have written a test for each unit, so that part is done. These units and these guides have to align with certain standards. I have to look at each chapter in each subject and come up with teaching strategies that I feel will be most effective. I have to write about accommodations, extensions, resources, materials, objectives, cool lesson plans or activities, unique ways to assess students, etcetera etcetera etcetera. On top of that, I have to write a short novel at the end of each guide which is designed to help teachers who are new to the job, or perhaps rusty on some of the concepts. Therefore, I have to go through each set of standards in each book or in each lesson and I have to ask myself what the teacher or student might do wrong. I then have to write about it and hope that the teachers will read that information and use it to their benefit. Essentially, there is a lot of power in my hands and I am being deemed as an expert for math in charge of our entire district. I am very excited to continue in this job. I get a huge office all to myself. Somehow, I was lucky enough to end up with the biggest office. I have so much shelf space that I cannot even begin to fill it all, and my office looks pretty bare because it's too large to fill with trinkets or office supplies. It's on the fourth floor of the Central Office for the Board of Education and it looks over one of the few small parks in the city. I come in very early at 7:30 a.m. and I write. I write until 5:30 and I leave. I don't have to deal with bosses telling me that I can't do my job, I don't have to deal with being undermined, and I don't have to deal with crazy parents or unruly kids. I can just write. And best of all, I can write about math. I am so in love with my new job. It carries a new kind of stress because the deadlines are extremely important and tight, but I don't care. It is a stress that I can handle. It's exciting to have a say in what teachers do and it's a huge opportunity to make an impact on the education for our city. Interestingly enough, I always told myself that I could never do an office job. I felt as though the atmosphere would be suffocating, and that I would never be able to enjoy it. I can't believe just how wrong I was. I'm a little sad to think that this job may only last 1 year and that at the conclusion of this year, I will have to move on and back into the classroom. Don't get me wrong... I absolutely adore teaching. I adore students. I just don't like having my hands tied behind my back and being told that I can't teach because I set high standards. Now, I'm getting the chance to set standards and not have my hands tied behind my back. There are no distractions, no demotivators, and no needs. I am praying that this job will be a continuous one. After all, our first draft is not going to be perfect. It's going to need adjustments and it can certainly be made better. We are not perfect and since this is such an experimental job that has never existed in our district before, there are sure to be kinks to work out. If our district can actually decide that this is the right thing to do, I pray that I get this job next year as well. I am very much looking forward to a years of peace and making an impact .... and having a say so in what gets taught and how it gets taught. I love to write, so this job is absolutely perfect for me! I just had to share my happiness with everyone. I love you and God bless. |
Singelli |
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07-04-14 11:40 PM
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Well congrats Singelli!
I'm actually very glad that they hired someone that has worked in a classroom. Where I live a lot of people from our board have not worked in a school (either that and not for a really long time,). And you can easily tell by some of their decisions they have made recently. This job does sound like a big responsibility. Good Luck! I'm actually very glad that they hired someone that has worked in a classroom. Where I live a lot of people from our board have not worked in a school (either that and not for a really long time,). And you can easily tell by some of their decisions they have made recently. This job does sound like a big responsibility. Good Luck! |
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I don't know if you are actually done with this thread, but if it is, I'm so happy for you Singelli!!! I know that we've had our talks about your job (and we haven't been keeping up with each other's lives lately) but this is such a great change of scenery for you!! Just...wow! I hope that you will learn a lot from this experience, Sing! (If you have a chance, we should chat sometime. So that I can hear more about it) (If you have a chance, we should chat sometime. So that I can hear more about it) |
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That's really great Sing I'm so happy you were able to get a better position and get out of that one school (I know how treated you) I know you are a great teacher, and i'm assured you will do just as great where you are now, even with it not being a teaching job. Even though i have never had you as a teacher, you will always be my #1 favorite math teacher. I wish you the best of luck at you new job, and hope that only the best of things come your way. Side Note - I'm still doing awesome in math by the way, AP Calculus For the win next year! I wish you the best of luck at you new job, and hope that only the best of things come your way. Side Note - I'm still doing awesome in math by the way, AP Calculus For the win next year! |
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MoblinGardens : play4fun : I was actually trying to write this on my phone and my phone was being incredibly stupid. I only just now finished it. play... I KNOW!!!!! I'm sooooo happy! I haven't felt this kind of joy walking into work for years! I was actually going to summon here so that you could see. It's a shame we haven't been keeping caught up, because I've really been wanting to talk to you and rcarter about this. While I'm thinking about that... rcarter2 : thephantombrain : It really is a great change of scenery and a WONDERFUL opportunity. I mean, not only do I get this peace of mind, and the ability to make SUCH an impact.... a way to spend my passion for education... but think about all that I am learning! My resume will have something new on it other than straight up 'teaching', and I'm going to really get deep into this education stuff. It's something I'll be able to talk about with future employers, and even build upon. Did you read about my interview, play? If so... you really should. And re-read the original post of this thread. I absolutely cannot deny that God put me here. He delivers the patient. (God forgive me when I wasn't so!) Anywho, something a little trite I forgot to mention: The Central Office actually forced the whole fourth floor to move out for our sake. As you can imagine, those people aren't very happy about it because 'we're just teachers'. The board of education is trying to put them out of that mindset and make them realize how important our jobs are. However, they are being petty. Before I tell you how, let me first assure everyone of this: I have NEVER worked with a more responsible group of people. At all my other jobs (including teaching), my coworkers came in excessively late. I always felt odd when I walked in on time and NOBODY else was there. At this job... every day I have arrived on time (I can't get there early due to sharing a car with my husband who works nights).... and EVERY day.. I am the last one to arrive. Furthermore, the other women look like they've been working awhile! They are dedicated and amazing.... They get straight to work, stay focused, and accomplish a lot. After all.... we have to .... Each curriculum guide can easily exceed 10 pages (11pt font, single spaced!), and I'm writing 28 of them in 2.5 weeks. All this to say.... we're quiet and we work. Yet.... people keep coming up into our hallway, peeping their heads into our doors, and checking out our spaces. Apparently, several have complained that we were being loud and unruly, and not working. This couldn't be further from the truth, and I find it sad that adults would spread childish lies because they were removed from their office spaces.... There is a lot of hatred coming our way, so there is a lot of pressure on our shoulders! Also, I got stuck in an elevator for the first time in my life on Wednesday. haha! (The building is kind of old) play4fun : I was actually trying to write this on my phone and my phone was being incredibly stupid. I only just now finished it. play... I KNOW!!!!! I'm sooooo happy! I haven't felt this kind of joy walking into work for years! I was actually going to summon here so that you could see. It's a shame we haven't been keeping caught up, because I've really been wanting to talk to you and rcarter about this. While I'm thinking about that... rcarter2 : thephantombrain : It really is a great change of scenery and a WONDERFUL opportunity. I mean, not only do I get this peace of mind, and the ability to make SUCH an impact.... a way to spend my passion for education... but think about all that I am learning! My resume will have something new on it other than straight up 'teaching', and I'm going to really get deep into this education stuff. It's something I'll be able to talk about with future employers, and even build upon. Did you read about my interview, play? If so... you really should. And re-read the original post of this thread. I absolutely cannot deny that God put me here. He delivers the patient. (God forgive me when I wasn't so!) Anywho, something a little trite I forgot to mention: The Central Office actually forced the whole fourth floor to move out for our sake. As you can imagine, those people aren't very happy about it because 'we're just teachers'. The board of education is trying to put them out of that mindset and make them realize how important our jobs are. However, they are being petty. Before I tell you how, let me first assure everyone of this: I have NEVER worked with a more responsible group of people. At all my other jobs (including teaching), my coworkers came in excessively late. I always felt odd when I walked in on time and NOBODY else was there. At this job... every day I have arrived on time (I can't get there early due to sharing a car with my husband who works nights).... and EVERY day.. I am the last one to arrive. Furthermore, the other women look like they've been working awhile! They are dedicated and amazing.... They get straight to work, stay focused, and accomplish a lot. After all.... we have to .... Each curriculum guide can easily exceed 10 pages (11pt font, single spaced!), and I'm writing 28 of them in 2.5 weeks. All this to say.... we're quiet and we work. Yet.... people keep coming up into our hallway, peeping their heads into our doors, and checking out our spaces. Apparently, several have complained that we were being loud and unruly, and not working. This couldn't be further from the truth, and I find it sad that adults would spread childish lies because they were removed from their office spaces.... There is a lot of hatred coming our way, so there is a lot of pressure on our shoulders! Also, I got stuck in an elevator for the first time in my life on Wednesday. haha! (The building is kind of old) |
Singelli |
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07-05-14 12:54 AM
geeogree is Offline
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Mr Geeohn-A-Vash53215
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Congratulations! I couldn't take the time to read your entire post in detail but it sounds like this is something you've been really hoping for and it is awesome that you got it. I'm glad they picked someone who is younger to be part of the group too. You can't have a group to represent educators/teachers and have all of them be older.
Congrats again! Congrats again! |
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Banzilla |
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07-05-14 04:45 AM
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When I read the title, it said, "I am no longer a teacher!, I honestly thought something went wrong and that you might be fired, or you resigned or something. Out of curiosity I read the post where you explained you were no longer a teacher BUT you got a better job. So yeah, congrats, even if you gave me a heart attack at first...(That was a joke, I didn't actually have a heart attack...) When I read the title, it said, "I am no longer a teacher!, I honestly thought something went wrong and that you might be fired, or you resigned or something. Out of curiosity I read the post where you explained you were no longer a teacher BUT you got a better job. So yeah, congrats, even if you gave me a heart attack at first...(That was a joke, I didn't actually have a heart attack...) |
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07-05-14 05:36 AM
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YAY!!!!! I'm so excited! At first I worried something was wrong, but had a feeling that something good was up. So I checked out the post...and WHAM!!! I'm hit with an awesome post. I think God has blessed you generously since you are a generous person. You often freely give of your time, money, and love to us and others, even though we can cause you headaches sometimes. "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." -Malachi 3:10, KJV. I believe that this promise of God's applies not only to tithing, but to how we spend our time and money. If we wisely invest them, the Lord will wisely invest in us. He invested in you, and rewarded you for your patience through your trials. He knew that your previous job was stressing you out, and gave you something that you have a passion for, because He knew that was where you could make the greatest difference, in my opinion. I hope that everything at your new job goes well! And if something goes wrong, I hope you will always try to make it well! WOOHOO!!!! I'm so glad for you! "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." -Malachi 3:10, KJV. I believe that this promise of God's applies not only to tithing, but to how we spend our time and money. If we wisely invest them, the Lord will wisely invest in us. He invested in you, and rewarded you for your patience through your trials. He knew that your previous job was stressing you out, and gave you something that you have a passion for, because He knew that was where you could make the greatest difference, in my opinion. I hope that everything at your new job goes well! And if something goes wrong, I hope you will always try to make it well! WOOHOO!!!! I'm so glad for you! |
WOOOOOOOO |
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07-05-14 08:57 AM
bvd1022 is Offline
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Singelli : First, congratulations on your new job. Although my experiences with schools and school systems were not always positive, I do have a respect for what teachers have to go through. In some ways I would assume that it is a lot like what a writer has to go through in that there is a lot of planning that takes place prior to and the hours can be extremely grueling.
Admittedly, the schedule that I put myself through as a writer is one that is self-imposed, but there is a lot that goes into writing beyond the actual writing of material. Things such as research alone can be very time-consuming and when it comes to the actual writing that also has its own set of challenges. An advantage of being a writer is that some writers don’t work what most would consider a shift, but depending on the subject matter of material, you can put in a lot of hours.
As for me, most of my time is spent either preparing to cover something, covering something, or looking to rest in between. It is a week to week thing for me that goes year-round. In that aspect, I have the utmost respect for teachers go through because I would imagine that most teachers don’t get much of a break either, even if schools are out for summer vacation and things like that.
Best of luck in your new job. First, congratulations on your new job. Although my experiences with schools and school systems were not always positive, I do have a respect for what teachers have to go through. In some ways I would assume that it is a lot like what a writer has to go through in that there is a lot of planning that takes place prior to and the hours can be extremely grueling.
Admittedly, the schedule that I put myself through as a writer is one that is self-imposed, but there is a lot that goes into writing beyond the actual writing of material. Things such as research alone can be very time-consuming and when it comes to the actual writing that also has its own set of challenges. An advantage of being a writer is that some writers don’t work what most would consider a shift, but depending on the subject matter of material, you can put in a lot of hours.
As for me, most of my time is spent either preparing to cover something, covering something, or looking to rest in between. It is a week to week thing for me that goes year-round. In that aspect, I have the utmost respect for teachers go through because I would imagine that most teachers don’t get much of a break either, even if schools are out for summer vacation and things like that.
Best of luck in your new job. |
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07-05-14 10:52 AM
Singelli is Offline
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supernerd117 : I think this was the nicest post I've read all year. It really touched my heart. Thank you so much. *sniffles and hugs you tightly * |
Singelli |
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07-05-14 11:51 AM
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We might not know each other very well, but I'm very happy for you and your new job! Best of luck! |
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07-05-14 11:52 AM
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Sorry I could never catch you in chat so we could talk about this. That sounds great. You really seemed to need a dramatic change of pace and scenery, and this seems to do exactly that. Things were already better when Nettles was gone, so it is great that things are still continuing to look up. Dito what play said. We need to chat sometime to catch up. |
Dominating RGR Competition Hall of Fame Table! |
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07-05-14 01:47 PM
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Singelli: No problem! Don't cry! Unless you want to. I have scented tissues...Only 5k Viz each! *ruins moment* OK OK, I don't really have scented tissues, and if I did, I wouldn't expect anything for them. I totally hope to see you at the library sometime! And I've gotten a decent start on the book. The Hunger Games totally wouldn't have been my choice, but I'll read it and try and keep up with you guys! Are we gon' read the other two as well? I guess this isn't the best place to discuss it, but it kinda was on my mind. |
WOOOOOOOO |
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07-05-14 11:43 PM
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This is really great news and I'm so excited for your opportunity. Best of all an administration job will really make your resume pop (and fill some of that empty space that you've mentioned before). It seems that every person gets two or three opportunities to do great things in life. I'm glad you got this one and I hope it is the beginning of something epic. Mrs. Singell's Opus! It seems that every person gets two or three opportunities to do great things in life. I'm glad you got this one and I hope it is the beginning of something epic. Mrs. Singell's Opus! |
Guaranteed fresh by 01/08/17 |
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07-05-14 11:49 PM
Singelli is Offline
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thephantombrain : Well I wouldn't really say it's an administration job. haha. In fact, there is actually no change in pay, and our titles officially are "ARI coaches". That stands for Alabama Reading Initiative... but in all honestly, it's really not what we are doing or afiliated with at all. Unofficially, we're actually "Curriculum Writers". I prefer that title, so it's a shame it's not on the Board's agenda. On the other hand, I do get paid $207 a day during the summer, on top of my teacher pay. That's pretty cool. Before, I was supposed to do a freshmen acadamy thing, and I would have only got about half of that. I think they're paying us so much during the summer because we have almost 3 weeks to do 9 weeks of work in. To me, in all honesty though, it's plenty of time. Writing is so natural to me... as is math... that the only time consuming part of this new job is the research. I just realized something else I forgot to mention that's totally awesome about my new job, by the way! My bosses are AMAZING! They're so nice, and so appreciative, and so generous with praise! I feel so happy to see them and talk to them..... I've never got to experience this with any of my bosses before. Why, the other day, one of them sent us an email about how she felt so honored to work with us, and was so grateful for the dedication we are showing.. bla bla bla bla... I just wanted to print that and mount it on my wall in a frame. It made me so happy! Now I can nod my head and say "So THAT'S what being on the other side is like, huh?" I think they're paying us so much during the summer because we have almost 3 weeks to do 9 weeks of work in. To me, in all honesty though, it's plenty of time. Writing is so natural to me... as is math... that the only time consuming part of this new job is the research. I just realized something else I forgot to mention that's totally awesome about my new job, by the way! My bosses are AMAZING! They're so nice, and so appreciative, and so generous with praise! I feel so happy to see them and talk to them..... I've never got to experience this with any of my bosses before. Why, the other day, one of them sent us an email about how she felt so honored to work with us, and was so grateful for the dedication we are showing.. bla bla bla bla... I just wanted to print that and mount it on my wall in a frame. It made me so happy! Now I can nod my head and say "So THAT'S what being on the other side is like, huh?" |
Singelli |
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07-06-14 09:00 AM
SoL@R is Offline
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Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles. |
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07-07-14 08:34 AM
Light Knight is Offline
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Davideo3.14
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Congrats! That sounds like a great job. I also thought an office job would suck... but not if you have a large office where you focus on doing something YOU are good at and enjoy doing. Making calls to sell insurance is not the same as that! I'm happy for you, and I think that even IF you don't continue this after the one year is over, it will looks great on your resume, and help you make contacts so that you will have quite a few more doors of opportunity opened for you. Your good working habits have really paid off, and I'm sure that's why they got you for the job; they knew you would be an honest, hard worker. That sounds like a great job. I also thought an office job would suck... but not if you have a large office where you focus on doing something YOU are good at and enjoy doing. Making calls to sell insurance is not the same as that! I'm happy for you, and I think that even IF you don't continue this after the one year is over, it will looks great on your resume, and help you make contacts so that you will have quite a few more doors of opportunity opened for you. Your good working habits have really paid off, and I'm sure that's why they got you for the job; they knew you would be an honest, hard worker. |
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Loyal Knight of Vizzed |
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07-21-14 06:00 AM
juuldude is Offline
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This is so great for you, congrats! We may not know each other very well (yet) but this sounds so cool. It's also weird to think that you are the youngest and the only white teacher. Not that it's a bad thing but it sure is interesting Good luck on your job, it seems that all your hard work outside and on Vizzed has payed off in the form of this job! |
Dutch vizzedeer and Professor Layton fan |
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07-21-14 06:05 AM
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That's so great! I'm glad you're so happy with your new job. Congratulations! |
The best around! |
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07-21-14 06:56 AM
Mistress is Offline
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I hope you don't mind, dear, but I'm going to close this. Since your recent thread in the Your Forum gave a briefer version of this. I'm kind of behind on closing off all the seemingly old threads. |
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