No News is NOT Good News

So, yeah, it's the end of the second week of school, and I don't have a job.

Well, l suppose that isn't, at least for the time being [i.e. the next few days], entirely true.

You may recall, a few posts back, that a friend of mine [Monica] from my credential program got a one year Kindergarten position. Yeah, this is the one whose school I went to to help her set up her classroom. Uh huh, this is also the one where there was a chance that there might be a last minute opening for a K/1 teacher [which, ultimately, didn't end up happening]. Well, she called me last Thursday morning to inform me that the school has given her a full-time sub to assist her in her room. You see, it is law that a Kindergarten classroom may not have more than 20 kids, and, right now, she has 26 [TWENTY SIX!]. The district has 10 days from the first day of school to find placements for the 6 overflow kids, and, in the meantime, she gets to have another teacher in the room for extra classroom support. She called me and extended the opportunity to me to be her extra support. So, there I've been for the last 4 school days, and, let me tell you, it hasn't been a walk in the park. These kids are, for the most part, a bunch of wild animals. Being in there helping out has almost made me glad that I didn't get a job. People, it's chaos. These Kinders are SO not ready to be in school for 6 hours everyday. They get cranky easily, they play around, they don't listen, they grab each other, they laugh when you get stern with them, they mock, they refuse orders, they cry, they pout, they want their mommies. Miles' classroom was NEVER like this. And, Monica and I are pretty much at a loss since this is the first time either of us has had a class of "our" own and our program NEVER prepared us for this. Yeah, for some stupid reason, no one ever talked about classroom management [discipline], which is the NUMBER 1 thing that principals ask about in interviews. After all, you can't get any teaching done if the kids aren't listening attentively. I swear, one day, that I'm going to teach a class to prospective teachers that deals with all of the practical stuff that was never discussed in either of the programs that I went through. The semester will focus on managment, setting up a classroom, what to do with the kids during the first couple of weeks of school, how to deal with parents and conduct effective parent/teacher conferences, how to stay healthy among all of the snotty-nosed students, how to get kids to stand in a line with their mouths closed and their hands to themselves, and the art of a good read aloud [a.k.a. storytime].

Being in this classroom with Monica is so weird and awkward - it's like I'm student teaching again, not really knowing what my place is in the room. I don't want to discipline too much - I'm just there for extra support - because I don't want these kids to get used to having me around all of the time, and get used to my methods of management. This jerky 1st grade teacher across the hall told Monica that since I'm a credentialed teacher I should be taking half of the class next door [to the emptly classroom where there was a K/1 class last year...] so that we can get more done in a day without having to contantly put out all of the fires that 26 rugrats can generate at any and every given moment. Well, I think that is stupid. I don't think that the kids should get used to being split in half and taught by me, either. I'M NOT GOING TO BE THEIR TEACHER. They need to get used to working as a whole class.

Everyday, at various [i.e. MANY] times, Monica turns to me and gives me this look like, "Dude, I'm so freakin' exhausted. I can't take it anymore." Everyday after school she says to me, "Dude, I'm so freakin' exhausted. I can't take it anymore. I'm going to quit." I don't blame her - it's ROUGH in there. These kids just don't respect either of us. Frankly, I think part of it is the planning - meaning, I don't think that Monica is planning enough, and not planning what she has planned all the way through. I told her this, and she got a bit offended, but understood what I was saying. I would FREAK OUT if the kids walked into the room and I wasn't 100% prepared - everything in its place for the day, worksheets torn out of the workbooks, things photocopied and within easy reach, knowing exactly what I was going to say during each lesson, having things to do just in case there is "extra time", etc. Yeah, she got the job a week before school started, but I can see ways that I would've done things much differently with that week if it were my job. I'd have a tape line on the floor by the door so that they know where they need to stand in order to form a straight line [which they can't do AT ALL]. I'd have... Oh, I don't know. There are a lot of ways I would do things differently, and that knowledge hurts. Where's MY classroom, dammit?

Yesterday, as I was setting up the room next door so that I could do a math lesson with half of the class [yeah, even though I somewhat object to the idea, we've still been doing it...], I ran into a woman who had been lurking in the hallways all day setting up all of the stuff for a Book Fair that the school is having next week. I said to her, "Seeing these big portable shelving units takes me back. When I was in elementary school I LOVED it when the Book Fair came to town. It just excited me." She told me that she was a parent who volunteered to do it every year, and then asked me what the situation was in the classroom that I was supporting. I told her all about the overflow of kids and stuff and she asked, "So, wait. Are you a credentialed teacher?" I told her that I had just gotten my credential last December and she countered with, "But, certainly you must have a lot of experience subbing and working with kids in general, right?" I wasn't sure what she was getting at so she said, "Well, to tell you the truth, I thought that YOU were the real teacher. You definitely seem WAY more seasoned than the teacher that is in there now." Wow - rush. You better believe that I didn't mention this conversation to Monica...

I had an interview this morning for a temporary [now through Christmas] customer service position at an online used book company that a friend works for. I figured that I'd go for it so that I would at least have some steady work through the end of the year, and I really didn't want to have to sub everyday because, well, as I'm sure I've mentioned, SUBBING SUCKS. Well, I just got the call that I didn't get one of the positions. WHY CAN'T I CATCH A FUCKING BREAK??

I'm going to look into Library Science programs. Being in Monica's classroom has made me question whether I really even want my own classroom at this point. I've always had it in the back of my mind that I might want to, down the road, either do Administration [I'd be the best Principal EVER!], child counseling [being a school counselor], or being a school librarian. Luckily, one of the only 2 Library Science programs in the state is at San Jose State. It looks like there is a special program that would take a year, full-time, for people who already have teaching credentials. I have fond memories of going to the local library as a kid, searching through the stacks for a good book, listening to a story read out loud, and kicking ass in a summer reading program contest. Strangely, I talked a few weeks back with a sort of "new agey" woman from my program. We were commiserating about not having teaching jobs and she, in her wise mentor way, said, "You know, maybe you are limiting your view of what your skill set qualifies you to do. Maybe you should look at other job opportunities that still relate to teaching, but don't involve being in a classroom everyday." This librarian thing could be just the ticket. Now, I know that it would kill a lot of people to hear that I just got done going back to school for 4 years to get my teaching credential and now I might not want to even pursue teaching anymore, but, to that I say, well, it's still in the same realm of careers. It's not like I'm doing a 180-degree turn and deciding that I want to be a pastry chef [which I've considered...] instead of a teacher now. Heck, I've even always considered writing a children's book, so this library thing isn't so off the mark, and could even be a step in that direction. I could be the next Arnold Lobel or Tomie dePaola!

Oh, on a completely different note, our oven doesn't work, and hasn't worked for over 3 weeks now. We're finding it very difficult to live without our broiler since pork loin, chicken breasts, and cheeseburgers had become part of our weekly menus. I've called our landlord contact woman NUMEROUS times, and every time the woman tells us, "Oh, ok, I'll look into it." This week I got fed up and called every afternoon. It seems to be a relatively minor problem - we can see that the pilot light is still on, but the long coily-thing that spreads the flame along the bottom of the oven just won't catch alight. I told this to the woman and she eventually told us that some guys would be out to just give us a whole new stove. Well, today some men were supposed to be out around 2pm [either to fix the oven, or give us an entirely new stove - it's unclear at this very moment which it will be]. It's now 3:45pm and I've heard no word. I, again, called the lady and someone else there told me our woman was on another call. Yeah, right. I know she's just avoiding us - but, We will not be ignored!