Thanksgiving

A few months have passed since I've written. Since my last entry I have had several interviews at various schools for full time positions, unfortunately nothing fruitful. Last Thursday I interviewed for a leave replacement position in a middle school. The A.P. was pleasant enough, the school wasn't too far away from my home and I was quite hopeful. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. The A.P. explained that if given the job I would be working in a classroom where each student was reading a different book. I didn't follow her at first so I asked her to explain. Basically for each class (5 in total) there are approximately 30-33 students and each one of them is reading a different text. She explained they teach to each child's reading level and I asked if there was 30-33 levels in each class. I was dumbfounded. She couldn't really explain that. I thought perhaps they did not have a budget to provide students with the same books. I could understand if you had each class reading 3-4 books. That would be manageable. I could see the students working in groups and lessons being created perhaps on a common theme that each book shared. I asked the A.P. how this benefited the students? How was the current teaching teaching? She said the teacher wasn't effective and I could understand why. I felt terrible for the students. These kids were not going to be prepared for high school. I left hoping I would not get a call back and so far I haven't.

I get called approximately one a week to substitute in the suburbs. I'll admit, teaching here full time would be a dream. I am grateful to see this example of education: the school is well funded, parents are involved, students actually behave and most teachers are fully engaged in their lessons. This experience has reminded me of a book I read in grad school titled Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol. Rich communities have good schools and students thrive. Poor communities have poor school and seem to completely write off success for any student. In my heart I am still drawn to these types of schools. I can only pray I'll be given the opportunity to make a difference.

School Starts Next Week

I have somehow managed to get two substitute positions in two different school districts. One I wrote about in my last entry. The new one is closer to my home and seems to have more promise. The assistant principal I interviewed with assured me that I will be very busy by the third week in September. He also assured me that the school prefers to hire internally when full time positions open up. He anticipated over a dozen retirements in the next year. I've heard this before from another A.P. who did not hire me. I have resolved to become a realist about this whole thing, yet I am often engulfed in the joy of optimism and possibility. A couple of my fellow graduates were lucky enough to secure full time positions. One who graduated early was hired here in the suburbs. Two others were hired in Brooklyn. One of them even forwarded me a job opening in a Queens middle school that she got a head's up on. I of course emailed the principal immediately. Unfortunately she sent it to me on Friday after everyone was gone for the extended Labor Day weekend. I plan on calling first thing Tuesday morning. New York City schools open on Wednesday. I have nothing to lose. Thankfully I have become more disciplined in my reading. I just finished Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller. It's a memoir from a woman my age who was born in England but grew up in Rhodesia Africa. It was so well written: heartfelt, descriptive, funny and tragic. She lived on a tobacco farm with her parents and older sister. Whilst in Africa her parents lost 3 children. One before Alexandra (aka Bobo) was born (a boy) and two (boy and girl) after. After losing the first child the family briefly returned to England where Bobo was born. The family missed Africa desperately and moved back as soon as they were financially able. They never had much money, but Bobo's mother was find of saying they had "good breeding" which was more valuable that money. Life in Africa was so hard for the family: disease, terrain, the oppressive heat, the revolutions, racism and war. Somehow, love of the land, animals and lifestyle overshadowed the tragedy. These people were determined and resilient in ways many of us can only dream of. Bobo retells her mother's battle with alcoholism and mental illness with such compassion and honesty. It's an amazing book. One day when I am teaching I hope to be able to use it for a course on memoir. I think students will like it because it is basically told through the eyes of a child. Kids are brutally honest. Too bad many of us lose that when we become adults.

Finally!

I unfortunately received rejection letters for my last two interviews. I felt I did OK, but I lack experience and that seems to be a problem. Thankfully, the one school that I did interview with for a full time position called me back to interview as a substitute. I was hired on the spot. I was so elated I didn't even ask how much the per diem rate was. To be honest I don't care. I just want the opportunity to be in a classroom and have some experience for something educational on my resume. In the meantime, the hiring freeze in new York City has been lifted for new teachers. I have been applying like crazy. Hopefully I will get a phone call this week. I am told all the hiring seems to happen in the last 2 weeks of August. I still have hope!

I just finished reading a wonderful book, Snow in August by Pete Hamill. It was on a summer reading list for one of the schools I applied to. The book is an emotional journey of a young boy (Michael Devlin) growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940s. His parents are Irish immigrants. Sadly his father (Tommy Devlin)is killed in the war and his mother Kate struggles to make ends meet. Michael is an altar boy who by chance (or fate) befriends a local rabbi. Michael becomes a shabbos goy for Rabbi Hirsch, turning on the lights and stove for the sabbath. The rabbi asks Michael to teach him English and in return he teaches Michael Yiddish. The rabbi tells Michael wonderful and horrible stories of his life, living in Prague, the Nazis, losing his wife and his struggle with faith. Michael introduces the rabbi to baseball and together they witness history as Jackie Robinson becomes a major league player. Robinson becomes a symbol for all people who are discriminated against and both Rabbi Hirsch and Michael declare "I'm for Jackie." I don't want to give away the ending, but it is a happy one where the good guys (and goys) win. I hope I get to use this book sometime during my teaching career.

First Interview down, second next week

I had my first ever teaching interview last Wednesday. There were dozens of applicants working on writing samples when I arrived. They were all in their twenties, tall, blonde, tanned and wearing designer clothes. I must have stuck out like a sore thumb. I hope that is to my advantage. The interview itself wasn't bad. It was conducted by a panel of 5 people: a vice principal, 2 English teachers, a parent representative and the chairperson. I think I did well. I can only hope for a call back. They asked basic questions such as to how would I handle a problem student, other than essays what assignments would I give, how would I keep parents informed and why I thought literature was important? I was confident in my answers and I made sure to ask them a few intelligent questions as well.

I received a phone call from another school district yesterday. They asked me to come in for an interview this Monday. It is for a substitute position. At this point I will take anything. I am thinking that for the next 7 weeks this will be my life. At least I hope it will be. I started a summer class at a local college last week. The professor mentioned that if any of us were looking for a job we needed to stick to our phones the last 2 weeks of August. Apparently that's when all the hiring goes on. I keep thinking things would be more organized, but then I remember everyone is off over the summer. It only makes sense that things start to get busy in late August. Hope springs eternal :)

The First Interview: Next Week

The month of June seemed to pass by at the speed of light. I have been keeping my self busy applying for jobs and catching up on reading. Yesterday I received my first call for an interview. Thankfully I was given an assignment and I have 5 days to prepare. The poem I was given to "teach" is one I had never heard by a contemporary American author I am not familiar with. My research began immediately after the phone call. I scoured the internet checking local bookstores, online bookstores and libraries. Amazon had what I needed and shipped it immediately. I could have had it downloaded to my husband's Kindle, but I find I need to have the actual book. Especially if it is for a scholarly pursuit. I need to be able to hold the book, write in the book, highlight passages and important points, bookmark pages with post-it notes, smell the pages and digest its contents.

Maybe someday I might get comfortable with e-books. I am not ready today. I am however a teacher. I need to remind myself to be open to learning and new experiences. I need to embrace technology because most of my students will be on the cusp of it. Today I will stick with the familiar as I prepare for the future.I did order the book online. That has to count as "embracing technology," right?

Higher Education?

In my quest to find new literature to create lesson plans, I stumbled upon the book "Higher Education? How colleges are wasting our money and failing our kids and what we can do about it" by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus. They are both professors at Queens College. It is a comprehensive view about the enormous amounts of money Americans spend on higher education and how we are really not getting our money's worth.

Aside from the catchy title, I was drawn to it because it was written by two professors from Queens College. During my classroom observation assignments I was placed in several classrooms with other college students, a few from Queens College. I found the Queens College students had a really good grasp on classroom management, lesson planning and pedagogy in general. Many of my fellow students from the private grad school I attended seemed overwhelmed with the whole field experience requirement. Many of us felt we were not ready or prepared to face the challenges of the classroom. We all seemed to have so many questions. I found the students from Queens College were very confident and seemed to have less questions. In conversations with my classmates, they observed the same. I thought it was interesting that many of us thought by going to a private school we would get a better quality of education. This seems to be the mentality of many Americans in general.

"Higher Education?" brings to light many issues in colleges today. All too often teaching assistants and grad students do the work of professors. Everything from teaching classes to grading assignments so professors can have more free time to do research. The sad thing is, some colleges demand that professors complete a certain amount of research, published papers, books etc. in order to get tenure and climb the "college ladder." I found this disheartening. I want to be a teacher so I can teach. I want to know my students and be a part of their educational well being. I wonder if these professors are just burnt out or don't want to be in the classroom anymore. When you get to a certain level of education are students not the main focus? For education to improve we must be committed to the classroom not disengaged. Thankfully, many of my fellow grad students share that philosophy. We are becoming teachers because we want to make things better. Hopefully we will hold tight to these principles throughout our teaching careers.

The great job search!

Wow, it has been a very long time since I have posted anything. I need to get back on track! In the past two months I completed my student teaching assignment, passed the last of my certification tests and successfully finished my M.A. in Adolescent English Education (YAY!). I can't believe I am really done. If all goes as planned, I will be able to print my official teaching certification this Friday directly from the state website.

I have applied for several positions, both permanent and temporary. I did get called back for a writing sample from one school district two weeks ago, but haven't heard anything since. I have a cousin who is a teacher and he says most districts will be looking to hire back any teachers that were laid off before they hire someone new. My best chance is to get in as a leave replacement or a long term substitute. I am applying for any job I can get with my certification. It will happen. I just need to be patient.

While I am waiting, I've decided to start creating lesson plans for anything and everything that I might possibly use. During my student teaching experience I was introduced to many young adult novels that would work well in the classroom. My goal is to read them and post reviews and lesson plans here. I am off to the library today and see what treasures I can find.