Ugh! What a job.

Finally, I got a job in a NYC public school, and I am totally hating my job.

Well, to be fair, I want to be a teacher and that is what I was hired to do.  Unfortunately, very little instruction actually occurs in these classrooms.  When principals ask about how I handle discipline, and I give the talk about progressive discipline, they are fine with it.  The reality, however, is that these kids have no respect for anyone or anything.  And while their parents are quite literally ready to beat the crap out of the kids, no change in behavior occurs.

So, I try every day to rise above the shit.

Where I work is very unfriendly to teachers.

The students do not travel from one room to the next, it's the teachers who are required to do that.  It's difficult for a variety of reasons.  First, a portion of my evaluation is based on the classroom.  I have no control over my room (because the kids are often fooling about in all their classes) nor do I have control over another teacher's room.  Our stamp is to be present, but I am struggling to figure how to do that.

The discipline is problematic.  It's possible that making these kids sit in the same room all day long only increases their poor behavior.  Kids need to get up and move.  Keeping them in the same room day after day cannot be good for learning.  (Though I suspect it makes the principal look good.  Any visitor to the school would see a nice, quiet building.)  Further, we, the teachers, are told to escort the children from class to lunch.  Imagine, the kids are ready to bust out of the room, but I have to get them to walk in straight lines down four floors to enter the cafeteria quietly.

Then the logistics.  Still no sign of a pay check on the horizon.  If my boss thinks I'll stick around all year with no pay, think again.  This is utterly ridiculous!!!!

And, I have to do these nutty programs with the kids.  for example, I have to do Junior Great Books.  The students listen to a story on CD and then there are a whole load of lessons to go with them.  That's all well and good, but I do not have a CD player, nor do I have enough books for the students.  Nevertheless, I am expected to begin this program.  Hmmm.....how can I pull that off??  In any other situation, I would have made copies of other materials.  Not at this school.  NO Paper is available.  Further, the copier on my floor needs to be wheeled out from where it is, and plugged in to a plug outside someone's classroom.  Further, the copier often doesn't work.  On Monday it literally took me 40 minutes (almost my entire prep period) to make a copy of one sheet of paper.

So, I can tell the IRS that I'm a teacher, but it really feels like I'm just a punching bag.

Back to Work

Yesterday was the first time I had my own class in over a year.

It was very tough.

Teaching in an inner city school requires much structure -- there are too many students to allow for a loose hand.  But, the greatest issue for me is the challenge to get the students to relate to me as their teacher.  It was obvious that the white woman in the room was not like the boys she was teaching.  However, after a second go, it seems we are beginning to make progress.

Since I was hired only last week, I did not have time to prepare myself or my room.  I do not have enough materials to begin covering the curriculum.  I am thankful that the administration is supportive.  So are my co-workers.  Nevertheless, I am the one who needs to get it together and I am struggling.

First, the classroom is utterly filthy.  I feel so dirty every day.  However, it'll be a slow go.  I have to trash much of the materials the former teacher left for me (she has portfolios of student work -- from three years ago!).  I finally opened the laptop, and was disgusted by the grime on the white Mac surface.  The blinds in the room are broken or gone so the former teacher made curtains for the classroom.  It was a nice gesture, but the curtains are not matching.  There are blue curtains on some windows and maroon on others.  Since it's an old school building, the windows require very long curtains -- instead she made a pair for the top of the window and a pair for the bottom.  I have easily 8 windows in my room with mismatched curtains.  I cannot pair the colors (put all blue curtains on one window and all maroon on another) because I have 15 foot ceilings and the windows go to the top!

Second, I have not yet signed a contract.  The woman at the school in charge of organizing my paperwork indicated that I may not get paid until October 15th.  In the meantime, I am spending money getting to work -- 392 dollars for the train alone.  Add the cost of parking at the train station and my metro card and you can see that I need money coming in the door sooner than mid-October.

Third, I have to teach according to a very set program.  We should all be in lock-step to help the students gain ground on the state tests.

Still, I am happy to be at work again.

Wasted Time No More

So, my "wasted" time has become quality time spent.

How?  Despite the hurdles she had to jump, my principal hired me.  Finally I am employed again because someone saw me and liked what she saw.  Since the principal at my new school is not new to her job, she was able to cut through the nonsense and get me on her staff.

Yes, there are still excess teachers with my certification in my field.  However, my new principal did what needed doing to leave those teachers on the curb while inviting me in the door.

The lesson?  Keep trying.

Another lesson?  I work for someone who knows exactly what she needs to do and I better not let her down.

Wasted Time?

I keep trying to get a job and go on interviews, but it's a struggle and I wonder if it's even worth my time.

Today I went on an interview.  The principal told me that the NYC DOE has a hiring freeze on out-of-system teachers (unless you carry a certification in Special Ed., science, or math).  I was shocked.  Then he asked if no one had previously told me.  Obviously not.  Really, it costs 30 bucks to get into the city per interview.  Would I do that for a job that was not available?????

Well, the good news is that the man who interviewed me today said he received a call last Friday from the big office suggesting that they may be opening the door for new hires.  Hmmmm....perhaps it's not been wasted time.  In fact, the principal told me I did a good interview.

Please, let it not all have been wasted time.

Creepy Things

On Friday afternoon I received a curious letter from an agency in Florida claiming I might be the relative of a child in that state.  I tried to call the sender, but got no answer.  Frankly, I didn't believe that I was related to anyone I don't know.  As the day wore on I got to thinking about my brother Anthony and how maybe he left someone behind before he died.  Rod does not agree nor does my logical side, but it's neither here nor there -- at least for the time being.

Also on Friday afternoon I received a call from a school in Manhattan for a job interview on Monday.  Since the boys are away this weekend, I spent more time than usual researching the school.  As I was, I noticed a sidebar on the computer inviting me to search the criminal background of people I know.  So I did.  I searched my own criminal background.  And what did I learn?

One of my possible relatives is the same person who is the parent of the child the agency in Florida contacted me about.  So, I know where they got the information, but I wonder how they got the information.  Where is the connection????  Because also my father and stepmother were listed with this girl.

Honestly, as I looked at this information, I started to feel creeped out and dirty.  Now I really want to talk to the guy who sent the letter.

Garden Woes

When we decided to move the location of the vegetable garden, I expected much greater results than last year.  And, we did succeed!  However, there are still problems.

First, something was eating the leaves of the broccoli plants.  Early on we put a pesticide on the leaves and it worked somewhat, but I don't like the idea of putting poison on my food.  There must be a better way.  (On the plus side, I do actually have broccoli growing -- like, it looks like the real thing and all!!)

Second, what is the story with our tomatoes?  Instead of growing plants, somehow ours became very long vines.  If we poled them, we'd have needed 10 foot poles.  Weird.

Third, am I really the only person who cannot grow zucchini?  Everyone else is trying to give the stuff away.  I'll be lucky to pluck one fruit.

Finally, the garden itself seems too small.

Well, at least things are growing.  It's been a better year than ever!

Deer, we have a problem

Growing up in a small town on the Hudson River allowed me to see quite a bit of nature.  Still, the deer were only present at dusk and not often.  Some mornings we would see evidence of their presence by a nibbled tulip bud.

These days, the deer are doing very well.  Their numbers seem to multiply by the minute.  Just last week as I was driving my son to a friend's house, we passed seven deer -- three of them strolling down the middle of the road!  While on Long Island this past weekend, more evidence of the exploding deer population was present.  Obviously we saw deer, but there were also an awful lot of deer fencing around properties that I'd not seen several years ago.  But the biggest problem is right at home.  When we got back from our weekend adventure, we came home to a devastated garden -- the clematis, honeysuckle and rose of sharon are all chewed to bits.

It's a all out war here.  We will begin erecting the deer fence today.  We have plans for deer fencing the property.  It's an expense we could do without, but desperate times are calling.