Since I posted a blog last, my life has taken a step closer to my dreams. It is amazing how one day things seem so far away then suddenly, things begin to fall into place very quickly.
I passed all of my teaching exams and now hold a license in ESE (Special Education, Language Arts and Business/Technology and this month, will add Elementary Education. I won a state professional development grant from the Department of Education which equals up to $5000 toward my autism training. I will be finishing my autism endorsement within the next 30-60 days and will add that to my list of licenses. While I wanted to be finished with my training, I am starting an ESOL endorsement for teaching students whose primary language is not English. This is a requirement from my district because more than 50% of our student population in this area is ESOL.
In February, I accepted a new position as an autistic middle school teacher. I replaced a teacher that passed away. I have enjoyed the teaching position but have found many challenges along the way. The first was stepping in at more than mid-year to find that there were not text books and materials to teach with. I have begged and borrowed materials and spent a lot of time on internet research and dipping into my own pockets to find materials.
The second challenge was finding out how political the teaching world is. I have seen people that are nice to your face, but in reality are running tales back to your supervisor or administrator in order to make themselves feel or seem superior. I have had to weather each of this and at times, find it hard to be social with someone that you have seen that does this. I am a direct person. If a supervisor wants to know what goes on in another teachers class or even my class, they should observe in person and not listen to gossip.
I have also seen a lot of staff turnover in my school, especially in terms of administration. As I have only a temporary contract, I am not guaranteed a renewal for the next year. The administrators that told me verbally that I am being renewed are no longer there. I am hesitant to count on a renewal until I have the contract in hand. Ideally, middle school is my 2nd choice. I really want to teach elementary education.
While my training is highly specialized and the number of teachers wanting to teach autism are slim, I will probably be looking for another teaching position in case my position does not renew. I also think that I need to be more visible in the school and work on developing more intensive small group instruction. I do not think the training that I have had has adequately prepared me for the real challenges of working in a highly political environment, the amount of paperwork and preparation involved and the challenges of working without needed materials.
My prospects for renewal are good based on the specialization of my training and the type of work that I do. Also, they have asked me to teach summer school which is a good indication that I am being renewed. I will not know til June 1st, however.
My goals are to teach for the next 10 years and then I would like to move into being a staffing specialist or behavior specialist. I am content in the career path that I have chosen.
I am looking forward to the summer break. It will give me time to relax, recharge and develop the plans for next school year. We are moving, hopefully, over the summer to a place closer to both of our jobs. We also have Michael's 20 year high school reunion to attend. I want to do things with the kids over the break.
Most of all, I need some time to just relax and unwind. I am reflecting on something that Michael once told me: Don't let what you do for a living define who you are as a person. (Or, Mostly don't let what happens at work to destroy your confidence in yourself.) So much of myself is built around work, that I need the time to build on me as a person. To enjoy life, family and friends.
I passed all of my teaching exams and now hold a license in ESE (Special Education, Language Arts and Business/Technology and this month, will add Elementary Education. I won a state professional development grant from the Department of Education which equals up to $5000 toward my autism training. I will be finishing my autism endorsement within the next 30-60 days and will add that to my list of licenses. While I wanted to be finished with my training, I am starting an ESOL endorsement for teaching students whose primary language is not English. This is a requirement from my district because more than 50% of our student population in this area is ESOL.
In February, I accepted a new position as an autistic middle school teacher. I replaced a teacher that passed away. I have enjoyed the teaching position but have found many challenges along the way. The first was stepping in at more than mid-year to find that there were not text books and materials to teach with. I have begged and borrowed materials and spent a lot of time on internet research and dipping into my own pockets to find materials.
The second challenge was finding out how political the teaching world is. I have seen people that are nice to your face, but in reality are running tales back to your supervisor or administrator in order to make themselves feel or seem superior. I have had to weather each of this and at times, find it hard to be social with someone that you have seen that does this. I am a direct person. If a supervisor wants to know what goes on in another teachers class or even my class, they should observe in person and not listen to gossip.
I have also seen a lot of staff turnover in my school, especially in terms of administration. As I have only a temporary contract, I am not guaranteed a renewal for the next year. The administrators that told me verbally that I am being renewed are no longer there. I am hesitant to count on a renewal until I have the contract in hand. Ideally, middle school is my 2nd choice. I really want to teach elementary education.
While my training is highly specialized and the number of teachers wanting to teach autism are slim, I will probably be looking for another teaching position in case my position does not renew. I also think that I need to be more visible in the school and work on developing more intensive small group instruction. I do not think the training that I have had has adequately prepared me for the real challenges of working in a highly political environment, the amount of paperwork and preparation involved and the challenges of working without needed materials.
My prospects for renewal are good based on the specialization of my training and the type of work that I do. Also, they have asked me to teach summer school which is a good indication that I am being renewed. I will not know til June 1st, however.
My goals are to teach for the next 10 years and then I would like to move into being a staffing specialist or behavior specialist. I am content in the career path that I have chosen.
I am looking forward to the summer break. It will give me time to relax, recharge and develop the plans for next school year. We are moving, hopefully, over the summer to a place closer to both of our jobs. We also have Michael's 20 year high school reunion to attend. I want to do things with the kids over the break.
Most of all, I need some time to just relax and unwind. I am reflecting on something that Michael once told me: Don't let what you do for a living define who you are as a person. (Or, Mostly don't let what happens at work to destroy your confidence in yourself.) So much of myself is built around work, that I need the time to build on me as a person. To enjoy life, family and friends.
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