Blissful Butterfly

There is never a set back that doesn't come with a small gain.  Many times, we are just too blinded by circumstance that we overlook the good things that are around us. I am disappointed that I will not be teaching summer school, due to some technicality in the district.  My school has to find an ASD teacher, which is rare, to teach my class because of some red tape from the district.  My school has guaranteed that I am coming back next year but cannot officially have me sign the contract til pre-planning in the fall.   Essentially, this means 2 months on only 1 income.  No trip with the kids to Washington D.C. , Baltimore and to visit family over the summer.   My district may not cover my summer ESOL endorsement training and my assistive technology class which I have to complete before deadline as I have to be an active employee to be enrolled. As of next week, I will be officially unemployed. I was so aggravated yesterday watching this play...

I have to say that one of my pet peeves with any job is watching people that set out deliberately to sabotage their co-workers.   You know the type:   1) Think they know everything.   2) Believe no one is doing their job right.   3) Spend their working hours looking for dirt on you and everyone else instead of actually working.   4) They have beaten a path to the supervisor's office on a daily basis to play tattle tell.   I am not sure what is worse.  The person who does it or the supervisor that acts on the gossip without clarifying whether the tales are true or not.   It is my humble belief that if a supervisor could not trust you to do your job, he or she should make the time to observe you working and draw their own opinions -and- maybe just trust you to be the professional that you are. I have seen so many good, quality workers who have become burned out at work because they couldn't play this g...

This has been a very busy few months for me.  Since taking over my autism classroom, I have attended countless meetings and trainings, worked hours on lesson plans and have been working on taking specialized graduate classes for the autism student.  With my semester winding down and the school year, I was hoping for a quiet, relaxing summer in which I could shop, go to the beach and check out some fun activities with the kids.  Just a chance to pause for breath, sleep in and luxuriate in the moment of having summers off.  Alas, that is not to be the case. I started getting an inkling about my summer when I was asked to teach summer school for 4 weeks.  Then came the official word from the state:  I have to take an assistive technology course and complete my ESOL endorsement.  This week, I met with my administration about plans for next school year (yay! I'm getting renewed)  and somehow found myself agreeing to take on doing a reading endorsemen...

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...

The new year has brought many changes for me so far.  In the last 30 days, I have reached several milestones toward my dreams.  I turned 38 this week and with the looming big 4-0 not far off, I had been feeling the intense pressure of meeting some of my goals before it is too late.   Tomorrow, is my last day teaching at a private school.  While I am not thrilled to be leaving my students at mid-year and will miss them, I know that there are changes taking place in my life that I can only describe as God's intervention in my life.  I trained my replacement this week to take over and he will be taking over from me tomorrow as I say good bye to my students.   On February 1st, I will begin teaching middle school as an autism teacher.  This is something that I have been working on since 2009.  Possibly, it has been long before that as my children who have ASD have long prepared me for what I believe is God's purpose for my life.   ...

Yesterday, I saw Joyce Meyer's book, Living Beyond Your Feelings, advertised on T.V.  Coincidentally, the kids and I visited the large downtown library in Orange County and I found this book prominently displayed when I walked into the main foyer.  I picked it up and read through about 4 chapters last night while everyone else was sleeping.  So far, it is a good book. Over my Christmas break, I have easily read over 20 books.  I have picked up everything from inspirational books, to mysteries and more.  I have only the weekend remaining before it is back to business for me.  I am going to miss the time off and spending time out with the kids.  Although, I will have the weekends, it won't be the same because I will be back into teaching again and juggling 4 classes and an internship, plus practicum hours in the autism field.  I also have a research study to complete. The highlight for me in this coming semester is that my Spring Break wil...

I cannot believe that I have finished a full semester of teaching 4th grade.  In many ways, I have loved my job and the challenges that it brings.  However, my teaching position is just a starter position and not one I necessarily want to stay in long term.  The salary at the small school where I teach is honestly too low for me to balance the needs of my family and repayment on my student loans. I've been looking forward to the changes that I hope the next 6 months will bring.  I still have 1 remaining teaching exam (Elementary Education) to take in February.  I am still working as a sub around my full time teaching schedule to keep my fingerprints/background check active with the district.  I am working on my autism endorsement, with only 2 classes remaining and should finish over the summer as one of the classes is not offered until then.  I am also working on my remaining requirements for my permanent certificate, which also will be completed ove...