Hard to believe it's the last weekend of summer. It was a good, low key one. I worked a few days a week with Pre-K students, 3 and 4 year olds on the Autism spectrum....Let's just say that they were terribly cute, but I'm not going to miss them too much. Pre-K definitely isn't the place for me, but it was a good opportunity that left me lots of time for beach/pool/other summer fun.
After experiencing a program that was less than ideal (now that's an understatement) I was much more vigilant in terms of what I was looking for in a school this year. I knew I had the experiences and references necessary to get a job I was happy in. I knew which questions to ask, and which red flags to look for...I appreciated schools that were honest when a particular resource was lacking, because knowing what you're going into is incredibly important.
This year I decided not to follow through on some job leads. Some because of distance, some because of the feeling I got from the administration during interviews. I am an odd combination of a first year teacher, but also a person who's worked in enough programs to know what I do/don't want. I've been working with students with special needs for long enough to have my own philosophy of what works and what doesn't, and to know when my view clashes with the administration's.
It was really hard to get out of the mindset of "I must take every interview, apply for every single job" and so on. I felt guilty a lot. But ultimately, I ended up in a program that I can tell is a great fit for me. I don't feel any of the stress and confusion and worry I did last year going into the program. The school is welcoming and set up for teamwork and collaboration. The program is thoughtfully designed and the population is carefully chosen. The administration, from principal to superintendent, view the first years of teaching as a time to improve, not a time when they expect you to walk in already perfect. Because while I know that I have a lot of skills in what I do, I also know that I have a lot to learn.
So perhaps this year I will improve my blogging. My goals are:
-To figure out how to upload documents so I can share some posts I've been thinking about
-To post some freebie type things on teacherspayteachers, or here, to share some resources I find helpful
-To document some memories, funny stories, etc. Because there are always a million stories.
I know I said I would blog more last year. I really thought I would. I don't want to insist I will this year, because who knows what will happen? But I think I'll try.
