Hey guys! I hope everyone is doing well. Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while. I’ve been student teaching and therefore have been very busy. I thought I’d send an update your way about what’s going on in the lives of the Stubbs’s.
1. Charlie’s doing great. I’ve never been more proud of him. Last Friday, he made his directorial debut. He has been working on the play Beau Jest for the past few months and it just opened. The show is great. He did an amazing job directing.
2. Harrison’s doing great. I’m 29 weeks along now. He moves a lot, especially when music is playing. The pregnancy has gone well. My biggest complaint is a lot of lower back pain thanks to the baby being on the sciatic nerve and driving two hours a day.
3. Why are you driving two hours a day, Diana? Because the school I’m doing my student teaching is an hour a way. I was at a much closer school but I was in a horrible situation and MISERABLE. Now I’m at a different school the next county over. I only have two more weeks of student teaching left. I’ve had a great experience and can’t wait to get my own classroom.
4. This leads me to my dilemma. I had a job interview today. I have given my résumé to the county and have been patiently waiting for a call from a school. Today I interviewed at a school about an hour from our apartment. The interview went very well. The principal asked if I was interested in working at the school. I told her I needed a week to think about the job. She said she will call me then because she’s “very interested” in me.
Why I should take the job
-Duh, it’s a job.
-It’s a school a lot like my internship school. I’d be used to the demographics and what-not.
-The school is getting a grant to keep their class size under 15 children.
-Since she’s hiring so many teachers, I can pick about any grade I want.
-Based on what the principal said in the interview, it sounds like a school I would want to work at. For the most part, our philosophies match.
-Who knows if there will be another offer?
Why I shouldn’t take the job
-It’s an hour away. Charlie and I would probably move. Ew.
-The principal at my school doesn’t think very highly of this principal. I’m not sure the exact reason why. All I was told was it was because this principal was really tough and not always very friendly. I really respect the principal at my school, so her opinion is valued. Also, they have high teacher turn-over at the school I interviewed at.
-There probably will be another offer. Our district is hiring hundreds of teachers so I could get a call from a closer/friendlier school.
Any thoughts?
5 comments:
Thanks Diana for doing a marvelous job of tagging, and writing a good post.
I think I would ask your current principal for more details. Prod a little. You might google the school, or the principal and see if you can find any other reason why teachers are leaving.
Hard, unfriendly bosses aren't always a bad thing.
I'm leaning towards taking it. An hours drive sucks, but can be done. So can moving. Especially if the pay is ok, then you can think about buying a house or something.
If it sucks you can always look for something else.
What other prospects do you have? When would you start if you accepted? Can you back out once you accept, or do you have to sign a contract?
I am KIND of with Brew... I work for a school so I can appreciate the respect you may have for a principals opinion of another. They are not competitors so why be dishonest? Our principal has been with us one year and is already quitting... my respect for him dropped by 75% when I learned this...
Thoguh I say take it, you need more interviews. You are not obligated to take this job. THEY need you as much as you need THEM. In a perfect world, you'd have 2 more interviews lined up this week so you could compare and decide. Taking the first offer just becasue it is an offer isnt always the number one thing to do...
Would it be possible to find a new place to live 30 minutes away? That way you could concievably stay at your church, while at the same time cutting your drive to work in half. We live 20 - 30 minutes from anything and we actually love it. Most people think it is a horrible thing to live in Wetumpka becasue of the drive but I dont mind it at all.
Ultimately, only you know best, but my gut tells me not to take the first offer, at least not until there is another offer or two from others on the table. Then again, in the teaching world, you need experience. Perhaps you could dig the job for 2 or 3 years, then job hunt in other spots.
Consider the baby Di... we just had a teacher have a child. We had a sub for 6 weeks, then when she came back she told us she would finish out the year, but wont be coming back next year after the summer.
Glad Harrison is doing well. Larissa has shown NO signs of pregnancy other than some slight air-headedness that lasts only a few minutes, alot of back pain, and a preg belly. Tyler kicks and moves a great deal as well.
Love you!
Air-headedness? Do you mean light-headedness? There's a big difference!
Diana, just going on what you've written, I'd say you should probably end up taking the job, especially class-size-wise. I have a feeling housing over there will be less expensive than the beach, btw. But do consider when you'd be able to make the move, baby coming and all.
More info: I would start probably mid August and teachers have to sign contracts. The interview I went on was like a call back. I've interviewed already with the district and this is the only school that has called.
I feel wierd saying yes to the first offer, but what if this is the offer that's meant for me?
If Charlie and I move to Conway, it's only a half an hour to the school, Kinko's, and church. Conway has less cost of living and is a more family friendly community.
Average class size in my county is about 25. Most of the schools in our area are very overcrowded. Right now I'm trying to think of what would be best for me as a first year teacher. 15 children means I can spend more time on each child, buy appropriate supplies, manage the classroom easier and have generally less stress. Plus, the school is in a very poor part of our district. It's very similar to the type of school I'm in now. Honestly, I love working in that environment. The children get more excited about learning and have a lot more spirit than the middle class kids.
I asked the literacy coach at my school why the principal doesn't like the other and she said it was just a personality clash. She also told me the curriculum specialist at this school is awesome.
So there's that. Right now I really think I want this job. The more I think about it the more I like it. Thanks for the help, guys!
Sounds pretty good to me. You are comfortable with the county... you now know that the principal is good, just they dont get along well, and if you move, you save money and move to a family friendly (probbaly less touristy) community...
But, as far as a move goes, dont forget you are pregs.. never a fun idea to move while preg, much less with a baby id imagine
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