Jamie has been politely getting-on-to-me for not posting about my good news, but I have been a little hesitant this last week to really be excited about anything yet. As those of you who are close to me may know, I have been in an interviewing process with St. Albans Episcopal School for the past few months, and at times it has seemed like a shoe-in, while other times it has been painfully slow and nerve-racking. The waiting is over, though, and last Monday I received a contract offer, which I jumped at. From all that I know, it is a great school, and I have a great opportunity presented to me.
I met with my new principal briefly on Monday, and she handed me over to one of the other English teachers there, so that I might discuss curriculum. Coming from Christway Academy, I assumed they would force me to use textbooks, or that they would at least be pretty strict about what the classes must consist of. I was dead wrong. They are the type of school that I was hoping for. I have been given almost complete freedom to design my classes as I see fit. The only real stipulation is that the read novels and learn to write papers over them. Is that not every academician's dream?!
After spending 2 hours with this teacher, I was excited, but there was also an undeniable knot in my stomach, which was only partially attributable to the impending Mavs' game later that night. What made me most nervous was the fact that these teachers know what they are doing. The other two teachers in the English department are seasoned veterans who have been teaching over 20 years apiece, and who have read more novels than I by a mile. It is not just that they have done those things, though that is impressive in itself, but they both seem really, really sharp, University of Dallas PhD.-student-sharp. As I left the meeting the full weight of the situation came upon me; there are these two apparant literary giants, and then there is me, a newcomer to the academic community. I am going to have to pretend to be one of them, which means that I am going to have to study for arse off this summer in preparation for the Fall.
Last night Julie and I thumbed through our library in pulled a couple of dozen books that would be suitable reading material for the 2 English classes that I will teach next year. It sounds as if the 2 History classes already have curriculum, but I found some stuff to supplement those classes, too. In the next week before I head overseas, I am going to have to winnow this stack of 20-30 novels down to 12-15, and come up with some rhyme or reason for doing so. I will then pack these up, read them this summer, and then figure out the best way to teach them. I am excited and scared-to-death, all at the same time. I have been dreaming of this opportunity for the last several years, and now it is here; I feel a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of it all.
As I get a final list going, I'll post them for your critique.
I met with my new principal briefly on Monday, and she handed me over to one of the other English teachers there, so that I might discuss curriculum. Coming from Christway Academy, I assumed they would force me to use textbooks, or that they would at least be pretty strict about what the classes must consist of. I was dead wrong. They are the type of school that I was hoping for. I have been given almost complete freedom to design my classes as I see fit. The only real stipulation is that the read novels and learn to write papers over them. Is that not every academician's dream?!
After spending 2 hours with this teacher, I was excited, but there was also an undeniable knot in my stomach, which was only partially attributable to the impending Mavs' game later that night. What made me most nervous was the fact that these teachers know what they are doing. The other two teachers in the English department are seasoned veterans who have been teaching over 20 years apiece, and who have read more novels than I by a mile. It is not just that they have done those things, though that is impressive in itself, but they both seem really, really sharp, University of Dallas PhD.-student-sharp. As I left the meeting the full weight of the situation came upon me; there are these two apparant literary giants, and then there is me, a newcomer to the academic community. I am going to have to pretend to be one of them, which means that I am going to have to study for arse off this summer in preparation for the Fall.
Last night Julie and I thumbed through our library in pulled a couple of dozen books that would be suitable reading material for the 2 English classes that I will teach next year. It sounds as if the 2 History classes already have curriculum, but I found some stuff to supplement those classes, too. In the next week before I head overseas, I am going to have to winnow this stack of 20-30 novels down to 12-15, and come up with some rhyme or reason for doing so. I will then pack these up, read them this summer, and then figure out the best way to teach them. I am excited and scared-to-death, all at the same time. I have been dreaming of this opportunity for the last several years, and now it is here; I feel a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of it all.
As I get a final list going, I'll post them for your critique.
Woo-hoo for your dream job. Hope it's all it seems it will be. :P I'm really excited for you.. and way to post!
...and don' t be too overwhelmed. The other teachers will be supportive, you have the teaching skills in place.. and yea for novels and private schools. :P We'll be praying though.