Part-time on call work

I took my first sub job for the year last night, and went down the road to Battle Creek Jr. High School. As I started my day at school I was thinking about how much more I enjoy public schools (than private), how I enjoy a bit of the anonymity, I enjoy how diverse the school is (ahem . . . culturally that is, for anyone who might be confused by what I mean by diverse (see future blog about aggressive Minneapolis school principal)). I even enjoy the beauracracy and unions that ensure I get a regular paycheck with increases, health insurance and benefits. I was feeling less and less sure (in spite of our desperation) whether I wanted the Somalian night school teaching job. My day at Battle Creek just reinforced the idea that middle school is my area. The school used many of the techniques we used in the NYCDOE - including making the large school into smaller academies. The academies were segregated by sex, and all students were required to wear uniforms (which most were). They seemed to have a strong, visible staff. When I commented on the lack of windows, the janitor explained to me that the school used to literally be and "open school" back in the 70s when it was built. That worked for approximately two seconds before they came in and added walls.

Later in the day, I received a phone call from the Somalian night school - it was job phone call rejection number 8 (which is loads higher than an email/letter rejection or no response at all).