Hello, Old Friends

Tomorrow I start another long term sub position in a building where I used to work. My husband is joking with me that by the end of the school year I will get a third long term sub position in the only other school where I have taught, completing the circuit, backwards. But since there is a possibility that this job could last until the end of the school year, I'm not holding my breath.

I'm excited but also nervous. This time it's a middle school English/Language Arts position. I know I can handle the subject matter and the students.  But I left this building three and a half years ago on a very, very sour note. The last set of fifth graders I taught graduated last year, mitigating the impact of the negative circumstances that surrounded my departure. But many families who know me from the eight years I taught there still have children in the school.  I think that's mainly a plus. I know I was well liked, even as I was leaving, by most families.  And based on the reaction I got from people in the building when I went in for the interview, there are still many people there who will be excited to see me. 

Most of the staff I taught with is gone. In fact, there is only one homeroom teacher left from the entire pre-K - 8 staff. They are even on their second new principal since I left.  The classrooms have almost entirely shuffled around, and the preschool is in the room I used to know as the faculty lounge.  So there will be a lot to get used to in a space that I used to know so well. 

I said in my previous post that I needed a job with less work or closer to home, or preferably both.  This school is closer to home, but sixth, seventh, and eighth grade ELA in a single class per grade level school might just be the most time consuming position to plan and grade.  Every class period is something new to plan; there are no duplicated classes with a different set of students.  There are also three classes of students to get to know and scaffold work to meet individual skill sets and ability levels.  Middle school writers are writing longer pieces, and the work of teaching 12-14 year olds to revise and edit their writing into well polished essays and stories takes close reading, meticulous attention to detail, and careful articulation of suggestions.

In the midst of all of this, I am still needed at home in a way I was not for the past several years.  I feel like I need to start making a list of ways to take little bits of time for myself in order to stay grounded.  Actually, I do already have such a list. I guess the goal is to use the ideas on it.