Hiring Season

Whenever one looks back on the adventures of life, the struggles and trying elements seem to sift out of the memory box and whats left is all the good times. This is convenient in a lot of ways. Already I look back on Valparaiso and what I remember most isn't the boredom of not working, or the kitchen that was always trashed, or the anxiety that I faced in choosing between following Sylvain wherever he was headed next, or going back to New York.

Now we are nearing a crossroads in our Paris leg of the traveling and I'm starting to prepare to return to my life as a teacher. We have decided that I will apply to jobs and if I get one, we'll follow the job. We are limited largely to New York and California, both states I am certified in, but we are most interested in moving (for me) back to Chicago.

I am about 100% sure I will not find work for September, not only is the economy crummy for educators it's a joke for art educators, but even more than that, I'd have a hard time myself hiring someone who wanted to work in Chicago, while they were living in Paris. As savvy as Skype is, I'd have my own reservations about hiring someone to teach young people who I couldn't personally interview. If I weren't in the position I currently find myself in, I'd have a hard time accepting a job at a school I hadn't visited, to teach in a room I haven't seen, and to miss out on the opportunity to talk to people that work there now, to try to glean exactly who I'm working for which would help me assess whether or not I share their teaching philosophy and whether or not they are a good leader.

I'm pretty big on the good leader point. I taught under trying conditions in the Bronx, but I had two amazing women who inspired my teaching and commitment and they listened to me, really listened when I complained about the difficulties I faced in teaching effectively without a sink or classroom, we both knew those circumstances weren't changing anytime soon, but whenever I left our meetings I knew they appreciated I showed up to work everyday and did really good work. I liked the fact that they knew our building was a mess, that it was a space that didn't lend itself to teaching, much less learning in many ways, but they never gave up or gave in or even complained for that matter.

I don't know where my next classroom will be, but I'm excited about my return even if it doesn't happen this fall. This past year I had no idea when I would return to teaching, it felt like a question mark I could not pin down, but lately it feels like things are focusing some, the plan, the timeline, the weirdness of giving up my life and becoming a nanny in Paris is starting to fade some as I gear up for the big return.