After searching for a full-time teaching job since spring of 2004, I have finally been offered a position. Honestly, I've never been employed full-time, permanently. Ever. I've always had part-time jobs in school, and when I wasn't in school I usually cobbled together 2 jobs: one which paid decently, and one that was art-related. I've had a few full-time summer jobs, or subbing positions, but nothing that lasted for more than a couple of months. It's a little scary.
I'm also scared to death because the last job I was offered was retracted a few days later. And I got replaced at my first substitute teaching job. And leaving my last job was worse than anything before. I have not yet signed my contract, and I live in fear that they'll change their minds and offer the job to someone else. Silly, I know, but still I fear it. Or that I'll be terrible and they'll fire me. Or I'll be so unhappy in a few months that I'll wonder why I ever chose a career in teaching. Or some other horrible fate akin to the misery I've experienced in the last 3+ years.
In part, I'm nervous because the job seems too good to be true. Aside from a fairly long commute, it's a dream job for me. The building itself is terrific, with artistic touches to the architecture that won it a national award when it was built 12 years ago. For example, the stairway in the main lobby has a railing made of what looks like 2" diameter rebar, sculpted into dramatic curves and swirls and painted bright, primary colors. The principal (who is the founding principal of the school) is very proud of her school. She says that she really focuses on "whole child" education, equally emphasizing the arts with the core subjects and seems to actually follow through on this breakthrough notion! One of her motivating factors is that her father was a concert pianist. They have had an "artist in residence" every year. The artwork created by each artist in conjunction with the students is on prominent display in the main lobby of the building. The principal pointed out and described each one as she showed me around the building. The artwork was terrific.
The district is equally lovely. I interviewed with the assistant superintendent, who had Dr. Seuss sprinkled in with her books on curriculum and discipline in her office library, and a framed, matted Maurice Sendak print hanging on the wall. She told me it was her second copy, the original was hanging on her classroom wall for years, only to be annexed by her daughter when she went off to college. The school department offices were covered in framed, matted student artwork, and the assistant superintendent told me that the superintendent himself is married to an art teacher. The pay is even decent. Certainly better than I've ever been paid before.
I honestly think the job is a terrific fit for me. I'll be teaching K-5, which is a welcome change from the jaded urban teens I've been bullied by for the past 3 years. I spent a couple of weeks in July working with the K-5 range in a nearby town, and I loved every minute of it. So I'm excited. Really. I just won't be able to really relax until I've signed a contract. And started working. And have worked past the 90-day "we can fire you for any reason" clause. And make it through the school year. And get re-hired for the next year...
