Well, there's not tons to report. I'm still working at school in Lomira as a long-term substitute paraeducator, working with 3-5th graders all day. Except I haven't been to work the last 2 days because I haven't been feeling well. Went to the doctor on Friday and they're running a bunch of tests, so hopefully they'll know why I've been feeling so crappy lately & be able to do something about it.
I am working on a couple job applications--one for an outdoor education coordinator at Northern Illinois University, and the other is a program assistant/volunteer coordinator at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha, WI. So hopefully one of those will work out.
I had a phone interview for a job at the Kansas City Zoo last week that I would've been perfect for. But it was only 25 hours a week, $8.50 an hour, no benefits, and only from late March to early June. So I just couldn't afford to move to Kansas City for that job. Especially since it would be $50 less per week than what I'm making subbing--and with my college loan payments every month, $50 is a lot of money. If I had no expenses I probably could've swung it, but realistically it wasn't the right choice for me. But the guy I interviewed with was very nice and encouraged me, if I'm closer to Kansas City, or can move there, next year to apply (because the job was PERFECT for me). So that was a downer.
But at the same time, the fact that they contacted me (and did so pretty quickly) made me feel better. I was starting to feel like I'd never find a job and getting really kind of depressed. But hearing from them has helped.
I'd brainstorm more, but I'm gonna go eat dinner, so I will again leave you in suspense of what is going on in my life. Trust me, it's not much.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
This Time I Have An Excuse
So it's been about a month since my last post (surprise, surprise), but this time it's because I've been busy (instead of lazy).
In February, I filed to substitute teach in our local school district. I now have a three-year substitute teacher license. But the calls I was getting were all for paraeducators. (For those of you who don't know what a paraeducator is, they are teacher's assistants who usually work in different classrooms through the day.) The district had one paraeducator leave her position, and I was offered the long-term substitute position.
This last week was my third full week of working this job. It is completely exhausting. I work in 6 different classrooms, at 3 different grade levels, and I also have recess duty with an additional 3 grades. It's a lot of names to know, and rules to keep straight. But it's good. And it's a paycheck, which is good seeing as my college loan payments are due each month (one week of this job=almost an entire loan payment). So at least it's keeping me fiscally sound. Not to mention, I'm helping the district--I'm sure they could've found someone to take the position, but my schedule was flexible enough (read: I had no obligations) that I can be at school 5 days a week.
There's definitely a learning curve. I didn't go to the public elementary school, so there are different rules. I mean, there were 40-50 kids in my whole elementary school. There are 16-20+ kids in each of the classrooms I work in, so there are more rules. It also isn't easy working in so many classrooms--each teacher has their own classroom rules, and ways they want things corrected (my brain sometimes has trouble keeping things straight).
But I enjoy it. It is fun--I like the kids, and they seem to like me. Like I said, this last week was my third on the job, so names and rules and everything is getting easier and more normal/natural. But it's definitely not what I thought I'd be doing at this point in my life. And it's not what I went to school for--I never took any classes that revolved around instruction or conflict resolution, or anything to do with teaching. So a lot of what I've had to do the last 3 weeks has been to rely on my intuition, what I've observed in the years I helped in the elementary school, or hold off issues until I can ask one of the teachers what the rules are.
So I'm learning. Which is good, because don't they say if you stop learning, you're dead? Isn't that a thing? I think it is. But I keep applying for jobs, because even though I have a job through the beginning of June (the end of the school year) I definitely don't want to keep doing this. It is a temporary job. And after a temporary job comes another job, hopefully one that is not so temporary.
So keep your fingers crossed (and thumbs pressed) that I find a "real" job, or as I like to call them a "big girl" job. And I will hopefully keep you posted.
In February, I filed to substitute teach in our local school district. I now have a three-year substitute teacher license. But the calls I was getting were all for paraeducators. (For those of you who don't know what a paraeducator is, they are teacher's assistants who usually work in different classrooms through the day.) The district had one paraeducator leave her position, and I was offered the long-term substitute position.
This last week was my third full week of working this job. It is completely exhausting. I work in 6 different classrooms, at 3 different grade levels, and I also have recess duty with an additional 3 grades. It's a lot of names to know, and rules to keep straight. But it's good. And it's a paycheck, which is good seeing as my college loan payments are due each month (one week of this job=almost an entire loan payment). So at least it's keeping me fiscally sound. Not to mention, I'm helping the district--I'm sure they could've found someone to take the position, but my schedule was flexible enough (read: I had no obligations) that I can be at school 5 days a week.
There's definitely a learning curve. I didn't go to the public elementary school, so there are different rules. I mean, there were 40-50 kids in my whole elementary school. There are 16-20+ kids in each of the classrooms I work in, so there are more rules. It also isn't easy working in so many classrooms--each teacher has their own classroom rules, and ways they want things corrected (my brain sometimes has trouble keeping things straight).
But I enjoy it. It is fun--I like the kids, and they seem to like me. Like I said, this last week was my third on the job, so names and rules and everything is getting easier and more normal/natural. But it's definitely not what I thought I'd be doing at this point in my life. And it's not what I went to school for--I never took any classes that revolved around instruction or conflict resolution, or anything to do with teaching. So a lot of what I've had to do the last 3 weeks has been to rely on my intuition, what I've observed in the years I helped in the elementary school, or hold off issues until I can ask one of the teachers what the rules are.
So I'm learning. Which is good, because don't they say if you stop learning, you're dead? Isn't that a thing? I think it is. But I keep applying for jobs, because even though I have a job through the beginning of June (the end of the school year) I definitely don't want to keep doing this. It is a temporary job. And after a temporary job comes another job, hopefully one that is not so temporary.
So keep your fingers crossed (and thumbs pressed) that I find a "real" job, or as I like to call them a "big girl" job. And I will hopefully keep you posted.
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