When I accepted my 3rd grade position at OES last winter, I was told that there was a high possibility that I would be "excessed" at the end of the school year. This meant that while I still had a contract and a job somewhere in the county, the budget would not allow it to be 3rd grade at OES again. I wasn't super worried about it, since I was just excited to get a job at all, let alone two weeks before graduation. Well, last spring, my principal delivered the news that, while she was disappointed in the decisoin, I would definitely be forced to leave OES for the 2009-10 school year. So, the job search began. I could have allowed the country to place me somewhere, but it could have been any grade in any location, which did not sound like fun to me.
I applied to approximately 12 positions and got two interviews. One was an hour away, at a school in south county and the other was about fifteen minutes away from home, on the military base at MVES. When the principal at MVES called to offer me the job, she explained that she had to lock me into the computer system as a kindergarten teacher, but that was just for interviewing purposes. She PROMISED me that I definitely would NOT be a kindergarten teacher in the fall. I student taught in K and was not a huge fan. We agreed that 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grades would be acceptable. I felt relieved to have a job for the fall and place to go at the end of the year. The staff seemed young, energetic, and most importantly, supportive. It would be a unique challenge to teach military children, who move constantly from place to place and school system to school system. Excitedly, I began organizing and purchasing materials, in preparation for 1st or 2nd grade.
This morning, I received a call from the principal at MVES. Things have "changed" and she had to move me to the K position. I expressed that this was not what we agreed upon and I was not prepared or excited to teach K. She promised that she would make her best efforts to get me back to the 2nd grade position I was promised, but things were tight, since not many people have a K certification. I went up to the school to talk with the VP, hoping to get more information or make myself feel better. I guess it worked a little bit, but I still don't know what to do.
On the one hand, I am so extremely blessed to have a full time job, with amazing benefits, in the field that I love in this economy. I only have to travel 20 minutes at most from home everyday and I'd be off by 3:30 everyday. It would be an interesting challenge, to say the least; one which I should probably take on while I'm still young and open minded. The kids are still young, almost like little sponges, full of love for school and their teacher. On the other hand, though, I had a horrible experience student teaching K and I just don't feel at all prepared! I'm not sure how much patience I have for the little ones or the amount of intense preparation needed to teach this grade. Grading and the curriculum are completely different than anything I'm used to. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm scared.
In the end, there isn't much I can do about the situation, except cross my fingers and pray for it to work out. I'm trying to prepare myself as best as I can, and am meeting with a K teacher from OES next week to do so a little more. I know this was a sort of downer, whiny post which I really try to stay away from. I feel a little bit lighter, with some of the weight off of my shoulders, though. Let's pray for the best...
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